BlackRock chief says investors ready to 'flood' Ukraine

The head of US asset management firm BlackRock said Thursday that Western investors will be "flooding" Ukraine post-war and the country could become "a beacon to the rest of the world of the power of capitalism".

Larry Fink, one of the world's most influential investors, told a Ukraine-themed event in Davos that he estimated the country would need $750 billion in reconstruction funds and aid "if the war stopped relatively soon".

"I do believe, emotionally, those who truly believe in a capitalistic system will be flooding Ukraine with capital," Fink added.

"And I'm not talking about philanthropy. There's going to be a lot of philanthropy. I'm truly talking about if we can rebuild Ukraine, it can be a beacon to the rest of the world of the power of capitalism," he said.

He said he had spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to express his firm's interest in taking part in reconstruction efforts.

Fink said he had told Zelensky that "if you hire us, that we're not going to be creating new oligarchs, but we're creating a new Ukraine."

Ukraine's reconstruction needs were estimated at $349 billion by the World Bank in September, but a bank official has said the figure will be revised up this year.