DYNAMICS AND STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF INVESTMENT PROCESSES IN THE PORT ECONOMY OF THE UKRAINIAN BLACK SEA REGION IN THE CONDITIONS OF GEO-ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

Abstract

The article examines the state, dynamics, and structure of investment processes in the Ukrainian Black Sea region, with a particular focus on assessing investment activity in the strategically important port sector. The study employs methods of systemic-structural analysis, comparative economic assessment, and analytical verification of the scientific hypothesis. The analysis is based on five key financial reporting indicators: capital investments, value of fixed assets, accumulated depreciation of fixed assets, accounts receivable, and accounts payable. The necessity of creating favorable conditions for the development of endogenous investment and the reproduction of invested capital is substantiated not only as a factor in ensuring the resilience of port-industrial complexes (PICs) of the Ukrainian Black Sea region under geoeconomic challenges, but also as a means of encouraging external investment. Based on the analysis of theoretical approaches in the field of investments and the study of empirical solutions concerning the development of territorial economies under conditions of high security risks, it is demonstrated that the investment capacity of economic entities becomes a more relevant factor than their investment attractiveness, since it ensures the implementation of the full range of investment process functions: from attracting and allocating resources to their reproduction, further reinvestment, or withdrawal by owners. The transition to a phase of logistical adaptation through the activation of endogenous (internal) financing sources is substantiated. It has been established that the reinvestment of enterprises’ own profits in Odesa Region (approximately 70% of the total investments structure) is a key driver for maintaining economic activity and export potential within the regional economic system, particularly in port-industrial complexes. It is proposed a model for analyzing the investment attractiveness of enterprises within port-industrial complexes based on open-source data and applying five-factor criteria (capital investments, value of fixed assets, accumulated depreciation of fixed assets, accounts receivable, and accounts payable). The practical significance of the study lies in the development of recommendations for transitioning from a “crisis-retention” model to a strategy of “gradual modernization investment” based on the instruments of the Ukraine Facility and integration into TEN-T standards, which envisage the systematic improvement and development of various transport routes through coordinated modernization of major roads, railways, inland waterways, airports, seaports, inland ports, and related systems. The proposed approach enables an objective assessment of the self-development potential of port-industrial complexes as autonomous industrial clusters capable of generating added value even under logistical constraints.