Rebuilding Ukraine to cost more than double World Bank estimate, says BlackRock boss - latest updates

More than $750bn (£608bn) will be needed to rebuild Ukraine, the head of the world's largest money manager has said at an event in Davos attended virtually by the country's

president Volodymyr Zelensky. The figure outlined by BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink is more than the World Bank's most-recent estimate of $350bn made in June

2022. He told a breakfast on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum: "The need is likely to be closer to $750bn [to support the] economic recovery and aid according to

conversations with the economic team and President Zelensky."  Mr Fink said this will require the private and public sector to work together "whether it is any of the

intergovernmental agencies (such as the IMF and World Bank) or the Europeans plus attraction of private capital". He added: "The way we're going to have to be doing this is

constructing a true foundation where we can identify the needs of the country." Ukraine's prime minister suggested yesterday that the final reconstruction bill could top $1

trillion. The UK's annual economic output is just under $3 trillion. Mr Fink's comments came after Boris Johnson likened Vladimir Putin to "the fat boy in Dickens" who wants

to make our flesh creep with the threat of nuclear war. Ukraine's economy was projected to contract by 35pc last year, according to the World Bank, although economic

activity has been scarred by the destruction of productive capacity, damage to agricultural land, and reduced labour supply as more than 14 million people are estimated to have

been displaced by the war.