KIEV, Nov. 15 ??“ Foreign direct investments in Ukraine??™s economy rose by 230% on the year to more than $3 billion in January through September, led by several acquisitions of Ukrainian banks by their Western peers.

Overall FDIs, invested in Ukraine since its independence in 1991, reached $19.9 billion as of Oct. 1, more than doubling in size over the past 12 months, the State Statistics Committee said in a report on Wednesday.