Digital transformation in public investment management: the current state of Ukraine and global trends

Introduction. In the context of wartime and post-war recovery, Ukraine faces limited budgetary resources and the urgent need to modernize infrastructure in line with contemporary standards. The digital transformation of public investment management is viewed as a strategic response to these challenges, combining transparency, efficiency, and the attraction of private capital. One promising direction is RWA tokenization, which enables the conversion of rights to real assets into digital tokens, providing access to new sources of financing and expanding the capacity of municipalities and the state to implement investment projects. Problem Statement. Despite ongoing institutional and technological reforms, Ukraine’s public investment management system retains a number of structural issues: lack of systematic strategic planning, fragmented procedures, shortage of qualified personnel, a large number of unfinished projects, and low efficiency in managing public assets. Traditional financing mechanisms – budget allocations and loans – are unable to provide the necessary volume of resources for large-scale reconstruction and modernization of infrastructure. At the same time, territorial communities (hromadas) of Ukraine are characterized by low levels of capital expenditures and significant dependence on interbudgetary transfers, which limits their investment capacity. The purpose is to analyze the current state of digital transformation of public investment management in Ukraine, current international trends, and justify the potential for implementing RWA tokenization in this area. Methods. The study applies general scientific and specialized methods: bibliographic analysis to summarize international experience; abstract-logical method to formulate conceptual provisions; descriptive and comparative analysis to contrast traditional and tokenized financing mechanisms; graphical method to visualize empirical data; and methods of analysis, synthesis, and generalization to develop recommendations for the implementation of RWA tokenization in Ukraine. Results. The paper analyzes the current state and challenges of Ukraine’s public investment management system, as well as global trends in the digitalization of investment processes. The potential of RWA tokenization is identified as a tool for mobilizing private capital, reducing hromadas’ dependence on transfers, and increasing transparency in asset management. A comparative analysis of the efficiency of traditional and tokenized financing mechanisms shows the latter’s advantages in the speed of capital mobilization, flexibility, transparency, and reduction of corruption risks. Requirements for regulatory, technical, and organizational integration of RWA tokenization are outlined, along with approaches to pilot implementation, including the identification of priority assets and formats for attracting investors. Conclusions. RWA tokenization has significant potential for the innovative transformation of Ukraine’s public investment management system. Its implementation can create new channels for financing infrastructure projects, increase the efficiency of public asset utilization, and ensure transparency of the investment process. Realizing this potential requires updating the regulatory framework, technical integration with the national digital infrastructure, strengthening the organizational capacity of public authorities, and conducting pilot projects with the involvement of the public and international partners.