This is a curated list of all the biggest stories on Ukrainian economy this week.
Anyone following news from Ukraine in the past week would have noticed, that the main story of the week is the developing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Rekindling the conflict could inflict serious damage to Ukraine – both as a nation and an economy.
After the war in 2014, the GDP of Ukraine dropped dramatically, and it has yet to recover from the damages:
source: tradingeconomics.com
The value of the Ukrainian Hryvnia also dropped dramatically. The exchange rate went from around 8 UAH on the American dollar to hovering between 25 to 28 UAH on the American dollar.
With war comes a great deal of risk, and with monumental developments such as we have seen for the past weeks, it was natural for Ukraine Nu to write up an overview of the situation right now:
Looking for angels
Ukraine Nu visited the 1991 Mariupol IT hub in Mariupol, a Black Sea City in the furthest Southeastern corner of Ukraine. “The aim is to help build a full ecosystem for IT companies in Mariupol. ” explained Maria Kutnyakova, the communication specialist at 1991 Mariupol to Ukraine Nu, “Almost 300 people have been through our courses so far.”
Mariupol IT hub hopes to boost Eastern Ukrainian IT start-ups
IMF relief might be on the way
The National Bank of Ukraine Governor, Kyrylo Shevchenko, has announced that Ukraine will receive 2.7 billion dollars from the fund this summer after a meeting with the International Monetary Fund, IMF. The money is not part of the conventional IMF program and will not have to be paid back.
Staying with the NBU for a second; The growth of consumer prices has grown another point from 7.5 percent in February to 8.5 percent in March. Overall, Ukraine has seen a sharp rise in inflation starting from December 2020, where it was at 5 percent.
The Ukrainian government expects inflation of 7.3 percent in 2021, while the National Bank of Ukraine predicts it at 7 percent flat. According to NBU, the rise of inflation is more than expected with the first turning point coming in August or September.
Privatizations continue
The effort to privatize state owned enterprises is ongoing. The Ukrainian parliament Verkhovna Rada has approved the privatization of several large state-owned Ukrainian enterprises. The sales are expected to boost the government’s finances, deter corruption and increase efficiency.
The privatization process has been slowed down due to the pandemic and fear that no foreign and domestic investors would be willing to invest. However, according to Unian, the Ukrainian government has now decided to move forward anyway.
However, for some reason, the Verkhovna Rada later had a change of heart and voted it down, Ukraine Business News wrote yesterday.
The privatizations is an ongoing attempt to lessen opportunities for corruption, let investors give unprofitable companies an influx of funds and know-how and get closer to full market economy.
Parliament approves large scale privatizations: Shmyhal believe in high growth
Klitchko wants lockdown
It is well known that Kyiv is under lockdown like many other large cities in Ukraine. However, Vitaliy Klitschko, who is the mayor in Kyiv, calls for a nationwide lockdown, which the government has denied so far.
“Crowding up with no face masks, throwing parties, traveling to other cities… Let’s be honest: there is an uncontrolled spread of the virus,” Klitschko said, “We must have patience and stay at home to see our family and friends on Easter.”
Paving season
It is paving season again which means that the Great Construction project can get started again. In 2021, according to the plan, 6,800 kilometres of road are to be built. In addition to that, 150 bridges, a major ring road in Kyiv and a major bridge project over the Dnipro River are to be rebuilt.
Ukrzalisnitsya will handle one Chinese train a day
In an attempt to restore the silk road from Europe to China through Ukraine, Ukrzalisnitsya – the Ukrainian railroad company – are preparing to handle one Chinese cargo train a day. In January and February, 27 Chinese trains came through Ukraine. Four stopped in Ukraine, UBN writes.
