The IMF has yet to set a date for the review of the Standby Agreement, a review that was to be in September. IMF Ukraine representative Goesta Ljungman tells Hromadske that while “discussions on the implementation of the parameters and indicators of the liquidity program are ongoing, the The IMF has yet to set a date for the review of the Standby Agreement, a review that was to be in September. IMF Ukraine representative Goesta Ljungman tells Hromadske that while “discussions on the implementation of the parameters and indicators of the liquidity program are ongoing, the date of the IMF mission on the first revision of the program has not yet been determined.”
Ukraine received in June a first $2.1 billion tranche of what is to be a $5 billion loan program.
Prime Minister Shmygal says he expects Ukraine will receive the second tranche by the end of this year. Some economic analysts say the IMF switched to observation mode after President Zelenskiy unexpectedly switched the central bank leadership within a month of getting the first IMF tranche.
International reserves reached a new high this month at $28.8 billion, according to the National Bank of Ukraine. Boosted by the IMF tranche, this is the highest level in eight years.
Mykolaiv’s shipbuilding industry is to be revived with a government program designed to create 25,000 new jobs, President Zelenskiy and David Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People Rada, promised on a visit Friday to a city that was the Soviet center for shipbuilding in the Black Sea. “We want to restore the former glory of the city of shipbuilders,” Arakhamia said, referring to Mykolaiv whose modern history dates back to the creation of a Russian Navy shipyard in 1789.
The government promises “a national program to support shipbuilding, cheaper credit resources,” Arakhamia said. Later on Friday, Oleh Uruskyi, Minister for Strategic Industries visited the Okean shipyard in Mykolaiv, reported the company website.
Business education for combat veterans and soft loans for veteran-owned startups are government priorities, President Zelenskiy said during an International Volunteer and Veterans Forum in Kyiv. “It’s both military skills and the rules by which all successful companies exist,” he said. “One cannot ignore the experience of other countries, where many veterans are the founders of large, serious, powerful, well-known companies.”
With the minimum monthly wage set to rise to $182 (UAH 5,000) next Tuesday, Zelenskiy says the budget can “definitely support” the hike. On July 1, the minimum wage is to increase by 30%, to UAH 6,500, currently $237. Ukraine’s median monthly wage is $768.
Grain sales were down 18% yoy in July, reports UNIAN citing the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture. Due to bad weather, much of the harvest is late.
Steelmaker ArcelorMittal has transferred 50 million tons of slag to the government for the national road construction program, reports Interfax-Ukraine, citing the company. Earlier this year, Arcelor pushed the government to change regulations to allow construction of concrete roads with slag. Increasingly common across Europe, the use of crushed slag for road construction helps companies cut disposal costs. In turn it cuts costs for building concrete roads. So far this year, 100,000 cubic meters have been used to build roads in Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia regions. The goal is to use almost 500,000 tons this year for roadbuilding.
Interpipe, Ukraine’s largest pipe and wheel producer, will redeem at par 97 million of its 2024 notes this week, according to the company.
IKEA Ukraine plans to offer 5,000 items in its first physical store in Kyiv, says Florian Melle, Ukraine director of Ikea. He said: “A city-format store will open in Kyiv without a food department and restaurant, but we strive to launch them as soon as possible.” Earlier this year, IKEA started operating an online store that proved so successful that the company struggled to keep up with orders. Ikea’s first physical store in Ukraine is to open in Kyiv’s Blockbuster Mall by the end of this year.
Energy traders imported 345,000 megawatts of electricity in the first quarter of 2020, reports NERC. The imported electricity was from Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Belarus.
New car imports are down 36% y-o-y, reports Ukrinform citing Ukravtoprom. The average value of an imported new car is $19,300. Japanese vehicles are the most popular.
Passenger transport is down 56.2% y-o-y, reports the State Statistics Service. Rail was down 58.2%. Motor transport was down by 44.3%.
There have been no combat losses in the eastern regions for the past 29 days, Zelenskiy said during his Independence Day speech. “A year ago, I talked about how every morning starts with an SMS message from the General Staff of Ukraine. SMS about the number of wounded and dead for the past day on the front line. The numbers are different, but only one message makes the morning good: wounded – zero, dead – zero. Today, for the 29th day in a row, is a really good morning for me and our whole Ukraine. Yes, we face many new challenges. But today is 29 days since we have no combat losses in the east of Ukraine.”
From the Editor – After Monday’s Independence Day holiday, the Rada – and the Ukraine Business News — are back today. One example of constructive work the Rada can do is the simple legislation passed earlier this year authorizing the use of metallurgical slag for road building. An increasingly common practice in countries with steel industries, this recycling will cut into Ukraine’s slag mountains and help provide the nation with decent roads. Writing tonight from western Turkey, I see clearly how Turkey’s good roads generate economic development. With Best Regards, Jim Brooke