The European Investment Bank is mulling investments in 10 more projects in Ukraine through 2020, its head representative in the country Jean-Erik de Zagon has told the Kyiv Post. The Bank is currently discussing with Ukrainian authorities and co-investors – such as the EBRD or the World Bank – the development of Kyiv Boryspil Airport, the M14 Mariupol-Kherson highway, and further investments into public transport for five major cities. The Bank is also interested in helping to finance the digitization of Ukrposhta, the state postal service. In 2019, the EIB financed local projects worth a total of 540 million euros.
Road safety remains a top priority for EIB investment, Deputy Infrastructure Minister Natalia Forsiuk said on Feb. 21, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine. The Bank wants to continue support for the implementation of road safety measures at the most dangerous sections of Ukraine’s roads, as over 30,000 injuries and 4,000 deaths are reported annually due to road accidents in Ukraine, according to police. The investment may finance the introduction of intelligent transport systems, and tech innovations like autonomous lighting and automatic control of speed limit violations, Forsiuk said.
The National Bank of Ukraine may launch a digital currency, the e-hryvnia, it has reported. The head of the NBU noted that many central banks are exploring the possibility of introducing their own digital currencies. “The NBU decided to personally test such a technology,” said Smoly, as reported by Novoye Vremya.
Energy expert Edward Chow says Ukraine can reach its energy potential, though some challenges and opportunities lay ahead. Competition is vital, as is better Westward integration, he says. “As the European Union starts its Green Deal, Ukraine must advance toward an efficient low-carbon energy economy to gain access to export markets and integrate with Europe.” However, the estimated trillion cubic meters of natural gas under Ukraine and its offshore shelf should not be ignored either, Chow writes.
There are four main reasons Ukraine’s natural gas production remains low, according to experts who spoke with the Kyiv Post. Namely, political challenges and the dominance of oligarchs, depletion of reserves, overregulation and a lack of ambition hold the sector back.
State Geology Service head Roman Opimakh has said he can improve the situation, and vows openness and transparency. Opimakh became the service’s chairman in November and promises to deliver results in 2020. “This year we are trying to bring in more private investors, which will be ready to spend more money,” he told the Kyiv Post.
Ukraine is seeking preferential import-export agreements with India, China, and the United States through 2020, a top trade representative said. Ukraine wants to improve agreements with countries in North Africa as well as with India and China and the United States, according to economy minister and Ukrainian trade envoy Taras Kachka. “We are not going to initiate new agreements on free trade zones in the near future, but we intend to initiate many preferential agreements. A common language can be found much faster in preferential agreements,” Kachka said on Friday, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine.
Turkey’s Onur Taahhut has won a $490 million contract to build a new bridge in Zaporizhia. It won the tender at a price of Hr 11.9 billion, according to state road agency Ukravtodor. The amount is Hr 440 million, or $18 million lower than Ukravtodor said it expected to get from the tender.
The online gaming industry, which has a large Ukrainian contingent, has grown by $150 billion due to coronavirus, the Financial Times reports. The growth was triggered by a record number of downloads by Chinese users – in one week in China, more than 222 million downloads were made through the Apple store alone as tens of millions of people were confined to their homes.
Ukrainians continue to provide plenty of examples of innovation, having now invented the world’s first smart food container. The team behind it has already raised $90,000 for the product that can heat food, boil water, make smoothies and even keep ice cream cold on the go. “That is a unique experience (the product) Neoven can give you,” Maxim Nakonechnyy, the startup’s CEO, told the Kyiv Post.
