International Monetary Fund reorients its loan program for Ukraine. Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have refocused their negotiations for further financial assistance. The aid program will now last for 18 months, instead of previously planned 36 months, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice has said. “Given the unprecedented uncertainty surrounding the economic and financial outlook and the need to focus policy priorities on near-term containment and stabilization, negotiations have shifted to this 18-month stand-by arrangement,” Rice said. After the economic situation in Ukraine is stabilized, they can return to the previous program proposal. Previously, Ukraine was hoping for $8 billion in aid from the IMF. While the size of the new program has not been specified, it will certainly be smaller — bad news for a country that needed the money long before COVID-19 struck.
The IMF has appointed a new head in Ukraine. The fund installed Ivanna Vladkova-Hollar as the head of its mission in Ukraine. She replaces Ron van Rooden. Vladkova-Hollar, a Bulgarian citizen, has significant experience in developing economies, IMF representative in Ukraine Goesta Ljungman has said. Vladkova-Hollar previously led the IMF mission in Moldova and North Macedonia.
The SBU has searched the home of Serhiy Verlanov, ex-chief of Ukraine’s tax service, in an alleged money laundering case. It was one of over a hundred other searches conducted across Ukraine within the framework of the investigation into the activities of a money-laundering center allegedly under the shelter of the tax service.
Ukraine’s central bank bought $500 million from the EBRD. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) have agreed on a swap of $500 million to increase the availability of financing in hryvnia for local companies that were affected by the coronavirus pandemic. “The dollar-hryvnia swap facility will enable the EBRD to secure reliable access to hryvnia liquidity and provide local currency loans to new and existing clients,” the NBU has stated. The EBRD has invested 15 billion euros in Ukraine. For Ukraine, this swap means enlarging its national reserves of foreign currency.
Ukrainians are using less electricity. Ukraine used 8% less electricity in April 2020 than during the same month last year, national energy company Ukrenergo has reported. In total, Ukrainians used 9 billion kilowatts. The biggest cuts happened in the transport industry (17%) and by municipal companies (12%). Warmer weather and quarantine measures, which suspended business activity, are the main reasons, Ukrenergo stated. Only the agricultural industry increased its electricity consumption – by 6%.
Ukraine and the U.S. have discussed developing their strategic partnership. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Mike Pompeo, U.S. secretary of state, had a phone call to discuss economic cooperation during the pandemic, the foreign ministry announced on May 6. They talked “not for the sake of diplomatic formality, but in order to strengthen the true friendship between the people of Ukraine and America,” Kuleba said. Ukraine offered to export foods to the U.S. and invited production offices of American firms to come to the country.
Kyivstar has seen a 16% rise in revenue in the first quarter of 2020. Ukraine’s biggest mobile operator increased its revenues by 16.1% in January–March year-over-year to $220 million, its parent company Veon has reported. The increase was primarily driven by mobile data, owing to continuous 4G rollout, increased traffic and new pricier tariffs.
Ukraine cut copper imports by 17% and exports by 22.6% in 2020. Ukrainian enterprises reduced the import of copper and copper products in value terms by 17% in January–April 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, to an amount worth $30 million, the State Customs Service reported. Meanwhile, exports of copper decreased by 22.6%, to $22.5 million.
Ukraine may launch a network of national tourist centers. Ukraine’s government is planning to create a national network of tourist information centers and a unified national tourism portal in 2021, Maryana Oleskiv, head of the State Tourism Agency, said. However, implementation will depend on funding, she added.
Zelensky has invited Qatar to invest in Ukraine’s infrastructure. Ukraine is ready to consider mutually beneficial projects for investment cooperation with Qatar, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a phone conversation with Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, emir of Qatar. Zelensky asked Qatar to invest in Ukrainian roads, seaports and hospitals and promised protection to the investors.
