The weekly report summarizes recent economic and business news in Ukraine for the period of April 8th to 14th, 2019. It notes that Ukraine's new Insolvency Code was signed and is expected to improve business rankings. The IMF improved its assessment of Ukraine's account deficit for 2019. EU officials claimed Ukraine has successfully integrated economically with the EU, with 42% of exports now going to Europe. Ukraine's national debt as a percentage of GDP is projected to continue declining through 2024.

1. WEEKLY REPORT
April 8th → April 14th, 2019

2. President Petro Poroshenko signed the new Insolvency Code. It is expected to help
improve Ukraine’s position in Doing Business ranking and stimulate the growth of private
sector. It also introduces an opportunity for individuals to file for insolvency
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has improved the assessment of the account
deficit of Ukraine's balance of payments for 2019 – 2.5% of GDP compared to 2.9% of
GDP in the previous outlook from the Fund. According to the report, current account
deficit for 2020, on the contrary, has worsened: to 2.4% of GDP from 2.2% of GDP
EU Delegation to Ukraine claimed that the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association
Agreement is showing positive results, and Ukraine has been successfully integrating into
the EU in economic terms. The Union already sees the first positive results of the
implementation. Five years ago, 25% of Ukrainian exports went to European markets,
and last year this figure grew to 42%
The ratio of Ukraine's total state debt to GDP after falling from 71.9% of GDP in 2017 to
63.9% in 2018 will decrease to 62% by the end of 2019, as said in World Economic
Outlook by IMF. According to the report, this figure will continue to decline in the
following years: in 2020 to 57.9%, in 2021 to 53.8%, in 2022 to 49.8%, in 2023 to
46.2%, and in 2024 to 43.7% of GDP
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'B-/B' long- and short-term foreign and local currency
sovereign credit ratings on Ukraine. The outlook is stable
International money transfers to Ukraine hit the new record – more than USD 14 billion in
2018, up about 19% over 2017, as the World Bank reported. This surge in Ukraine also
reflects a revised methodology for estimating incoming transfers, as well as growth of
demand or migrant workers in neighboring countries'. The largest amount of transfers to
Ukraine in 2018 came from Poland, Russia, USA, Czech Republic and Italy
WEEKLY REPORT April 8th → April 14th, 2019
Business climate in Ukraine
GDP growth +3.3%
Export $4,066
Import $4,066
Industrial output -2.5%
CPI 8.9%
Oil
Coal
Natural
Gas
Iron Ore
Copper
Corn
Wheat
USD/bbl
USD/ton
USD/MWh
USD/ton USD/bushel
2018, y-o-y
Jan - Jan 2019
Jan-Jan 2019 y-o-y
Jan – Jan 2019
Jan-Jan 2019 y-o-y
Jan - Feb 2019, y-o-y
Feb 2019
Macroeconomic indicators
Jan - Mar 2019, y-o-y
Mar 2019
UAH/USD (NBU, average) 26.83
Source: Ukrstat, NBU
71.55
63.80
19.00
93.79
USD/ton
USD/bushel
6463.5
3.70
4.69
million
+9,2%
+0,7%
-1,8%
8,6%
million

3. Interpipe Holdings could issue loan participation notes for USD 330 million at up to 10.25%
per annum and due on December 31, 2024. It is planned that the bonds will be
depreciable: USD 150 million of them will be repaid before December 31, 2023
A year after receiving the 4G license, one of the largest mobile communications operator in
Ukraine, Kyivstar, has built LTE network covering 4,587 localities where 58% of the
Ukrainian population live. The development of 3G and 4G communications in Ukraine cost
Kyivstar UAH 22.5 billion in 2015-2018, of which UAH 7 billion was paid for licenses for new
communication technologies, UAH 3.5 billion – for using frequencies, and UAH 12 billion
was invested in the construction of communication networks
Ukrtelekom will invest around USD 10 million in the development of the high-speed fiber
optic Internet network powered with GPON technology in almost 300 small towns and
villages. Almost USD 50 million was raised from Slovenia's SID Bank, a promotional
development and export bank, for this project
SolarGaps became the first Ukrainian startup which received SME Instrument Horizon 2020
Phase 2 grant. The startup secured EUR 1 million of equity free funding for
commercialization of world’s first smart blinds with solar panels. Thereby, SolarGaps got to
top 5% of European innovative startups to have successfully won the SME Instrument
Phase 2 grant
Emerging Europe Growth Fund III, LP (EEGF III) of Horizon Capital has acquired a minority
stake in Dobrobut, one of the leading private healthcare service providers in Ukraine. In the
nearest future Dobrobut will open another medical facility in Kyiv, 10,000 sq m, which will
offer top-notch surgery, oncology and cardiology services
EBRD, European Union and Greencubator have selected 5 Ukrainian “green” projects to
participate in Climate Innovation Vouchers grant program. Startups Delfast, Integro-SD,
Integral Complex Systems, IOT Trade, Obolon Oil will receive €100, 000 for further
development
WEEKLY REPORT April 8th → April 14th, 2019
Ukrainian Business News
Chevron would buy shale producer Anadarko Petroleum for USD 33
billion in cash and stock that will make it the 2nd largest crude oil
producer in the world. The combined company will produce around 3.9
million barrels of oil equivalent per day
Volkswagen is about to purchase a big stake in its Chinese electric
vehicle joint venture partner JAC Motors and has tapped Goldman
Sachs as an adviser on the plan. Shanghai-listed JAC has a market
value of about USD 1.9 billion
Uber unveils IPO with warning the company may never make a profit.
The S-1 filing underscores Uber’s rapid growth in the last 3 years but
also has a string of public scandals and increased competition from
rivals have weighed on its plans to attract and retain riders. Uber lost
USD 3.03 billion in 2018
Amazon.com had acquired Canvas Technology, a robotics startup,
that has built autonomous carts that can move goods around
warehouses. Amazon has increasingly automated its fulfillment centers
with robots, originally from Kiva Systems, which it acquired for USD 775
million in 2012
Morgan Stanley has won an auction to buy an additional 5.5% stake in
its China mutual funds joint venture, in a deal that will make it the top
shareholder of Morgan Stanley Huaxin Fund Management. The bid to
buy the additional stake for USD 3.73 million
Payments firm Network International, set to be London’s biggest initial
public offering of the year so far, will be priced at between 430 pence
and 450 pence per share. The range was narrowed from a previous
range of 395 pence to 465 pence per share and books are “multiple
times oversubscribed throughout this price range”, as Morgan Stanley
said
World Business News