During the first day of the work of the checkpoint “Diakivtsi-Rakivets” 145 citizens were checked in and out, including 85 citizens of Ukraine, 56 citizens of Romania, 2 citizens of Italy and 2 citizens of Moldova.
As Ruslan Zaparanyuk, head of the Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration, reports in Telegram with reference to the data of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, also for a day 50 vehicles, including 47 cars and 3 minibuses crossed the new checkpoint.
“The checkpoint operates around the clock for pedestrian and vehicular traffic (including buses). By the decision of the Romanian side, the passage of trucks is temporarily not carried out,” the statement said.
As reported, February 10, Zaparanyuk announced the launch of a new international road border crossing point (IBCP) on the border with Romania “Dyakivtsi Rakovec. The reconstruction of the checkpoint began in 2015 as part of the project “Development of border infrastructure between Ukraine and Romania in the framework of the program “Ukraine-Romania-Moldova (2007-2013)”. Then the work was suspended and resumed in 2021.
International rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Ukraine’s long-term foreign and local currency government and foreign currency senior unsecured debt ratings to “Ca” from “Caa3” and changed its outlook from “negative” to “stable”.
“The downgrade to ‘Ca’ is due to the effects of the war with Russia, which are likely to create long-term problems for Ukraine’s economy and public finances,” the agency said in a statement Saturday night.
These problems increase risks to government debt sustainability, making debt restructuring highly likely with significant losses for private sector creditors, Moody’s said.
The stable outlook, the release noted, reflects balanced risks at a Ca rating, which corresponds to a recovery in the event of a default, typically between 35% and 65%.
“An end to military conflict leading to a significant resumption of economic activity in the near term could result in fewer losses in the event of restructuring, while losses for private investors could be greater than the ‘Ca’ rating implies in the event of further escalation of military conflict,” the agency adds.
It also downgraded Ukraine’s local and foreign currency ceilings to ‘Caa3’ from ‘Caa2’, noting that the one notch gap reflects significant policy uncertainty and unpredictability in the face of very high geopolitical risks, as well as strong external position pressure.
In its baseline scenario, Moody’s expects the war to be protracted and the economy to register a slight contraction of 2% in real GDP in 2023, followed by a moderate recovery in 2024. Despite the high degree of uncertainty in the development of the military conflict, Moody’s expects macroeconomic and financial stability to be maintained.
According to the agency, the successful implementation of the Monitoring Program involving the IMF Board of Directors could pave the way for a funded program as early as this year, which could cement the necessary policy development and improved governance that will be key to financing post-conflict recovery.
Although prospects for EU accession remain very distant, the accession process will spur institutional reforms and anti-corruption efforts, Moody’s added.
According to its forecasts, the budget will remain under significant pressure in 2023 due to large defense and social spending, although the deficit will decline to 8% of GDP (including grants) from 17% of GDP last year, mainly reflecting spending cuts amid limited availability of financing.
Moody’s also expects the current account surplus of 5.7% of GDP in 2022 to turn into a small negative balance in 2023, largely due to a widening trade deficit reflecting reduced export opportunities and sustained imports, particularly of food, fuel, and repair materials.
Ukraine’s public debt burden is growing rapidly, and risks to the debt trajectory are tending to increase, the document also says. According to Moody’s estimates, the debt-to-GDP ratio increased by almost 35 percentage points (p.p.) to 82% of GDP at the end of 2022, and is projected to exceed 90% of GDP by the end of 2023.
The agency adds that the materialization of contingent liabilities of state-owned enterprises, especially in the energy and financial sectors, although difficult to quantify, creates additional fiscal risk.
As a result, Moody’s expects the public debt dynamics to be unsustainable, raising the possibility of a broader debt restructuring, which would lead to significant losses for commercial creditors as official creditors require private sector participation.
“Although there is considerable uncertainty about the timing and form of the restructuring, debt restructuring has become highly likely in light of the prolonged economic turmoil and large financial costs associated with the war,” the agency said.
Airlines worldwide increased passenger turnover in 2022 by 1.6 times (by 64.4%) compared to the previous year, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
As a result, it recovered to 68.5 percent of its pre-pandemic 2019 level.
“The industry ended 2022 in much stronger shape than it started, as most governments lifted travel restrictions during the year because of COVID 19 and people took advantage of the restoration of freedom of movement,” said IATA CEO Willie Walsh. – That momentum is expected to continue into the new year, despite some governments’ overreaction to China’s opening.”
European airlines increased passenger traffic 2.3 times last year. Flight occupancy rose to 80.6 percent from 63.9 percent in 2021.
Traffic on domestic airlines in China fell 39.8% in 2022, while in India it rose 48.8%, in Japan 75.9% and in the U.S. 23.7%, according to the association’s report.
Global airline cargo traffic is down 8 percent from 2021. At the same time, it decreased by 1.6% relative to the 2019 figure.
IATA represents 300 airlines around the world, accounting for about 83% of global air traffic.
The National Agency for Detection, Search and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) has announced a tender for the selection of a manager for the seized assets of IDS Ukraine, which produces and sells mineral water under the Morshinskaya, Mirgorodskaya and Borjomi brands.
As reported in a press release on Friday, the participants of the tender offered the management of corporate rights of the company in the form of 100% share in the authorized capital of the legal entity in the amount of 8.8 million UAH.
In addition, ARMA is looking for the manager of the corporate rights of a foreign company, namely the common uncertificated registered shares of the legal entity specializing in the wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco products, with a total nominal value of UAH 4.5 million.
It is specified, that the acceptance of applications will last till February 22, the documents are being submitted by e-mail of the agency.
As earlier reported, the general director of IDS Ukraine Marko Tkachuk said in reply to Interfax-Ukraine news agency’s inquiry that the transfer of corporate rights of the company totaling more than UAH 10 billion to ARMA would not affect the economic activities of the group.
He reminded that the decision about the transfer of corporate rights of the sanctioned IDS shareholders (citizens of the Russian Federation) to ARMA was made by Shevchenko District Court of Kyiv on November 9 and 11, 2022.
On November 23, the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BES) reported about the arrest of corporate rights of Russian shareholders of IDS Ukraine in order to avoid their withdrawal from Ukraine of assets of seven enterprises for the production and sale of drinking water. According to the BEB, these enterprises are actually owned by them through a non-resident offshore company under their control.
IDS Ukraine is a Ukrainian group of companies founded in 1996, the largest national producer of bottled water. The holding includes Morshynsky mineral water plant “Oskar”, “Mirgorod mineral water plant”, the distribution company “IDS” and water delivery operator “IDS Aqua Service”.
GK owns trade marks “Morshynska”, “Mirgorodskaya”, “Alaska” and “Aqua Life”.
According to the rating of the 100 most expensive Ukrainian brands, compiled by the publication “NV” and MPP Consulting company in 2021, the market value of “Morshynska” brand of IDS Group Ukraine holding was $ 533 million. The total amount of capital investment over the past five years amounted to 2.3 billion UAH.
The largest private clinics in Ukraine expect that the health insurance sector will recover, despite its significant decline due to the war, have restructured their work with insurance companies.
According to the assessment of the medical group of companies (MGC) “Adonis”, the volume of the health insurance market by the equation with 2021 decreased by 30-40%.
“In 2022, Adonis MGC has been loyal to working with insurance companies. We met our obligations and agreements that existed at the time of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. This allowed the insurance companies to meet the terms of the corporate insurance programs,” said Adonis.
Adonis notes, however, that there have been delays in payments for medical services performed since the war began, but the IGC “allowed insurance companies to accept insureds at our medical centers and this allowed the situation to even out.”
“Since February 2022, both Adonis Medical Group Company (MGC) and the insurance companies have restructured their operations and adapted to the circumstances. All insurance companies have found a way to settle with us for prior periods. Many companies have established a process of settlement and payment in a very clear and timely manner. This gives hope that together we will be able to increase the number of insured patients and help even more Ukrainians”, – stressed in “Adonis”.
The MGC noted that “some insurance companies have left the market, but “Providna”, UNIKA, “Ukrainian Group”, ARCS, “Kraina”, “Universalna”, “SOS Service”, the European Insurance Union, UCO, INGO work stably and coherently”.
In turn, the director of corporate sales of the medical network “Dobrobut” Dmitry Grossoo also noted that the share of insurance patients in total sales of “Dobrobut” before the war in 2022 was 25%, while in 2021 – 20%.
“The share of corporate customers in 2022 is up 25% over 2021. This is because the ‘subscription’ format for services has proven to be more sustainable than one-time referrals,” he said.
Gross said that in 2022 corporate insurance programs, about 20% of customers did not renew insurance for a variety of reasons, but “there were customers who were first-time insured who thought it was very important today.”
Commenting on delays in payments under corporate clients’ health insurance programs, the expert noted that “nurse partners have shown themselves to be at their best when it comes to financial discipline during a difficult period for everyone.”
“Our corporate clients have no problem debts to Dobrobut Medical Network,” he said.
Commenting on the prospects for the post-war recovery of the corporate health insurance sector, Grossoo stressed that the development of this sector in Ukraine because of the war continues.
“This is confirmed by the constant, albeit small, dynamics. Difficult times give rise to strong decisions, which become the foundation for growth,” he stressed.
The construction of a building technology campus of Kingspan, an Irish manufacturer of energy-efficient insulation technology, is scheduled to start in 2024, and the company has already started looking for a site in the Lviv region because of its proximity to the border, according to a UkraineInvest press release on Thursday.
According to it, the campus will include six production areas, including the production of insulation materials and district heating solutions. The campus will produce construction products with high added value. The project includes a green, low-carbon manufacturing facility.
Kingspan is reportedly investing more than EUR200 million in the construction. Construction will take about five years. The implementation of the project will create 600-800 new jobs.
Kingspan was founded in 1965 in Ireland, specialized in production of building solutions for building envelopes (roofs, walls, facades), as well as protective walls, cold doors, high-tech solid urethane and solid phenolic thermal insulation for roofs, walls, floors and pipelines. It operates 200 production facilities around the world. The company came to Ukraine in 2005.
In April 2022, Kingspan announced the completion of its exit from the Russian business. Russia accounted for less than 1% of the company’s global operations. It also donated $750,000 to UNICEF to set up five Blue Dot centers to help refugees on the Ukrainian border.
UkraineInvest, the Investment Attraction and Support Office of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, provides organizational and advisory support for investors to prepare projects for implementation.
