Dynamics of changes in discount rate of NBU – from 2013 to 2024
Source: Open4Business.com.ua
Italy and Spain have made it clear that they are not ready to support the European Union’s proposal to allocate around EUR 40 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year, with each country contributing according to the size of its economy, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Following a meeting on Monday of foreign ministers from the 27 EU member states in Brussels, Kallas said her proposal had “broad political support” and discussions were now moving to the details.
Diplomats said the proposal has some support from northern and eastern European countries. But some southern European capitals were more reticent, reflecting a division between those geographically closer to Russia, which have given more aid to Ukraine, and those farther away, which have given less, as a percentage of their economies.
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy think tank, Estonia, Denmark and Lithuania lead Europe in this area, allocating more than 2 percent of their GDP to aid Kiev between January 2022 and December 2024. At the same time, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus are among those who have allocated the least, committing less than 0.5% of their GDP.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, ministers from Italy and Spain – the EU’s third and fourth largest economies – said it was too early to take a final position on the proposal.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the proposal would need to be discussed in detail in light of upcoming events. “We are waiting for a phone call between Trump and Putin to see if there will be any steps forward to achieve a ceasefire,” he said, adding that Italy must also find money to increase its own defense spending. “There are many expenses that need to be addressed,” he added.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said: “We will see how the debate goes, but there is no decision on this issue yet.”
Albares said Spain had already pledged 1 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine this year. He said Madrid did not have to “wait for the High Representative (Callas – IF-U) to make any proposal” to show that Kiev could count on his support.
China’s BYD Co. plans to choose a country to build a third European plant within seven to eight months, the company’s special adviser for Europe said Tuesday.
“We are not ruling out any options and are now considering any country,” Alfredo Altavilla said, speaking at an auto show in Milan.
“The site selection process for the third plant has already started and we expect to finalize it within seven to eight months,” he added.
BYD is set to start production at an assembly plant in Hungary in October, while the company’s plant in Turkey is due to start operations in March 2026. The combined production capacity of these two plants will be up to 500,000 cars per year.
Earlier, there were media reports that BYD was considering Germany for a new assembly facility, in part because the country spoke out against the imposition of duties on Chinese car imports last year.
Altavilla denied these speculations, calling them devoid of logic. At the same time, he emphasized that a decision has not yet been made.
He noted that the company is guided by several criteria, including the competitiveness of conditions for battery and car production. At the same time, Altavilla added that it is hard to imagine BYD building a plant in a country that treats Chinese cars poorly.
Prices for new buildings will continue to grow in 2025, in the comfort class they can grow by more than 15% by the end of the year, said the press service of the developer Alliance Novobud.
“In business class prices will remain at about the same level, plus 5-10% due to the rise in the cost of building materials. At the same time, in the comfort class prices may increase by more than 15% by the end of the year”, – says Irina Mikhaleva, the company’s SMO.
According to her, the main factors that affect the cost per square meter are a significant increase in the cost of almost all types of building materials, works, as well as the shortage and, accordingly, the growth of labor costs.
She noted that the cost of building materials, prices of transportation services, electricity are constantly growing, and during construction, electricity, in particular, is used a lot. And it becomes even more expensive when generators are used or imported e/e is purchased at a higher price.
“There is a catastrophic shortage of people who can work on construction sites, this is a consequence of mobilization processes, the shortage of personnel is increasing,” Mikhailova listed the factors that have significantly affected the market.
As a consequence, developers are forced to adjust prices. In particular, according to the results of last year, the cost per square meter of housing in the comfort class increased by about 20%.
“This year we are again likely to see the rise in the price of construction materials, our suppliers are already sending new prices, therefore, for the year the cost of new housing in comfort class will again increase by at least 10-15%, and for some objects by 20%”, – she said.
Less growth is expected in business class, one of the factors of more restrained market reaction here is dumping on the part of the secondary market. For example, last summer a large number of “secondary” objects were put up for sale at prices many times less than pre-war prices.
According to Mikhaleva’s forecasts, in 2025 the construction of suburban housing will develop more actively: cottages, townhouses, etc.
“We are also considering the option of such construction, thinking about the possibility of cottage or townhouse project,” she said.
According to the data of the portal of new buildings LUN, Alliance Novobud was founded in 2006, since 2010 the company has commissioned 32 houses, in the process of realization of 9 houses and a country house project.
IC “Express Insurance” (Kiev) in January-February 2025 made payments in the amount of UAH 67,2 mln, which almost corresponds to the indicator for two months a year earlier, the insurer’s website reports. Including payments on CASCO amounted to UAH 53 mln (-12%), while premiums on this type of insurance grew by 21,4%.
Payouts on MTPL amounted to UAH 13 mln, on other insurance contracts – UAH 1,2 mln.
IC “Express Insurance” was founded in 2008 and is a part of the group of companies “UkrAVTO”. It specializes on automobile insurance. Stable high speed of events settlement in IC is provided by optimal interaction with partner service stations.
Since April, 2012 IC Express Insurance is an associated member of the Motor Transport Insurance Bureau of Ukraine.
More than 90% of what Denmark does in terms of support for Ukraine is related to weapons and defense equipment, this is a prerequisite for Ukraine’s survival as a nation, Danish Ambassador to Ukraine Ole Egberg Mikkelsen said.
“Denmark has been very active in terms of supporting Ukraine with defense equipment and weapons. I usually say that we do three things in Ukraine: weapons, weapons and weapons,” he said while speaking to the media on the margins of the U-Lead with Europe event on Tuesday.
At the same time, the ambassador stressed that Denmark also implements important civilian programs.
“But more than 90% of what Denmark does in Ukraine is related to weapons and defense equipment. And this, of course, is a prerequisite for Ukraine’s survival as a nation. If you are not armed, you cannot survive. This is very important for Denmark,” the diplomat emphasized.
And in addition, he recalled the implementation of the “Danish model” of support for Ukraine’s defense industry, which actually finances the purchase of weapons and defense equipment directly from Ukrainian manufacturers.
“And it turned out to be very, very innovative and very effective. This is something that we want to continue because we want Ukraine to stand firmly on its feet, including when it comes to weapons and defense equipment. And you have a huge potential,” the diplomat said.
