Number of applicants per vacancy (comparison) as of 01.06.2023
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
The Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko has expressed concern about the strengthening of the hryvnia and expects the exchange rate to weaken to 41.4 UAH/$1.
“We are concerned about the strengthening of the hryvnia… For the next year, we expect the exchange rate to be 41.4 UAH/$1,” he said at the European Business Association’s “EBA Global Outlook: Ukraine’s New Economy” in Kyiv on Monday.
The minister clarified that he was referring to the forecast of the Ministry of Economy and other authorized structures, which the Ministry of Finance is guided by.
Marchenko told reporters that it was an average annual rate.
Speaking about concerns about the strengthening of the hryvnia, the Finance Minister emphasized that “there are no fundamental factors for this.” According to him, this is a disadvantage for export-oriented businesses and the country’s economy in general. Marchenko added that “exports are not growing at all,” while the situation with imports is the opposite.
At the same time, the minister clarified that he is not in favor of any sharp devaluation.
The National Bank has kept the official hryvnia exchange rate fixed at 36.57 UAH/$1 since the end of July 2022. On the cash market, the exchange rate has stabilized at around 38 UAH/$1 this year, while last year it was falling to 39 UAH/$1 and even more.
In a September survey, members of the European Business Association predicted an average annual exchange rate of 41 UAH/$1 for 2024, while a year ago they expected 43 UAH/$1 for 2023.
In January-August this year, Ukrainian enterprises increased exports of ferrous scrap by 3.9 times compared to the same period last year, up to 117,464 thousand tons.
According to the statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), in monetary terms, exports of scrap metal amounted to $34.127 million in the period under review (up 2.7 times).
At the same time, the export of scrap metal has been growing since March: in January, about 8.28 thousand tons of scrap were exported, in February – 16.5 thousand tons, in March – 15.45 thousand tons, in April – about 16.19 thousand tons, in May – 21.003 thousand tons, in June – 14.6 thousand tons, in July – 9.567 thousand tons, in August – 15.849 thousand tons.
Scrap metal was exported to Poland (86.20%), Greece (7.91%) and Bulgaria (3.19%).
In the first two months of the year, the country did not import scrap metal; in March-August, it imported 681 tons of scrap worth $261 thousand (49.43% from Slovakia, 21.07% from Poland, 10.73% from Estonia).
Earlier, Ukrmetallurgprom President Oleksandr Kalenkov stated in a column on the Interfax-Ukraine website that scrap metal is exported through the European Union, which has a preferential export duty of EUR3 per ton, and from there the raw materials are redirected to real customers. Exporting raw materials directly to customers would cost EUR180 in export duty, and the Ukrainian budget has already lost UAH 350 million.
According to him, the State Bureau of Investigation has already taken an interest in such export schemes.
The head of Ukrmetallurgprom called for a temporary ban on the export of ferrous scrap to provide steelmakers with strategically important raw materials in the ongoing war.
“If the scrap metal remains in the country, more than 500,000 people will be employed and the country will receive millions in foreign exchange earnings from steel exports. At the same time, the military will also benefit, as steelmakers do a lot to help the military by purchasing equipment and vehicles for them and even producing bulletproof vests. No one benefits from scrap exports. That is why the government should be proactive and temporarily ban exports until the situation stabilizes and ceases to threaten national economic security,” Kalenkov said.
He clarified that a ton of scrap metal processed into steel brings in 10 times more to the budget than the EU export duty, which is about $300 per ton.
As reported, in 2022, Ukraine reduced exports of ferrous scrap by 11.5 times compared to the previous year to 53,557 thousand tons, while in monetary terms it decreased by 12.4 times to $19.271 million. At the same time, last year the country reduced imports of scrap metal in physical terms by 12.6 times to 1,824 thousand tons. tons, compared to the previous year – to $19.271 million tons, in monetary terms by 12.9 times – to $3.488 million. Imports of scrap metal in 2022 were mainly from Turkey (78.92% of supplies in monetary terms), the Russian Federation (13.25%) and Cyprus (5.08%); exports – to Turkey (38.97%), Poland (34.25%) and Greece (10.12%).
South Korea will provide Ukraine with $2.3 billion for post-war reconstruction: an initial $300 million in 2024 in humanitarian aid and the rest in low-interest loans from 2025, South Korean President Yun Suk-yeol said, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency wrote.
“South Korean President Yun Suk-yeol on Sunday pledged to provide Ukraine with an additional $2.3 billion to help the country restore peace and recover from its war with Russia. Yoon announced the pledge during a session at the G20 summit in New Delhi, saying South Korea will provide an initial $300 million in 2024 in humanitarian aid and the remaining $2 billion in long-term aid – low-interest loans through the Economic Development and Cooperation Fund (EDCF) starting in 2025,” the agency said.
“This will demonstrate our responsible role as a global pivot power in leading assistance to restore peace in Ukraine and lay the foundation for our full participation in Ukraine’s reconstruction,” Yoon Seok-yeol said.
As previously reported, Seoul earlier increased the amount of financial assistance to Ukraine under the state budget to $393 million in 2024.
NAEK Energoatom and the US-based Westinghouse have signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation on the introduction of SMR 300 small modular reactors in Ukraine, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reports.
According to Westinghouse President Patrick Fragman, the SMR 300 will be a good complement to the larger capacity AP 1000 reactors.
Similar memorandums have already been signed by Westinghouse with Slovakia and Finland.
NAEK and Westinghouse also signed a memorandum to extend the exclusivity period of cooperation for the construction of AP1000 units in Ukraine.
“Certain equipment for the construction of AP1000 in Ukraine has already been manufactured in the United States and thus we will accelerate the process of delivery and construction of the unit,” he specified.
In the second meeting in the Euro 2024 qualifier with England, the Ukrainian national team drew 1-1 for the first time, Suspilne Sport reported on Saturday.
The match took place in Wroclaw, Poland. During the first half, Ukraine scored a goal in the 26th minute, scored by Oleksandr Zinchenko from a pass from Yukhym Konoplya. The English continued to put pressure on Anatoliy Trubin’s goal, and in the 41st minute Kyle Walker scored the equalizer. In the second half, Englishman Bukayo Saka came close to success, but his shot hit the crossbar. The Ukrainian national team successfully held off the opponent until the end of the match and earned a point – 1:1.
This is the second meeting of the teams since the beginning of the year, on March 26, the English won a 2-0 home victory at Wembley Stadium in London thanks to goals by Harry Kane and Bukayo Saku.
As a result, the Ukrainian national team moved to second place in the group standings with seven points. England is in the lead (14 points), Italy is in third place with three points, followed by North Macedonia, also with three points, and Malta, which has not scored any points.
The next match of the Ukrainian national team will be held on Tuesday, September 12, in Milan, where it will meet the Italian national team.
