Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

NUMBER OF BUYERS OF MILITARY BONDS AMONG POPULATION AND BUSINESS INCREASES TO 1.7 THOUSAND LAST WEEK

The number of buyers of domestic government bonds (OVGZ) among the population and businesses increased to 1.7 thousand last week from 1.5 thousand a week earlier.
As reported on the website of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on Monday, citing data from the depository, the purchase amounted to about UAH 0.3 billion, $24 million and EUR3.2 million, compared to about UAH 0.3 billion, $1.4 million, respectively. and EUR0.1 million the week before last.
“As of April 25, more than 9.1 thousand citizens and business representatives of Ukraine became owners of military government bonds in the amount of about UAH 5.8 billion, $36 million and EUR25.2 million,” the National Bank said.
The regulator recalled that since the placement of military government bonds on March 1 at 20 primary auctions, the Ministry of Finance was able to attract about UAH 36.6 billion, $93.8 million and EUR176.5 million to the state budget.
“The largest portfolio of military government bonds is still concentrated among primary dealer banks,” the NBU specified.
According to him, the volume of investments by non-residents has remained stable over the past few weeks – more than UAH 50 million.
As reported, the total volume of issuance of military bonds is up to UAH 400 billion. They can be bought by the National Bank, which has already purchased these securities under a separate procedure for UAH 60 billion, including UAH 20 billion last week and the week before last.
The nominal rate on hryvnia government bonds is 10-11% per annum, on dollars – 3.7%, on euros – 2.5%. The term of circulation is up to 15 months.

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MOST UKRAINIAN ORPHAN PATIENTS REMAINED AT HOME – EUROPEAN ORGANIZATION EURORDIS

The majority of Ukrainian orphan patients did not evacuate and remained in Ukraine, but there is no official data, the European Organization for Rare Diseases EURORDIS reported.
“There is no official data on the number of people with rare diseases who left the country. According to unofficial data and feedback from patient organizations, most people remained in Ukraine because they need additional support to leave the country, as well as the help of humanitarian organizations that can contribute to medical evacuation,” the organization told Interfax-Ukraine.
EURORDIS noted that the EU has a developed network of medical institutions specializing in rare diseases that accept patients from Ukraine. At the same time, patients remaining in Ukraine do not have the opportunity to go to such centers without additional assistance.
EURORDIS reported that in all EU countries, Ukrainians are given the same access to medical care as citizens of the country in which they are. At the same time, for many patients with orphan diseases in European countries, there are different methods of treatment than those used in Ukraine, which help to cope with symptoms, prolong life or prevent deterioration.
“In many cases, people living with rare diseases in Ukraine are treated with drugs other than those in an EU country. In such cases, the EU will work with families to identify the most appropriate substitutes. However, this means that a patient with a rare disease it is necessary to contact a specialized center,” emphasizes EURORDIS.
As reported, Airbnb provides patients with rare (orphan) diseases leaving Ukraine with free housing for a period of a month. The project is being implemented as part of a partnership with Airbnb, which is implementing a larger Airbnb.org program to provide housing for 100,000 refugees leaving Ukraine. At the same time, EURORDIS collects information on the situation of migrants with orphan diseases and their needs for short-term housing. Based on this information, Airbnb.org, after reviewing the request, will issue a voucher for booking accommodation through its platform.
The European Organization for Rare Diseases EURORDIS brings together almost 1000 patient organizations in 74 countries.
In Ukraine, there are about 2 million people living with rare diseases (such as spinal muscular atrophy).

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PRICE OF BITCOIN FELL TO $38223, WHICH IS 20% LOWER THAN PEAK LEVEL RECORDED LAST MONTH

The rate of bitcoin against the US dollar fell on Monday to a minimum of six weeks against the backdrop of a general risk aversion from investors due to signals of the “hawkish” mood of the Federal Reserve System (Fed).
The value of the cryptocurrency fell during trading to the lowest level since March 15, $38,223, which is 20% lower than the peak level recorded last month. As of 15:00 CST, the bitcoin rate is $38,812.
Ether (Ether) on Monday fell to $ 2799 – a minimum since March 18.
Experts note that technical analysis indicators point to the possibility of a further rollback of bitcoin.
“Bitcoin breaks a key two-month trend line, which could mean a further pullback to January lows,” said Fundstrat analyst Mark Newton, quoted by Market Watch. He expects bitcoin to drop to $36,300, and if it goes lower, he could test the $32,950 level.
Currently, bitcoin is closer to the lower end of the $35,000-45,000 price range in which it has been trading since the beginning of this year.
The dynamics of the cryptocurrency clearly correlates with the dynamics of the Nasdaq 100 index of technology companies, with a negative correlation with the dollar.
As investors wait for a substantial increase in the base interest rate by the Federal Reserve System (Fed) in the coming months, some of the factors that support the demand for cryptocurrencies are fading away.
“As it becomes more profitable to hold dollars, investors can shift funds from bitcoin or gold,” Nydig experts say. “We see a negative correlation of bitcoin’s performance with both the dollar and interest rates.”
Bitcoin’s momentum is still largely driven by fundamental factors such as user growth and the expansion of the crypto usage network, but it’s important to understand the emerging macroeconomic links as well, says Nydig.

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U.S. PRESIDENT PLANS TO NOMINATE BRIDGET BRINK AS US AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE

U.S. President Joseph Biden intends to nominate Bridget Brink as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine.
“Today, President Biden announced his intention to nominate veteran U.S. diplomat Bridget A. Brink to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ukraine,” the White House said on its website on Monday.
Bridget A. Brink, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the Slovak Republic. Prior to that, she served as Senior Advisor and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, with responsibility for issues related to Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. She also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Tbilisi, Georgia. Brink spent her twenty-five-year career in the Foreign Service focused on advancing U.S. policy in Europe and Eurasia. She was the Director for the Aegean and the South Caucasus at the National Security Council and served in the State Department as the Deputy Director for Southern European Affairs, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, and Cyprus Desk Officer. She began her career in Belgrade, Serbia.
Originally from Michigan, Brink is the recipient of numerous performance awards. She holds Master’s degrees in International Relations and Political Theory from the London School of Economics and Political Science, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Kenyon College. She speaks Russian and has studied Slovak, Serbian, Georgian, and French.

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PASSENGER TRAFFIC ON WESTERN BORDER OF UKRAINE FELL SHARPLY ON EASTER

Passenger traffic on the western border of Ukraine on the day of the celebration of the Eastern rite of Easter by Christians has almost halved compared to the recent average – to 33,000, becoming the lowest since the beginning of the war, the State Border Service reported on Monday.
As the agency pointed out on Facebook, the flow to leave on Sunday, April 24, decreased to 16 thousand from 24 thousand the day before, while the flow to enter – to more than 17 thousand from 33 thousand, including Ukrainians – to more than 15 thousand from 30 thousand
Thus, for the fourth day in a row, the entry flow exceeded the exit flow: in total, over these days, according to the State Border Service, 23,000 people entered Ukraine, or 22.3% more than they left.
The agency clarified that over the past day, the number of registered vehicles with humanitarian cargo fell to 120 from 450 the day before.
According to data from the Polish Border Service on Twitter, on April 24, 11.8 thousand entered Ukraine from the country against 21.1 thousand the day before. In the opposite direction, the flow amounted to 9.8 thousand, which is 35% less than on April 23 (15.1 thousand), and over the first 7 hours of Monday it decreased by another 31% to 1.8 thousand.
In total, since the beginning of the war, the Polish border agency points out, 2.944 million people have entered the country from Ukraine, and 860 thousand in the opposite direction.
According to UNHCR data, as of 13:00 on April 24, a total of 5.23 million people left Ukraine since the beginning of the war (excluding the entry flow), of which 2.91 million went to Poland, 843.74 thousand to Romania and Moldova. , Russia – 605.82 thousand, Hungary – 492.98 thousand, Slovakia – 355.59 thousand, Belarus – 24.48 thousand.
At the same time, according to the State Border Service, 1.17 million people have entered Ukraine by this date since February 28.

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EUROPEAN UNION COORDINATES EVACUATION OF PATIENTS IN NEED OF MEDICAL CARE FROM UKRAINE

In response to Ukraine’s request for the evacuation of patients in need of medical care and forced to leave the country due to the war unleashed by Russia, the European Union is coordinating the relevant work, as well as financing the medical aircraft involved in the transportation.
Balazs Ujvari, representative of the European Commission, announced this on Monday in Brussels.
“As the war continues and people continue to leave the country, health care systems in neighboring countries are under significant strain in Poland, Slovakia, Moldova. For the evacuation of patients in need of medical care, Ukraine requested assistance from the EU. In response, the EU coordinated the evacuation of nearly 200 people through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to eleven European countries. The first RESCEU medical evacuation aircraft funded by the EU has been operational since March and is being accepted by Norway, a member state of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism,” he said.
Ujvari also listed the countries that accept Ukrainian patients. These are Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Romania, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain and Portugal.

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