The total public debt of Ukraine in May 2021 grew by 0.21% in U.S. dollars, to $91.52 billion and decreased by 0.69% in hryvnias, to UAH 2.516 trillion, according to data on the website of the Ministry of Finance, published in Friday.
According to the Ministry of Finance, direct public debt in May this year in U.S. dollars increased 0.16%, to $81.5 billion, in hryvnias it decreased 0.75%, to UAH 2.241 trillion.
External direct debt in the past month in U.S. dollars grew by 0.16%, to $45.19 billion, and in hryvnias it decreased 0.74%, to UAH 1.242 trillion.
The state-guaranteed debt in May in U.S. dollars increased by 0.7%, to $10.02 billion, in hryvnias it decreased 0.26%, to UAH 275.54 billion, according to the ministry’s data.
According to them, since the beginning of 2021, the total national debt of Ukraine has grown by 1.4% in U.S. dollars and by 17.51% in hryvnias.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the share of liabilities in U.S. dollars of the overall government debt in May increased to 36.21%, in hryvnias it also grew to 36.21%, in SDR it rose to 13.59%, but the share of liabilities in euros decreased to 13. 39%, and in yen to 0.59%.
The official U.S. dollar rate, at which the Ministry of Finance calculates the debt, strengthened to UAH 27.50/$1 in May compared to UAH 27.75/$1 in April, and UAH 27.88/$1 in March.
The volume of Ukrainian e-commerce exports in 2020 increased by 30% and amounted to $450 million, while the majority of Ukrainian e-commerce platforms are designed exclusively for the local consumer, according to a study of the Ukrainian e-commerce market conducted by Soul Partners, Baker Tilly Ukraine and Aequo at supported by USAID.
“Prospects for the development of the export potential of e-commerce remain at a relatively low level. According to the results of the survey, over 85% of respondents declared the absence of export operations using e-commerce, while the majority of the interviewed entrepreneurs are extremely interested in the development of e-exports,” Partner and Advisory Practice Leader at Baker Tilly Ukraine Andriy Kaliushenko said.
According to the study, Ukrainian electronic exports are mainly represented through international platforms such as Amazon, Ebay and Etsy, while most Ukrainian platforms do not provide the possibility of export operations or international delivery.
The largest importer of Ukrainian goods at the end of the year was the United States, which share was 33% of the total Ukrainian e-commerce export. In second place is Russia (16%), followed by the U.K., Germany and Canada (4-7%). At the same time, a third of export operations in Ukraine falls on Kyiv, 10% on Kharkiv, and 8% on Dnipro. Products from the categories of food products, clothing and medicines dominated in the structure of export sales.
By the end of 2020, Ukrposhta became the largest logistics operator of international parcels (65% of the total number of parcels).
According to the authors of the study, the main obstacle to the development of e-commerce export is the non-recognition of Ukrainian certificates of conformity in the EU.
“The implementation of the Association Agreement by Ukraine and the mutual recognition of electronic signatures with the EU countries would have contributed to the integration of markets,” Partner and of Head of M&A at Aequo Hanna Babych said.
In addition, the entry of global e-commerce players into the Ukrainian market and the expansion of PayPal’s functionality could increase the potential of e-export, according to the study.
The Ministry of Health announced a record number of citizens vaccinated against COVID-19, a total of 97,130 people were vaccinated on June 25.
“A record number of vaccinations per day in Ukraine! 97,130 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 on June 25, 2021,” the Ministry of Health’s Telegram channel said on Saturday.
A total of 36,540 people received one dose, 60,590 citizens were fully immunized.
Since the beginning of the vaccination campaign, 1.871.511 people have been vaccinated, of which 1.871.509 people received one dose, 550,966 people are fully immunized (two doses) (two of them are abroad).
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has taken a number of measures to counter the Delta strain coronavirus, in particular, foreigners and stateless persons over 12 years of age arriving in the country from India, the U.K. and Northern Ireland, the Russian Federation and Portugal are obliged to do antigen tests, according to a posting on the website of the Ministry of Health with reference to Deputy Minister of Health, Chief State Sanitary Doctor Ihor Kuzin.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has signed law No. 2195 on amending the Land Code of Ukraine and the law “On land lease” regarding the sale of state and municipal land plots or rights to them at electronic auctions, the parliament’s website said on Thursday.
Law No. 2195, which the parliament adopted on May 18, ensures publicity and transparency of the sale and transfer for use of land plots of state and communal property in the electronic system of auctions conducted on the Internet in the format of an auction in real time.
The document specifies that land tenders will be held in accordance with the agreement between the organizer of the tenders and the operator of the electronic platform. The decision to hold a land auction will be made by their organizer, indicating the starting price of the lot, the term and other conditions for the use of the land plot, as well as the person authorized by him to conclude the relevant contract.
The amount of remuneration to the operator of the electronic platform, the procedure for its payment and return, as well as other details of the organization of land auctions will be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in the future in accordance with the established procedure.
Based on the results of the auction, a contract of purchase and sale, lease, development rights or inheritance of the land will be concluded with the participant who offered the highest price (price offer) for the land plot or the highest payment for its use.
As reported, according to the explanatory note to the document, the adoption of Law No. 2195 will optimize the legislation on the sale and transfer of land plots of state and municipal property for use, improve and speed up the mechanisms and procedures for its sale and transfer, increase the economic efficiency of auctions and increase receipts in state and local budgets.
A laboratory for the production of diagnostic test systems was opened in the territory of Ecopolis HTZ business park in Kharkiv on June 24.
According to the press service of Kharkiv City Council, the opening ceremony was attended by secretary of the city council Ihor Terekhov, president of DCH Group, which includes Ecopolis HTZ, Oleksandr Yaroslavsky and chief sanitary doctor of Ukraine Ihor Kuzin.
“I am sure that these test systems will be in demand all over the world. And it is great that young people, our students, who will be able to practice here, mastering new technologies, will work here. We want to ensure that the best specialists stayed in our country,” the press service quotes Terekhov.
According to Yaroslavsky, $ 2 million was invested in the laboratory. It will be engaged in the development and production of molecular biological diagnostic test systems, in particular, PCR tests for the detection of COVID-19, including the new Delta strain, PCR tests for influenza, and in the long term – for cancer.
The next stage in the formation of Ecopolis HTZ, according to Yaroslavsky, will be the presentation of a Kharkiv-made tram, which is scheduled for autumn.
As reported, Ecopolis HTZ business park is a long-term investment project of Oleksandr Yaroslavsky’s DCH Group. It is being created on the basis of Kharkiv Tractor Plant, and the plant itself will become an anchor resident of the industrial cluster.
