The state-owned Ukreximbank (Kyiv) began selling non-core assets received as repayment of non-performing loans (NPL), in particular, it put up for sale 16 lots of real estate in Kyiv and regional centers with a total value of UAH 1 billion, Head of Restructuring and Recovery Department of Ukreximbank Oleh Lazovsky has said. “For the first time in the history of Ukreximbank, it begins the sale of non-core assets. These are mainly real estate, which the bank received as repayment of debt on NPL over ten years […] Some 16 lots have already been put up for sale through the SETAM trading system in the amount of over UAH 1 billion,” he said at a press conference hosted by Interfax-Ukraine.
According to Lazovsky, these objects were acquired by the bank in ownership back in 2009-2013, but the bank did not take measures to sell them.
Managing Partner of the National Electronic Stock Exchange Yevhenia Bozhko said that six out of 16 objects are located in Kyiv, and the rest are located in the regional centers of Ukraine, including Mykolaiv, Dnipro, Uzhgorod, Poltava, Khmelnytsky and Chernihiv.
“There are three architectural monuments in our pool of assets in Kyiv […] One of the architectural monuments is an object with an area of 5,400 square meters in the very center of Podil […] At present, it is an office center,” Bozhko said.
According to her, two more architectural monuments are located in the center of Kyiv, not far from the Independence Square (Maidan), and have a three-century history. The windows of one of the buildings overlook Mala Zhytomyrska Street, and the second – Sofiyivska Square, Bozhko said.
She said that the auction for the sale of 16 lots will be held on June 29 through the electronic platform OpenMarket of the state-owned enterprise SETAM and the acceptance of applications has already started.
Lazovsky added that Ukreximbank will hold such auctions in the future.
Ukreximbank was established in 1992, its sole owner is the state.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2021, Ukreximbank ranked third in terms of total assets (UAH 246.877 billion) among 73 banks operating in the country.
The European Business Association (EBA), in partnership with Huawei Ukraine and SAP Ukraine, has conducted an expert study of the current state of digital transformation deployment at private and public levels.
The study was conducted from March 29 to April 14, 2021, according to a joint report by the companies. It covered 130 general, executive and technical directors of EBA member companies.
The majority of respondents assess the volume and quality of the provision of state electronic services as high or satisfactory (7% and 55%, respectively). Among the most widespread electronic government services, the respondents rated the work of the Diia single portal of government services the best of all.
At the same time, according to the respondents, the development of digital infrastructure, as well as improving access to the use of modern technologies (digital inclusion) are definitely priority tasks for the state.
Thus, 47% of respondents assess the level of development of digital infrastructure as moderate, 42% – as low or very low. The majority of respondents also rated the level of digital inclusion as low or very low (54%).
At the same time, 55% of respondents believe that the level of digital transformation of their industries is moderate, 16% – high, another 6% – very high. At the same time, 23% consider it low or very low.
Of the directors surveyed, 41% rate the digital literacy level of their employees as moderate, 13% as low, and 46% as high.
In addition, 47% of directors rated the level of digital development of their business as moderate, 39% think it is high, another 5% – very high. Only 9% of respondents consider the level of digital transformation of their companies to be low.
At the same time, the overwhelming majority (89% of those surveyed) admitted that the corporate strategy of their company contains the goals of digital transformation.
According to the results of the survey, the integral indicator of the digital transformation index of Ukraine amounted to 2.81 points out of five possible and found itself in the negative plane.
According to the research methodology, the integral indicator of the index consists of five equivalent components: the general level of digital transformation of companies; digital transformation of industries; development of digital infrastructure; digital inclusion; volume and quality of state electronic services.
“We are witnessing a dynamic growth of the Ukrainian IT market. However, there are certain barriers that hinder the development of digitalization due to the rather complex regulation of the industry, emigration of specialists, weak infrastructure support for new projects, restrictions on the use of cloud technologies in the public sector, etc. This is confirmed by the results of an expert study,” Director of SAP Ukraine Maxim Matyash said.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has proposed to the Verkhovna Rada to make the import of 120,000 tonnes of sugar duty-free until October 1, 2021 to stabilize the situation on the market for this product.
The government approved the corresponding draft law at a meeting on June 2.
The draft law proposes to the Verkhovna Rada to supplement Section XXI “Final and Transitional Provisions” of the Customs Code of Ukraine with Clause 4.4, providing for appropriate changes in the taxation of sugar imported into the customs territory of Ukraine.
According to an explanatory note to the document, Ukraine in the 2020/2021 marketing year produced about 1.1 million tonnes of sugar with the demand of the domestic market of at least 1.3 million tonnes due to unfavorable weather and climatic conditions and a reduction in the cultivated areas of sugar beets. The limited supply of sugar on the market caused a sharp rise in prices for this product, while the growth of its imports restrains the depreciation of the hryvnia exchange rate.
The document specifies that the import quota of 120,000 tonnes will be distributed among importers in the order of priority of filing applications with the customs authority.
As reported, the Ministry of Economy in April 2021 announced the impossibility of stabilizing prices on the Ukrainian sugar market using market mechanisms due to a decrease in domestic sugar production. The agency proposed a temporary zeroing of the import duty on the import of 120,000 tonnes of white sugar until October 1, 2021, which will reduce the rush demand for it in the domestic market and ensure the competitive production of sugar-containing products.
According to the ministry, the duty on the import of sugar into Ukraine is currently 50% of its customs value.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine expects inflation to drop to 6.2% in 2022, and salary growth will be from 8% to 10% in the next three years, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said following the results of the government-approved Budget Declaration and the 2022-2024 Forecast of Economic and Social Development.
“The growth of salaries in the next three years will be approximately 8% to 10% per year (taking into account inflation). Inflation will return to the target of 5% in 2023, and it will be 6.2% in 2022,” Shmyhal said in Telegram channel on Wednesday.
At the same time, the hryvnia exchange rate is expected in the range of UAH 28 or UAH 29 per $1 in 2022-2023, the head of government said.
According to him, the approved documents provide for the reduction of the budget deficit by almost half and the return of this indicator to the planned 3% in 2023.
“The public debt is planned to be reduced to less than 50% of GDP,” Shmyhal said.
At the same time, from 2023, Ukraine will be able to enter a stable trend of economic development by 5% per year, he said.
On June 1, a group of MPs registered bill No. 5596 on amendments to certain laws regarding the regulation of the circulation of cannabis for medical purposes, scientific and scientific and technical activities in the Verkhovna Rada, the parliament said on its website. “After the adoption of the bill, Ukrainian patients will have access to treatment and relief of complex diseases, which is in line with modern world practice,” one of the authors of the legislative initiative Yevhenia Kravchuk (the Servant of the People parliamentary faction) wrote on Facebook.
She said that there will be enhanced control over the circulation of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes. In particular, according to her, the bill provides for an electronic register of all hemp-based drugs, they can be purchased exclusively with electronic prescriptions from doctors.
The MP said that any activity related to the circulation of medical cannabis will also be licensed.
According to Kravchuk, after the adoption of the bill, Ukrainian scientists and the pharmaceutical industry will be able to conduct clinical trials in line with international standards, and Ukraine will join the countries that successfully use hemp for medical purposes.
New conditions for entering Turkey in connection with changes in the sanitary and epidemic situation in the country for all foreign citizens will take effect from June 4, 2021, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine reported.
“Now, to cross the Turkish border, tourists must present a negative PCR test, made no more than 72 hours before crossing the border, or a quick antigen test made within the last 48 hours,” the ministry’s press service said.
At the same time, if a passenger traveling to Turkey presents a document issued by the official authorities of the respective country, which indicates that he was vaccinated at least 14 days before arriving in Turkey or that they have recovered from the disease in the last six months, PCR test submission and quarantine compliance are not required.
“This means that the abolition of the need for a PCR test, which was introduced from May 15, 2021, for persons arriving in Turkey by land, air or sea from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Great Britain, Latvia, Luxembourg, Ukraine and Estonia, is temporarily suspended and will operate until June 3, inclusively,” the Ministry of Culture said.
Earlier it was reported that from June 1, Turkey returned the requirement for Ukrainian citizens to enter the country with a negative PCR test.
