To create a million jobs in the country within two years through extending loans to the self-employed and small- and medium-sized businesses is a feasible task. Utilizing mechanisms of public-private partnership, involving international donors’ funds, it can be completed in the short-term outlook, while preventing further economic crisis and tacking unemployment. It is very important to the country, which is experiencing a deep social and economic crisis, forcedly allocates significant resources for military operations and tries to solve the problems of internally displaced persons. These issues were on the agenda of a Kyiv business forum, “Ukraine is a Country of Entrepreneurs.”
“Jobs are of great value around the world. The effectiveness of government in democratic countries is assessed by number of jobs. In addition to the allocation of funds and support of financial institutions that do this, we demand that the authorities preserve the simplified taxation system with additional incentives for start-ups, eliminate regulatory authorities’ pressure on businesses, obligatorily draw up and implement a state program to preserve and create new jobs in the country,” President of the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Anatoliy Kinakh said.
“Kyiv is the economic capital of Ukraine with good reason, as it does a lot to let businesses develop in a fair, open way with transparent rules. The city now has an open budget, a transparent electronic procurement system has been launched, open auctions are held for work on free trading platforms. I think that UAH 10 million in micro-crediting support is only the beginning. We’ll be increasing this resource,” Vitaliy Klitschko assured.
“Boosting jobs will be an invincible weapon of Ukraine. Let us not forget: It is small businesses that form the basis of the middle class, determine the solvency of the country and inspiration for democratic transformation. That’s why the small business lending program will work in all regional centers, not only there, as similar business forums will be held everywhere in support of this initiative,” Anatoliy Kinakh summed up.
The next regional forum will take place in Dnipro on November 24.
KYIV. Dec 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers has published a resolution introducing reference prices of some medicines from January 1, 2017 and their reimbursement from April 1, 2017.
Government resolution No. 862 on the regulation of prices of medicines and resolution No. 863 introducing reimbursement of the cost of medicines were posted on the government’s website on Tuesday.
As reported, the government has approved a resolution introducing reference prices for medicines to treat cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and bronchial asthma from January 1, 2017 and launching the reimbursement program for them from April 1, 2017.
The price regulation would concern medicines included in the national list of major medicines and the international nonproprietary name (INN) list. The cost of these medicines is to be reimbursed.
The upper marketing markup for medicines that the state reimburses partially or in full is 5% and the upper retail markup with all taxes and duties is 15%.
The price of medicines in Poland, Latvia, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic are used to calculated reference prices of INN.
The reimbursement program for cardiovascular diseases includes 16 INN, for bronchial asthma – three INN and diabetes mellitus – two INN.
KYIV. Dec 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – South Korea has created the conditions for joint existence and development of both large corporations and small companies. Ukraine should adopt this practice, MP (not a member of any parliamentary faction) Serhiy Taruta has said.
He said at the Ukrainian-South Korean economic forum devoted to Ukraine-South Korea economic cooperation in the Eurasian integration context in Kyiv that one of the directions Ukraine should learn from Koreans is e-government and e-procurement.
“Today we have taken the ProZorro e-procurement system as a basis. We believe that it ensures transparency of tenders. We need to learn from South Korea where each small settlement can join the general procurement system. Any company passing the prequalification can participate in the tenders,” he said.
This is the third Ukrainian-South Korean forum held in 2016. It was organized by the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine, Embassy of South Korea in Ukraine, South Korean Kookmin National University, Hanyang South Korean University and Gorshenin Institute.
KYIV. Dec 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ukrainian government has decided jointly with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to implement the project “Principal credit for small and medium-sized enterprises and companies with an average level of capitalization.”
According to the website of the Finance Ministry, the loan for the implementation of credit support for small and medium enterprises amounts to EUR 400 million.
“To start the implementation of this international project, it is necessary to create a legal base and normalize all the legislative procedures. First of all, it is necessary to solve the issue of selecting banks for participation in the project and set monetary and financial conditions for giving loan funds to such banks. The resolution the Cabinet of Ministers has passed today resolves this very problem,” the report says.
KYIV. Dec 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food has agreed a loan agreement for UAH 1 billion between PJSC Agrarian Fund and Ukrgasbank.
“Funds received from our partner – state bank Ukrgasbank – will be used to finance forward programs and support for agricultural producers,” Agrarian Fund Chairman Andriy Radchenko said.
The interest rate under the agreement is 21.5%. The collateral is food wheat, the market value is over UAH 2 billion.
In 2015, the Agrarian Fund and Ukrgasbank signed a loan agreement for UAH 300 million for one year.
UMAN. Nov 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Private joint-stock company Technolog (Uman, Kyiv region), part of Lekhim group of pharmaceutical companies, seeks to have prequalification of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2017. This would help to double or triple exports of medicines to treat TB.
“We are preparing papers for receiving WHO prequalification. By late 2017 we seek to receive it. With WHO prequalification we would be able to double or triple exports of medicines to treat TB,” Technolog Director General Serhiy Remsky told reporters on Monday.
He said that in general exports totals up to 15% of total sales of the company. The company mainly supplies medicines to the CIS countries.
“Our medicines are registered in the CIS countries. We have plans to enter foreign markets,” Remsky said.
He said that Technolog is to spend money on papers and tests to receive WHO prequalification.
Remsky said that spending on confirmation of bioequivalence of one medicine could total up to UAH 1.5 million and at least 12 volunteers are tested. Technolog involved 32 volunteers.
He said that after prequalification for anti-TB medicines, the company would consider having prequalification for HIV/AIDS medicines.
