The growth of Ukraine’s real gross domestic product (GDP) in April 2024 slowed to 4.1% y-o-y due to Russian attacks on the Ukrainian energy system, compared to 4.8% in March, 5% in February and 5.2% in January, according to the Monthly Economic Monitor of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER).
“Due to the intensification of shelling, a significant part of the maneuvering generation was damaged, which caused power outages for businesses and households. Restrictions on electricity supply will lead to a further decline in GDP growth,” commented Oleksandra Betliy, a leading researcher at the IER, quoted in the statement.
Earlier, the Experts Club and Maksim Urakin released a video analysis of how the GDP of the world’s countries has changed in recent years, more detailed video analysis is available here – https://youtu.be/w5fF_GYyrIc?si=BsZmIUERHSBJrO_3
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here – https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
Among the positive news, she highlighted the growth of exports and imports due to better logistics through both the Ukrainian sea corridor and road transport, although in April rail transportation decreased by 5% compared to March this year and by 29% by April 2023 to 15.2 million tons.
The IER clarified that the growth of real gross value added (GVA) in the manufacturing industry in April was 10%, while in the mining industry it was about 3%. Better logistics contributed to the revival of the performance of metallurgy and iron ore mining, it said.
According to the Institute, the growth rate of GVA in construction was high, partly due to the construction of fortifications, while the growth rate of trade slowed to 3% against the background of a higher statistical base.
The IER also pointed out that in April, both the tax and customs services exceeded their revenue targets, while the NBU transferred twice as much revenue to the budget.
As reported, after Ukraine’s GDP growth of 5.3% in 2023, the National Bank expects it to slow down this year to 3%, while the government expects it to slow down to 4.6%. According to the Ministry of Economy, GDP growth in January-March this year was 4.5%, while the NBU estimated it at 3.1%.
Earlier, Experts Club and Maksim Urakin released a video analysis of how the GDP of the world’s countries has changed in recent years, more detailed video analysis is available here – https://youtu.be/w5fF_GYyrIc?si=BsZmIUERHSBJrO_3
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here – https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
Cardholders of the international financial service NovaPay can receive salaries from any Ukrainian employer on their cards, the NovaPay press service said on Tuesday.
“You can do this in the application – create a paper or electronic application for receiving a salary on a NovaPay card and send it to the company’s accountant,” the company said in a statement.
It is noted that the application fills in the necessary fields, including information about the employer, while other personal data is automatically pulled into the application, after which it remains to form an electronic application and sign it using “Diya. Signature”.
Among the advantages of the NovaPay card, the company calls a 20% discount on Nova Poshta delivery services, transfers without restrictions up to UAH 50 thousand and the possibility of buying NovaPay bonds.
As reported, at the end of 2023, NovaPay was the first non-bank financial institution in Ukraine to receive an extended NBU license, which allowed it to open accounts and issue cards. In January-February of this year, the company increased the number of payment cards sixfold to 78 thousand, including a fivefold increase in the number of active cards to 43.8 thousand.
The total number of transfers and transactions through NovaPay in Q1 2014 increased by 18% and 24% to 96 million and 66.1 billion, respectively.
Founded in 2001, NovaPay is an international financial service that is part of the Nova group and provides online and offline financial services at Nova Poshta offices. According to its website, the company employs about 13 thousand people in more than 3.6 thousand Nova Poshta offices across Ukraine. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, the company accounts for 35% of the total volume of domestic money transfers.
Almost one billion euros have been raised for a global initiative to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense, the German Foreign Ministry said on the occasion of Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock’s 8th visit to Kyiv.
It is stated that the purpose of the foreign minister’s trip is to assure Ukrainians that Germany and Europe will continue to stand firmly on the side of Ukraine and will not stop their support.
“The global initiative to strengthen air defense, which the Foreign Minister recently launched together with Defense Minister Pistorius, should also be seen in this context. So far, almost a billion euros have been raised to provide additional support to Ukrainian air defense,” the statement said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the work continues. At the same time, the initiative also protects the security of EU countries from Russian aggression.
“Our support is based on a deep belief that Ukraine will win this war… Germany, along with many other countries from all over the world, is firmly on the side of Ukraine. This is something the people of Ukraine can count on in the long run,” Burbock said.
She is also convinced that Ukraine’s place is in the European Union.
“Ukraine’s accession to the EU is a necessary geopolitical consequence of Russia’s aggressive war in violation of international law. Ukraine has made impressive progress and is on the path of reforms, despite Russia’s destructiveness. Now it is important not to weaken our efforts – in judicial reform, the fight against corruption and media freedom,” the minister said.
Source: https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/service/laender/ukraine-node/reise-baerbock-ukraine/2657594
The National Bank of Ukraine has revoked the licenses of six non-bank financial institutions and excluded them from the State Register of Financial Organizations based on their applications, the regulator’s website reports.
Thus, due to the loss of the license to provide funds and precious metals on credit, Urgent Lending Service LLC, Simple Loans LLC, Modern Ukrainian Capital LLC, Cool Credit LLC, FC Crystal LLC were excluded from the state register with the loss of the right to provide financial factoring services and Tamga Capital LLC – provision of funds and precious metals on credit, factoring and financial leasing.
In addition, based on their own applications, the NBU approved a change in the scope of the license for the activities of the financial company LLC FC Business Orbit Group. Such financial service as financial leasing was excluded from the license, and the right to provide funds and bank metals on credit and factoring was retained. FC “KIF” LLC was excluded from the license for factoring and financial leasing. In the future, the company will have the right to provide funds and precious metals on credit.
The NBU Committee on Supervision and Regulation of Non-Banking Financial Services Markets made these decisions on May 17, 2024.
Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, intends to start selling sugar and dairy products under its own brand in stores without intermediaries in 2024, the company’s founder and CEO Viktor Ivanchyk told Forbes in an interview.
According to him, the agricultural holding plans to sell thousands of tons of sugar this year, and tens of thousands of tons in the following years. Astarta’s dairy products can already be bought in supermarkets under the brands of its established partners Lustdorf, Danone, Yagotynske, Molokiya, Kaniv, and Galychyna.
In addition, in 2021-2023, Astarta quadrupled its investments to almost UAH 1.7 billion. In 2024, the agricultural holding will invest in the production of soy protein concentrate, warehouse logistics, and electricity generation from biogas.
“Investments in Ukraine are the most profitable right now,” Ivanchyk says.
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220,000 hectares and dairy farms with 22,000 cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
In 2023, the agricultural holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR 61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR 145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR 618.93 million.
The war in Ukraine has displaced some four million people, and while the country’s humanitarian needs are increasing, the amount of humanitarian aid is shrinking, said Caroline Lindholm Billing, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Ukraine, Voice of America reported.
“There are far fewer resources for humanitarian assistance because the humanitarian needs are actually increasing because of these events. It is the most vulnerable people who will be the ones who will suffer from reduced funding and support,” Billing said.
According to her, the UN humanitarian plan for Ukraine for 2024 is $3.1 billion, including $599 million for the UN Refugee Agency. However, both the global response plan and the UN appeal were only 15 percent funded in the first quarter of this year, compared to 30 percent in the same period last year.
As the conflict drags on, turning into an “ultramarathon,” according to Billing, she added that “monetary and humanitarian assistance – in the form of providing goods and services, assistance with shelter, home repair, psychosocial support” is now “less frequent and less predictable.”
She emphasized the consequences of the Russian offensive in eastern Kharkiv Oblast, which has often left countless civilians without basic necessities such as electricity and water supplies.
