Consensus forecast of risks for economy of Ukraine from NBU
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Mining and metallurgical group Metinvest in January-June of this year, including associated companies and joint ventures, transferred more than UAH 6.3 billion of taxes and fees to the budgets of all levels in Ukraine.
According to the company’s press release on Monday, despite the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Rinat Akhmetov’s Metinvest remains the backbone of the country’s economy.
It is specified that, in particular, for January-June this year Ukrainian enterprises of Metinvest paid more than 1.5 billion UAH of unified social contribution, almost 1.5 billion UAH of personal income tax and more than 1 billion UAH of profit tax.
In addition, significant sources of filling the state and local budgets of Ukraine were payment for the use of subsoil – UAH 872 million, payment for land – UAH 589 million and environmental tax – UAH 302 million, the press release said.
In the second quarter of 2023, the group transferred to the Ukrainian budget more than 3.8 billion UAH, which is 51% more than in the first quarter of this year. In particular, for April-June compared to January-March 2023, Metinvest enterprises increased payment of unified social contribution by 12%, up to UAH 813 million, personal income tax – by 26%, up to UAH 819 million, income tax – by 45%, up to UAH 643 million.
In April-June-2023, the fee for subsoil use increased 4 times, to UAH 698 mln, land fee – by 4%, to UAH 301 mln, environmental tax – by 23%, to UAH 167 mln.
Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov noted that with the start of the big war, the group gave up tax benefits to which it is entitled under the law and pays taxes in full.
“We understand that our resilience and endurance adds to the state’s ability to hold the blow in economic, defense and social areas. We will continue to be a point of support for the country, the army and Ukrainians. We will help as much as necessary – both before and after the victory”, – emphasized the top manager, who is quoted by the press service.
It is also reminded that taking into account associated companies and joint ventures, in the first quarter of 2023 Metinvest paid more than 2.5 billion UAH of taxes and fees to budgets of all levels in Ukraine, and in 2022 – 20.5 billion UAH.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical companies. The group’s enterprises are mainly located in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The main shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), jointly managing the holding.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
Ukraine’s Energy Support Fund, established in April 2022 by the Energy Community Secretariat, has already accumulated approximately $220 million and is expected to increase to $300 million by the end of the year, Energy Minister German Galushchenko said.
“Already $220 million of donations to the Fund have been confirmed and there are still promises of additional investments. We expect to accumulate about $300 million by the end of the year,” he said on the air of the national telethon United News on Saturday.
According to him, this Fund is a very important and unique instrument contributing to the restoration of Ukraine’s energy sector, as well as testifying to the trust in Ukraine.
The Minister explained that the money of the Fund, the main donors of which are governments of friendly states, is used through USAID to purchase and transfer to energy companies the equipment they need, according to their requests, which are collected by the Ministry of Energy.
As reported with reference to the Ministry of Energy, as of the beginning of March, the Ukrainian Energy Support Fund received EUR151m, of which approximately EUR138m was allocated for the needs of Ukrainian energy companies.
The Energy Ministry specified that the funds were received, in particular, from Germany, the UK, Spain, Iceland, Denmark, the European Commission, the Regional Association of Energy Regulatory Authorities (ERRA) and the Regional Center for Energy Policy Research.
Oil prices are falling on Monday after a strong rise at the end of last week.
The cost of September futures for Brent on the London-based ICE Futures exchange at 8:15 a.m. on Monday is $80.95 per barrel, down $0.12 (0.15%) from the previous session’s closing price. On Friday, these contracts rose $1.43 (1.8%) to $81.07 per barrel.
The price of WTI oil futures for September at the electronic trading of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) fell by $0.14 (0.18%) to $76.93 per barrel. At the end of previous trading, the cost of these contracts rose by $1.42 (1.9%), to $77.07 per barrel.
At the end of last week Brent rose by 1.5%, the cost of WTI rose by 2.3%, to the maximum since April 25.
Traders’ attention this week is focused on the Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting, which is expected to raise the rate by another 25 basis points. Continued tightening of monetary policy by the U.S. central bank raises the likelihood of a downturn in the economy and, consequently, lower demand for oil.
“Expectations of a new rate hike by the Fed are putting some pressure on the oil market, however, I believe that this event is largely already priced in,” notes Warren Patterson, who is responsible for commodities strategy at ING Groep NV.
The market is supported by expectations of lower supply amid Saudi Arabia’s production cuts.
The head of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol said on Bloomberg TV at the weekend that due to production cuts by a number of countries, the oil market may face a deficit in the second half of the year even though there is no significant growth in demand in China.
Ukraine has its own developed medium-range air defense systems, they are now being tested, the deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada committee on national security, defense and intelligence, MP Yegor Chernev said on air of a nationwide telethon.
“We have air defense systems. The newest ones. They are now medium-range. This is certainly not an analog of Patriot, SAMP-T or IRIS-T, I think they are close to HAWK, or such medium-range systems that are Ukrainian-made and Ukrainian-designed,” Chernev stressed.
According to him, the developments “are being tested now, and quite successfully.”
“The missiles have already been developed,” the deputy added.
As for the efforts of the country’s military-industrial complex to manufacture ammunition, the MP said that the maximum resources are attracted to increase production.
“It is produced not only by the state, there are private contractors who … partially produce hulls to mines or something else, but we will engage as much as possible all the resources to increase here this shell program. And the shell, which is produced in Ukraine, is three times cheaper than what we buy in other countries, for example, 122 or 152 shells,” Chernev emphasized.
The digital space is a “new frontier of fundamental rights”, a new world in which previous rules do not always apply automatically, European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen said.
“Think about children’s rights or consumer protection. But think also about artificial intelligence. Its potential benefits are enormous. But it can also be harmful, for example if it is used to hire and fire employees or to monitor citizens through facial recognition. We need new laws to embody our eternal values in the online world,” the EC chief said Friday in New York at the European Commission’s World Peace & Liberty Award ceremony.
It is an award given since 1965 by the World Bar Association for services to the defense of the rule of law as opposed to the use of force.
According to von der Leyen, Europe is leading the way in creating a legal framework for the digital age.
“We were the first in the world to set rules for digital platforms, and now we are doing the same with artificial intelligence. This means that all companies that want to operate in our market have to meet very high standards. Standards that center on people and their rights,” the President of the European Commission emphasized.
She said the EU is “working with like-minded friends such as Canada and the United States, as well as with Japan, Latin American countries and India, to develop equivalent rules so that technology enhances individual freedom rather than the ability of the state to control us”.
