Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said he raised Ukraine’s GDP growth forecast for 2023 to 3.2%, while previously the government estimated it at 1% and the National Bank recently improved it from 0.3% to 2%.
“Today we are in a much better economic situation compared to the period a year ago … We refrain from monetary financing in 2023, and the GDP growth forecast was raised to 3.2%,” the head of the Ministry of Finance wrote in a column of the publication “Economic truth.”
He added that inflation is falling faster than initially forecasted, from 26.6% in December 2022 to 17.9% in April 2023, but did not specify an updated inflation forecast.
Marchenko thanked business for supporting the budget in a difficult time of war, noting that while GDP fell last year by 29.1% tax revenues to the general fund of the state budget (excluding a number of factors, such as growth due to inflation and forced temporary VAT non-refund) increased by 2% – to 627.7 billion UAH.
Head of the Ministry of Finance said that on its part the Ukrainian government supports the business through a number of programs, in particular, compensation loan rates “available loans 5-7-9%”, which since the beginning of martial law loans totaling more than 106 billion UAH were granted.
Besides, the government grant program for business has been started, which has been already financed more than by 2 billion UAH, and also more than 60 billion UAH have been given from the beginning of martial law by the government guarantee program on portfolio basis.
“I am sure that with the joint efforts of entrepreneurs and the state we will be able to continue to provide funding for successful resistance to the aggressor, which is the key to our victory,” Marchenko stressed.
