KYIV. June 19 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine and Kazakhstan plan to expand cooperation in the aircraft building area and drawing up an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in aviation industry for signing.
Plans to develop cooperation in the aviation industry between the two countries were discussed at the 13th meeting of the joint interstate Ukrainian-Kazakh commission on economic cooperation in Astana with the participation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Services Hennadiy Zubko, the press service of the deputy prime minister reported on Friday.
According to Zubko, following the meeting, the parties reached an agreement to finalize the draft agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the government of Kazakhstan on industrial cooperation in aircraft building and prepare it for signing.
The parties also decided to intensify the interaction between state-owned companies Ukrspecexport and Kazakhstan Aviation Industry LLC to create a service center for maintenance of Antonov aircraft on the basis of the aviation technical center in Astana, he said.
The deputy prime minister said that the cooperation plans also include preparation of an action plan to provide airlines and interested structures of Kazakhstan with regional jet passenger aircraft An-148 and An-158, as well as services for air transportation of super-heavy and bulky cargo.
At the meeting, the sides also discussed the possibilities of expanding cooperation in the field of aircraft engine building: Ukraine confirmed its readiness to supply new TV3-117VMA-SBM1V helicopter engine to Kazakhstan, as well as carrying out overhaul of TV3-117 engines of the D-36 engine family for Kazakh customers, Zubko said.
The meeting participants also considered the potential of the bilateral partnership in the field of exploration and use of outer space: “An agreement was reached to support cooperation within the framework of the Ukrainian-Kazakh working group on the creation of a space-based missile system using a light launch vehicle,” the official said.
According to Zubko, Ukraine also considers shipbuilding as one of the promising areas of cooperation between the two countries: this is designing, building and equipping Kazakhstan’s ships and boats. Ukraine is ready to offer a concept and supply equipment for the organization of protection of the sea line of Kazakhstan, he said.
KYIV. June 19 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The consumer confidence index in Ukraine grew by 3.2 points in May 2017, to 58. It is the highest since July 2014, GfK Ukraine reported last week.
“In May 2017, Index of Current Personal Financial Standing, Index of Expected Changes in Personal Financial Standing and Index of Economic Expectations reached their maximum indicators over the past two years,” the company said.
While Index of Expectations of Changes in Unemployment fell by 6.7 points, and reached its minimum level in the past two years – 135.7.
“This result indicates, that in citizens’ perception, the situation in the economy is improving and the crisis peak passed,” GfK Ukraine said.
According to the study, Index of Expectations of the Country’s Economic Development Over the Next Year increased by 10.8 points and equals 56.1.
Meanwhile, Index of Inflationary Expectations reached 181.1, which is 2.8 points lower than in April.
Index of the Current Situation (ICS) increased by 1 point to the level of 51.2. The components of this index have changed as follows: Index of Current Personal Financial Standing equaled 47.7, which is 4.7 points higher than the indicator in April; and Index of Propensity to Consume decreased by 2.7 points reached the indicator of 54.7
The expectations of Ukrainians regarding the hryvnia’s exchange rate in the coming three months rather worsened: Index of Devaluation Expectations increased by 2.6 points and reached the level of 142.7.
GfK Ukraine has been performing selective household surveys to determine consumer sentiment in Ukraine since 2000. During the survey the company polled 1,000 people at the age of over 16 years.
The Ukrainian government will soon consider proposals developed by industrialists for the state support of domestic producers in Ukraine and the formation of the country’s own base of raw materials.
A respective order was issued by Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman after talks with business associations of the light industry and the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE) at a forum in Chernihiv. Currently, the Cabinet has recently put forth a motion at the request of the business community to introduce 36-month installment payment of import VAT on equipment that is not produced in Ukraine. This was reported by the ULIE. The light industry is one of the sectors that can most rapidly and effectively modernize and introduce innovations.
It now accounts for 1% of GDP, although there was a period when its share was 11-12% of GDP. Its potential is enormous, the country still possesses powerful production facilities, technology, industrial tradition, all this can be used for the noticeable recovery of the industry and related industrial sectors. “One can forget about the industrial development of Ukraine while producers are trying to find out where to get used equipment without going into huge debt and how to solve problems with connecting to the power grids and so on. We must immediately introduce a critical import mechanism, the minimum customs rate, simultaneously expanding exports. There will be no sustainable growth without a state program for industrial development in general and the light industry in particular,” ULIE President Anatoliy Kinakh has said.
Industrialists suggested that the government should consider that imports of equipment and components that are not produced in Ukraine could be exempt from VAT. They estimate this measure will greatly stimulate the industry, while the country’s economy may see a 6-8% GDP growth. Entrepreneurs see the lack of raw materials in Ukraine as a huge challenge. On the average, imported raw materials account for 70%, which lowers the competitiveness of domestic products because this increases costs. The government has decided to make efforts to develop the country’s own resource base. Manufacturers will also benefit from a reduction in the multiplier used to calculate tax rates on land of technical areas and buffer zones for industrial enterprises.
Canadian divisions of the world’s major retail chains – Walmart, Sobeys, METRO, Farm Boy, Loblaws – have expressed interest in sourcing Ukrainian goods after the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) enters into force in summer 2017. The search of suppliers has already started by the Export Promotion Center under the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE) after talks with the Canadian retailers in Toronto on May 30-31.
The willingness to buy Ukrainian food and consumer goods was discussed at the talks between the retailers’ representatives and the leadership of the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs at the local retailers conference STORE 2017.
The negotiations resulted into the launch of a campaign to search for Ukrainian manufacturers who are ready to export their products to Canadian supermarkets. This was announced by ULIE Vice-President, Coordinator of the Export Promotion Center under the ULIE Denys Krasnikov after a meeting with Canadian retailers.
According to him, the Canadian retail chains are interested in Ukrainian honey, sunflower oil, nuts, canned vegetables, garlic, tomato paste, pasta, canned peas and beans, textile goods, and cosmetics. Ukrainian producers’ goods will be sold in Canadian supermarkets as private labels, which will not require significant marketing expenses from the producers.
Talks on the supply of furniture products to IKEA-Canada and its sales via the biggest websites also yielded good results. Representatives of the well-known furniture brand praised the quality of Ukrainian furniture and said they are ready to order it from Ukrainian suppliers on the private label terms.
Negotiations with the president of Staples Canada touched upon potential cooperation with Ukrainian producers of stationery and office supplies.
The removal of barriers for Ukrainian exports to Canada was discussed at a meeting of Denys Krasnikov with President and CEO at Retail Council of Canada Diane J. Brisebois and Senior Vice-President at Retail Council of Canada David Wilkes. It is expected to happen due to the CUFTA’s entry into force in summer 2017.
KYIV. June 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The bill entitled “Budget Policy Basics for 2018-2020” (Budget Resolution) provides for the annual allocation of UAH 1 billion for the government program on reimbursement of medicines.
“Aimed at increasing affordability of healthcare it is foreseen to support the implementation of the national medicine reimbursement program. It is planned to send UAH 1 billion each year in 2018-2020,” Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk said at a government meeting on Wednesday.
He also said that the healthcare reform is fully backed with funds.
“We have changed the focus of the budget financing from maintaining budget-sustained institutions to financing high quality services. I want to tell all skeptics that the medial reform has enough financial resources,” Danyliuk said.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said that at present 1.4 million citizens use the Affordable Medicine program.
