Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, hopes that Ukraine will receive the second tranche of macro-financial assistance from the European Union in the amount of EUR 600 million in late October – early November.
“I can confirm for sure that already this month, or at the very beginning of November, we will receive the second tranche in the amount of EUR 600 million,” Stefanishyna told reporters in Kyiv on Thursday.
Ukrainian banks’ cash exchange rates on 21/10/21
Source: Interfax-Ukraine
Prices for public transport will be raised in Kyiv, First Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration Mykola Povoroznyk said.
“This is an unpopular step that we have to take in order to maintain the stable operation of municipal carriers. Today, in the face of rising energy tariffs, leaving the fare at the current level means driving carriers into debt holes, and subsequently paralyzing the work of transport companies. Therefore, we are forced to begin the procedure for increasing the tariff. Now we are awaiting proposals from utilities regarding the economic feasibility of the tariff. After that, a reasonable fare will be formed, and we will submit a proposal for public discussion,” Povoroznyk said, according to the statement of the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration.
He also said that in the summer the cost of travel increased in many cities of Ukraine: in Lviv, Poltava, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia and others, while Kyiv authorities postponed the moment of increasing tariffs.
“Today, when the city has taken measures not to increase the tariff for heating agents for the population, but to compensate for the difference at the expense of the local budget, it is simply impossible to increase funding for the already subsidized public transport. Such a step could lead to underfunding of city programs, which are critically important for many people in Kyiv,” Povoroznyk said.
He separately noted that at the same time, all available travel benefits for Kyiv residents will remain.
Ukrainian exporters of Ukrainian exchange-traded commodities in 2021 have no reason to complain about the external conditions of business due to favorable prices for these commodities and partly excellent harvest, so they should focus on adapting their business to possible future problems, a member of the board of bank Pivdenny (Odesa) Oleksandr Matiushenko has said.
“If we are talking about 2021 and a good harvest on the one hand, and on the other hand, a gorgeous price for us in the foreign market, then I think that this year absolutely all exporters associated with export commodities will not complain that they are not satisfied with something, because today we are witnessing a fairly stable hryvnia exchange rate, the consequences of which are good positions of our export and raw material base,” he said at the CFO Forum in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Matiushenko said that Ukrainian business is successfully coping with the situation that has developed in connection with a sharp rise in prices in the gas or coal market, and its representatives should adapt to possible difficulties in the future, such as problems arising under the terms of concluded contracts or reducing their internal costs.
The banker also said that he considers the hryvnia exchange rate this year adequate with the expected policy of the National Bank of Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has opened the First Centre for ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Countries Studies in Ukraine at the Institute of International Relations of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
“Last year, ambassadors of the ASEAN countries and I discussed in Ukraine what we could do to develop cooperation. I proposed to create Centre for ASEAN Countries Studies in Ukraine. Today we have implemented this initiative. The Centre is laying the foundation for a qualitatively new level of cooperation between Ukraine and ASEAN,” the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry quoted Kuleba as saying on Tuesday.
The main task of the centre will be to establish effective interaction between researchers and scientific employees, the development of humanitarian and educational contacts between Ukraine and the ASEAN countries.
The minister recalled that this year, for the first time since independence, Ukraine has received a Foreign Policy Strategy, and noted that it paid due attention to Ukraine’s relations with Asian countries. According to him, work with this region should be systematic.
Kuleba noted that the next marker of the development of relations will be Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.
“Our state has already submitted an application, which is under consideration by ASEAN partners. This will not only be an impulse for further development, but also a clear signal about the new quality of relations between Ukraine and the ASEAN countries,” the Foreign Minister said.
Kuleba said that Ukraine is working to achieve a trade turnover between Ukraine and ASEAN of $5 billion per year.
“I am convinced that it is quite possible to achieve a trade turnover between Ukraine and ASEAN of $5 billion a year, and we are working to implement this goal. We are working to ensure that as many Ukrainian goods, especially those with high added value, are exported to Asian markets,” the minister assured.
The Ukrainian market for mergers and acquisitions (M&A), which until recently experienced a shortage of buyers, has been growing for the third year in a row, Serhiy Budkin, the Managing Partner of FinPoint Investment Advisers, has said.
Commenting on the situation on the market within the framework of the Kyiv International Economic Forum, the expert predicted several large transactions in the next 12 months, including in the financial sector, IT and development.
The founder of UFuture Holding, Vasyl Khmelnytsky, at the forum estimated the average multiplier when evaluating Ukrainian companies at about 6. In particular, speaking of the annual sales of his company at $70 million, he estimated its value at about $420 million, although in Europe it could cost $700 million.
Khmelnytsky told Interfax-Ukraine that the multiplier for Ukrainian companies may vary depending on the industry, for example, in medicine – 8, while in manufacturing – 5.
At the same time, the entrepreneur noted that some foreign buyers still expect a lower price and a high return on investment from Ukrainian investments – in 4 years, while the multiplier 6 is about 15% per annum.
Budkin generally agreed with this assessment of the multiplier for Ukrainian companies.
“The multiples have a tendency to increase. The revival [of the M&A market] leads to an increase in the multiplier in itself,” he said.
