The consolidated profit of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in January-June 2020 amounted to almost UAH 80 billion, which is 12.5 times more than in the same period of 2019 (UAH 6.4 billion).
According to a report on the central bank’s website, the profit was formed due to the revaluation of financial instruments for more than UAH 76 billion and interest income in the amount of more than UAH 15 billion.
“Consolidated profit is not profit to be transferred to the state budget. Obligations to transfer NBU profit to the state budget in 2021 will be formed at the end of 2020 and announced in the spring of 2021,” the press service said.
The report indicates that the NBU’s assets for the six months increased by 13%, to UAH 1.199 trillion due to the growth of international reserves by 12.6% in dollar terms and their revaluation in hryvnias due to the change in the exchange rate of the national currency to foreign currencies, while the rise in debts on refinancing loans that were issued to banks was insignificant.
In terms of NBU liabilities for the first half of the year, the volume of balances on accounts of government and other institutions increased by 3.4 times, and the amount of deposit certificates and banks’ funds declined by 31% and 35.5%, respectively, the release says.
It is specified that the consolidated financial statements of the NBU for the first half of the year were signed on August 31.
The Business Activity Expectations Index, calculated by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), in August increased by 1 point (p.), to 47.9 after growing in July and June by 1.5 points and 9.6 points respectively, however, remains below the neutral value of 50 points and signals the prevalence of pessimistic business expectations.
“Business is cautiously assessing the results of its activities against the background of the prolongation of the adaptive quarantine. Expectations of enterprises for the fourth month in a row are below the equilibrium values,” the central bank said on its website.
According to the report, in August trade enterprises significantly improved their expectations: the index increased by 4.3 points, to 52.3. The National Bank clarified that the optimistic expectations of respondents in this area are associated with the softening of quarantine and an increase in consumer demand.
It is indicated that representatives of the trade sector are optimistic about the increase in trade (the index increased to 51.5 from 48.9 a month earlier) and the volume of purchases of goods for sale (the index increased to 57.6 from 45.5).
In addition, retailers expect a significant increase in the cost of goods purchased for sale (the index rose to 74.2 from 61.4 in July) due to high purchase prices.
According to the report, despite a slight increase in the index of industry respondents – by 0.8 points – to 48.3, their expectations remain pessimistic. Representatives of this industry downgraded their estimates of stocks of raw materials and supplies (to 42.9 from 52.7 in July), at the same time they strengthened expectations for an increase in prices for their own production (to 63.3 from 59.1 in July).
Ukraine in January-August 2020 reduced electricity exports by 26.1% (by 1.052 billion kWh) compared to the same period in 2019, to 2.981 billion kWh, according to data from Ukrenergo.
According to the calculations of the Interfax-Ukraine agency, the supply of electricity from the Burshtyn TPP energy island in the direction of Hungary, Slovakia and Romania decreased by 33.6% (by 911 million kWh), to 1.802 billion kWh.
Electricity supplies to Poland increased by 15.9% (by 137.1 million kWh), to 1.002 billion kWh.
Electricity supplies to Moldova amounted to 130.3 million kWh, which is 71.4% (325 million kWh) less than in January-August 2019.
Export to Belarus resumed in July, since the beginning of the year it amounted to 46.9 million kWh.
Ukrainian electricity was not exported to Russia.
At the same time, Ukraine imported 1.817 billion kWh of electricity in the eight months, in particular 1.062 billion kWh were supplied from Slovakia, 463.8 million kWh from Hungary, 152.3 million kWh from Belarus, 85.8 million kWh from Romania, 53.4 million kWh from the Russian Federation.
SCM Group owner Rinat Akhmetov remains the richest Ukrainian in 2019 according to the Focus magazine, with fortune of $7.2 billion.
According to the list, owner of Interpipe Victor Pinchuk with $2.4 billion and owner of Group DF Dmytro Firtash with $1.7 billion are second and third on the list.
Ex-owners of the Privat Bank Ihor Kolomoisky with $1.1 billion and Hennadiy Boholiubov with $0.9 billion, who were second and third in recent years, fell to the eighth and ninth places respectively.
Owner of Smart-Holding Vadim Novinsky with $1.5 billion climbed from the fifth to fourth position. A shareholder in Ferrexpo Kostiantyn Zhevaho with $0.5 billion fell from the fourth position to the 20th.
Ex-President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, the owner of Roshen, climbed from 12th to the fifth position with $1.3 billion. Owners of Epicenter K Group, Hereha couple with $1.2 billion, climbed from the 10th position to the sixth.
The seventh place on the list is occupied by the owner of Dniprospetsstal, the head of the political council of the Opposition Platform – For Life party Viktor Medvedchuk with a fortune of $1.1 billion, who entered the rating for the first time.
In addition, the owner of Fozzy Group, Volodymyr Kostelman ($0.85 billion), moved up to the 10th place from 13th.
During his working visit to Spain, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba has discussed with Secretary General of the UN World Tourism Organization Zurab Pololikashvili the prospects for Ukraine’s interaction with the Organization, involving the organization’s mechanisms in the development of the tourism industry in Ukraine.
“They paid main attention to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the tourism industry, its adaptation to new realities. Kuleba noted that the pandemic has not only obvious negative consequences for tourism, but also unexpected new opportunities. In particular, in Ukraine, such circumstances gave impetus for domestic tourism, aroused people’s interest in traveling inside their own country,” the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Friday morning.
Pololikashvili noted that now this trend is observed everywhere, and the organization sees in it new opportunities for the global development of domestic and rural tourism.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine proposed to hold an international tourism forum of the World Tourism Organization in Ukraine, dedicated, in particular, to the topic of domestic and green tourism in the countries of the world.
“I have no doubt that Ukraine will become a new territory on the map of world tourism, which foreigners will be happy to discover for themselves as something new. The development of domestic tourism is a priority of President Volodymyr Zelensky and the government of Ukraine. I want us to join forces on the WTO to achieve this goals,” said the minister.
According to Kuleba, it is worthwhile, without waiting for the end of the pandemic, to actively seek new forms and methods of tourism development, given the importance of the tourism industry for the world economy.
The Minister invited the Secretary General of the UN World Tourism Organization to pay a visit to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s neighboring countries, with the exception of Moldova, have entered the green zone for the spread of COVID-19, according to data published on the website of the Ministry of Health as of September 11.
The “red” zone includes countries with an incidence rate per 100,000 population over the past 14 days higher than in Ukraine (88.1). In total, there are as many as 47 countries.
The “red” zone, as before, includes Moldova (152.4 per 100,000). Romania moved from the “red” to the “green” zone (85.5 per 100,000).
France, Spain, Montenegro, U. S., Israel are also among the countries of the “red” zone.
The countries of the “green” zone include, in particular, India, Czech Republic, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Great Britain, Slovenia, Turkey, Egypt, Georgia, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, Bulgaria and Greece.
The closest neighbors of Ukraine, included in the green zone, are Belarus (25.7 per 100,000), Poland (21.5 per 100,000), Slovakia (24.8 per 100,000), Hungary (45.3 per 100,000), and the Russian Federation (44.5 per 100,000).
