The volume of mortgage lending in April 2021 amounted to UAH 789.1 million, which is a third more than in March and 10 times more than in April 2020, when the issuance of new mortgage loans almost stopped, according to the results of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) survey of banks.
According to the NBU on Wednesday, 997 agreements were concluded in April, which is a third more than last month and 7.1 times more than in April last year.
The NBU noted that in general, over the four months, banks issued 2,808 mortgage loans totaling UAH 2.2 billion, which is 2 times more in terms of the number of agreements and almost 3 times more in monetary terms compared to the corresponding period last year.
According to the survey, 90% of mortgage agreements in April were drawn up with five banks, which indicates the concentration of the mortgage lending market.
The NBU said that in April, the volume of loan issuance for the purchase of primary real estate increased by 1.5 times, to UAH 43.2 million, and secondary real estate – by a third, to UAH 168.5 million.
According to the results, the secondary housing market continues to dominate significantly in terms of the number and volume of lending, in particular, the share of mortgage agreements for the purchase of housing in the secondary market in February amounted to about 87% in terms of all new loans.
It is indicated that the average amount of a loan for the purchase of housing continues to grow and in April it amounted to UAH 791,000, including the average amount of a new mortgage loan for the purchase of primary real estate in the reporting month amounted to UAH 925,000, and secondary real estate – UAH 771,000.
According to the central bank, in April the average effective rate of a mortgage loan in the secondary market fell to 13.5% compared to 14.0% in March, and in the primary market it remained at about 17.4%.
Ukraine in January-May of this year increased imports of aluminum ores and concentrate (bauxite) in kind by 12.3% compared to the same period last year, to 2.185 million tonnes.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service on Tuesday, during this period, imports of bauxite in monetary terms increased 16.8%, to $99.393 million.
At the same time, aluminum ores were mainly imported from Guinea (60.15% of supplies in monetary terms), as well as from Brazil (22.26%) and Ghana (16.31%).
Ukraine in January-May 2021 re-exported bauxite in the amount of 94 tonnes for the tune of $19,000 to Poland (84.21%) and Germany (15.79%).
Ukrainian enterprises in January-May this year increased exports of ferrous scrap by 8.9 times compared to the same period last year, to 146,345 tonnes, including 59,366 tonnes of scrap exported in May.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service on Wednesday, in monetary terms, exports of scrap metal increased by 12.5 times, to $52.333 million.
At the same time, in January-May this year, the country increased imports of scrap metal in quantity terms by 51.3%, to 10,351 tonnes. In monetary terms, imports of scrap increased by 2.4 times, to $18.007 million.
Scrap metal in January-May this year was mainly imported from Turkey (63.78% of deliveries in monetary terms), the Russian Federation (28.98%) and the U.S. (2.26%); and exported – to Turkey (96.26%), Germany (0.99%) and Lithuania (0.91%).
Ukrainian enterprises in January-May this year increased imports of copper and copper products in value terms by 80.3% compared to the same period last year, to $64.408 million.
According to customs statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine on Wednesday, exports of copper and copper products over the first five months of the year increased by 3.1 times, to $88.374 million.
In May, copper and copper products were imported for $14.212 million, and exported – for $20.323 million.
In addition, Ukraine in January-May 2021 increased imports of nickel and nickel products by 34.3% compared to the same period in 2020, to $42.286 million (in May – $9.536 million), and aluminum and aluminum products by 13.6%, to $167.566 million ($37.505 million). At the same time, it increased imports of lead and lead products by 2.9 times, to $4.830 million ($227,000), tin and tin products – by 58.1%, to $1.369 million ($224,000), and zinc and zinc products – by 98.8%, to $35.565 million ($7.426 million).
Exports of aluminum and aluminum products in January-May 2021 increased by 52.7% compared to January-May 2020, to $61.494 million (in May – $11.943 million), lead and lead products by 57.9% – to $14.044 million ($1.684 million), and nickel and products – by 52.2%, to $1.966 million ($599,000).
Zinc exports in January-May 2021 amounted to $17,000 (there was no export in May), while in January-May 2020 they amounted to $21,000. Exports of tin and tin products in January-May 2020 amounted to $11,000 (in May – $3,000), while in January-May 2020 – $48,000.
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL DEBT OF UKRAINE IN 2009-2021
Some 65% of retailers surveyed by international company Colliers Ukraine expect recovery in the Ukrainian retail market in the next year or two.
“Over the entire period of the spread of the pandemic, retailers have adapted their business processes and potentially understand where to move. As soon as the tough quarantine restrictions are eased this year, we can state the presence of deferred demand from buyers. After the quarantine, in a fairly short period of time, there is a stabilization of tenants’ turnover,” Director of Retail Agency at Colliers Ukraine Ihor Zabolotsky has told Interfax-Ukraine.
Colliers Ukraine told Interfax-Ukraine that more than half (55%) of surveyed retailers were more comfortable with the total restrictions of this year, or were more prepared for the next closure of their outlets than in 2020. In particular, if last year almost 35% of surveyed retailers expected that it would take six months to recover the situation, then according to the results of the 2021 survey, only 13% believe that it will take six months to restore the pre-quarantine indicators after the spring quarantine in 2021.
As retailers note, online sales cover a larger percentage of operating costs this year compared to spring 2020.
Anti-crisis measures that retailers used to cut expenditures during the lockdown were also softer. As noted in Colliers Ukraine, this year the number of retailers who sent their staff on unpaid leave has decreased. Compared to spring 2020, the share of retailers who cut staff and closed outlets as anti-crisis measures decreased from 69% to 50%.
Some 60% of retailers noted the presence of supply disruptions during the spring of 2020, this year only 40%.
According to Zabolotsky, this year the number of operators who plan to reduce their outlets in the short term has decreased to 24% from 36% in 2020. About a third of retailers are planning to expand their chains (15.5% in 2020).
The expert added that today there are changes in the standard commercial terms of lease agreements: in a number of new agreements, the emphasis has shifted towards the percentage of turnover.
Colliers International is a leading diversified professional services provider, including investment management in commercial real estate. The company’s offices are represented in 67 countries of the world.
