National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 15/03/21
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of March 15
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
Retail sales of medicines in January 2021 in monetary terms decreased 16.5% compared to January 2020, to UAH 3.117 billion, in packages they decreased by 34.2%, to 36 million units.
At the same time, according to the data provided in the SMD report, domestic manufacturers accounted for 69% of the market in volume terms, while in monetary terms, their share accounted for 35% of the market.
In packages, the top three market leaders included Darnitsa, Farmak and Kyiv Vitamin Plant.
In monetary terms, the top three dealers included Farmak, Sanofi and Darnitsa.
Beijing demands from Kyiv to protect the legitimate interests of Chinese investors in connection with the decision to nationalize Motor Sich enterprise (Zaporizhia), more than 50% of which is owned by Chinese companies, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian has said.
“China demands that Ukraine, in accordance with the law, protect the legitimate interests of Chinese enterprises and investors,” Lijian said.
Earlier Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov said that PJSC Motor Sich would soon be legally returned to the ownership of Ukraine.
The Chinese shareholders of Motor Sich initiated an arbitration against the state of Ukraine in December 2020 seeking to recover $3.6 billion. They claim that the Ukrainian authorities expropriated their investments, as well as violated their other rights stipulated by the intergovernmental agreement on the encouragement and mutual protection of investments between Ukraine and China from October 1992. The international law firms WilmerHale, DLA Piper, and Bird&Bird are representing Chinese investors’ interests in the claim.
According to a source in the Ukrainian government, currently about 75% of Motor Sich’s shares are already owned by a group of Chinese owners, and some part of the disputed block of shares acts as collateral for financing provided, among other things, by China Development Bank.
PJSC Motor Sich is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of engines for aviation equipment, as well as industrial gas turbine units. It supplies products to more than 100 countries around the world.
The international rating agency S&P Global Ratings has confirmed the long-term sovereign ratings of Ukraine in foreign and national currency on the global scale at “B” level, ratings on the national scale at “uaA” and short-term ratings at “B”, the outlook for long-term ratings is stable.
“Ukraine’s growth, balance of payments and public finances exceeded our expectations in 2020. The adequacy of reserves has improved, which provides protection against possible adverse external events, including further delays in the payment of concessional loans,” the agency explained the rating confirmation on Saturday night.
At the same time, S&P noted that epidemiological considerations continue to pose a serious risk.
The agency indicated that it could raise the ratings over the next year if Ukraine’s external liquidity indicators and the consolidation of state finances are better than projected today, including as a result of a more active economic recovery.
At the same time, the ratings could be downgraded in the event of disruptions to concessional financing from international financial institutions or from capital markets, which would call into question the government’s ability to meet its debt service obligations, S&P said.
“Such disruptions may occur if the government abandons key reforms, such as ensuring the independence of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), which acts as a monetary authority and regulator of the financial system,” the message reads.
In the evening of March 12, at a meeting of the regional commission of the State Commission on Manmade Disaster, Emergency Response, it was decided to put under quarantine the tourist complex Bukovel and restrict entry to the territory of Polianytsia territorial community, which only local residents or people who work there can freely move through, the local newspaper Halka reports.
“It was decided to terminate the activities of the Bukovel resort. Tourists will not be able to visit it. If you are a tourist, then you must understand that you are not going to Bukovel – you are going to the red quarantine zone, a high-risk zone. We are making such a forced decision, and probably not the last. After all, the red zone, in which we live, is growing, and we do not see a trend towards its decrease,” said head of Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration Andriy Boichuk.
The new rules will take effect from 24:00 on March 13.
“As of today, 51 administrative protocols have been drawn up in Bukovel tourist complex: for lift operators, ski equipment rental points. Additional checkpoints will be introduced on the territory of Polianytska territorial community. Only local residents or those who have a place of work in this settlement will be able to move freely, subject to quarantine requirements,” said Volodymyr Holubosh, head of the Main Department of the National Police in Ivano-Frankivsk region.
