The presidential election campaign started in Ukraine on Monday, December 31, and will last for 90 days.
The World Bank has reviewed downwards its forecast for Ukraine’s GDP growth in 2019 from 3.5% to 2.9%, according to the Global Economic Prospects (GEP). Ukrainian businesses predict further economic growth and the creation of new jobs in 2019 for the second year in a row, according to a survey of company heads conducted by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The minimum wage in Ukraine in 2019 is UAH 4,173. Real wages in Ukraine in December 2018 increased by 9.7% compared to December 2017 and by 14.5% compared to November 2018, the State Statistics Service said.
The deficit of Ukraine’s foreign trade in goods in January-November 2018 increased by 66.6% compared with January-November 2017 and amounted to $8.866 billion, the State Statistics Service has reported.
The growth of consumer prices in Ukraine in 2018 slowed to 9.8% compared with 13.7% in 2017, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine has reported.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) intends to revise the forecast for inflation in the current year upwards.
The revenues of the national budget of Ukraine in 2018 amounted to UAH 928.139 billion and exceeded the target by 1.1%, Finance Minister Oksana Markarova has said, commenting on the information on the website of the State Treasury Service that state budget revenues were 1.3.% or UAH 11.77 billion less than the planned figure.
The revenues of the national budget of Ukraine in 2018 amounted to UAH 928.14 billion, which is UAH 11.77 billion, or 1.3% less than the target, the State Treasury Service of Ukraine reported on its website. Tax payments to local budgets in 2018 grew by 21.6% compared with 2017, to UAH 230.5 billion, the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine has reported.
The surplus of the balance of payment in November 2018 was $1.321 billion, according to a posting on the website of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
Industrial production in Ukraine in 2018 increased by 1.1% compared with 2017, while in December 2018 from December 2017 the decline was 3.5%, the State Statistics Service has reported.
The volume of sold industrial products (goods, services) in January-November 2018 stood at UAH 2.262 trillion, which is 17.4% more than in January-November 2017, in particular the volume sold abroad was worth UAH 88.841 billion, the State Statistics Service has reported.
Industrial prices in Ukraine in December 2018 decreased by 0.4% after growth in November by 1.7%, in October by 0.3%, in September by 1.2%, in August by 1.3%, the State Statistics Service has said.
Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU country in January-November 2018 grew by 6.9% year-over-year, to $5.6 billion.
The transport companies of Ukraine in January-December 2018 reduced passenger traffic by 3.5% compared with 2017, to 4.5 billion people, the State Statistics Service has reported. The transport enterprises of Ukraine in January-December 2018 reduced carriage of goods by 2% from January-December 2017, to 624.1 million tonnes.
The volume of construction work performed in Ukraine in 2018 increased by 4.4% compared with 2017, while growth in 2017 compared with 2016 was 26.3%, according to reviewed statistics.
Retail trade turnover in Ukraine in 2018 in comparable prices increased by 6.1% compared with 2017, the State Statistics Service has reported.
Ukroagro Alliance (Nicosia, Cyprus) belonged to Vasyl and Yevhen Astion plans to acquire Khorol baby food plant LLC (Poltava region) and Khorol baby food plant Trade House LLC (Kyiv).
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine could permit Ukroagro Alliance to buy a stake in the charter capital of the two companies exceeding 50% of the votes in the management bodies of the companies.
According to the unified public register of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, Vasyl and Yevhen Astion are also founders of Dnipro Agro Group, which core business is the production, storage and sale of grains and oilseeds.
The enterprises of Dnipro Agro Group cultivate more than 50,000 hectares of land in Dnipropetrovsk region, grow wheat, barley, sunflower, and rape. The group owns three silos with a total storage capacity of about 125,000 tonnes.
Khorol baby food plant produces cereals, dairy products, water under the Maliutka, Malysh and other trademarks. The plant produces more than 20 kinds of products.
Qibox Financial Ltd. (Nicosia, Cyprus), owned by Serhiy Kobzar, is listed as the ultimate beneficiary of Khorol baby food plant and the trade house.
Consumer confidence of Ukrainians in December 2018 improved compared with November by 2.4 points, to 62.2 on a 200-point scale, following the November trend after a significant decline in October 2018, GfK Ukraine has reported on the results of a monthly study, clarifying that from January 2019 it stopped this research project. This indicator is also 1.9 points higher compared to December 2017, the report says.
“In December, the optimism of consumers recovered after a slight recession in October-November. The consumer confidence of the citizens with average and higher than average income has improved the most. In December, these groups saw the significant increase of the index of expected changes in future income and propensity to consume. Instead, the pessimism has increased in the group of citizens with lower than average income,” GfK Ukraine analysts said.
The largest positive trend was shown by the index of propensity to consume, which rose by 3.7 points in December 2018, to 71.6, the study indicates.
Ukrainians were also optimistic about the expectations of changes in unemployment: the corresponding index rose by 3.5 points, to 134. The index of expected changes in personal financial standing grew by 3.2 points, to 61.8.
In addition, the inflation expectations index improved, dropping by 2.6 points, to 186.6, and the economic expectations index increased by 2.6 points, to 63.6.
Income of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in 2017 totaled UAH 16.304 million. According to the declaration of the candidate for the post of President of Ukraine for 2017, which he entered in the unified register of declarations, UAH 336,000 of income of Poroshenko was the salary corresponding to the position occupied, UAH 15.796 million of interest on deposits in his International Investment Bank (IIB), and he received UAH 172,000 of income from the sale of movable property.
On accounts in his IIB bank, Poroshenko keeps $25.49 million, another UAH 8.19 million are in PJSC Prime Assets Capital, uniting many of his assets. He keeps cash in the amount of $21,000 and UAH 60,000. The president also lent $3.43 million and UAH 1.111 million to third parties.
In 2017, the president placed $10,777 to an account with Rothschild Bank AG (Switzerland), owned by Rothschild Trust Schweiz AG (Switzerland).
In 2017, Poroshenko spent more than UAH 3.8 million on education, UAH 7.549 million on transport services, UAH 2.736 million on tourist services in Ukraine, UAH 5.472 million on accommodation services in Ukraine, UAH 813,500 on utility bills, UAH 90,800 on investment management services or consultations, and another UAH 95,476 on hospitality and logistic arrangements of the delegation in Belgium.
In 2017, Poroshenko did not receive dividends from more than 100 enterprises and legal entities, which ultimate beneficial owner (controller) he is.
Among them PJSC closed-end non-diversified corporate investment fund Prime Assets Capital, which unites many assets of the incumbent president.
In 2017, Poroshenko remained the ultimate beneficiary of PrJSC Roshen Kyiv confectionery factory, and its subsidiaries, Central European confectionery company LLC, the subsidiary Roshen confectionery corporation, a private limited liability company Roshen Europe B.V. (the Netherlands), PJSC Vinnytsia Confectionery Factory, PJSC Vinnitsa Dairy Plant Roshen, PrJSC Kremenchuk Confectionery Factory Roshen, PJSC Mariupol Confectionery Factory Roshen, Roshen Biscuit Complex LLC (Boryspil).
The European Union (EU) has selected Laura Garbenciute its representative in the supervisory board of the Energy Efficiency Fund of Ukraine, thus, completing the creation of the board. According to a report of the press service of the Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Economy Ministry, earlier Garbenciute worked in PricewaterhouseCoopers and has considerable experience in the audit sphere.
As reported, two representatives from the government, one representative from international donors and two independent representatives are members of the supervisory board of the Energy Efficiency Fund. They are elected for five years. The same person is restricted to three terms of office and may be selected only at a tender.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine selected its representatives in the supervisory board of the Energy Efficiency Fund: Deputy Finance Minister Yuriy Heletei and Director of the life-support systems economy department of the Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Economy Ministry Natalia Khotsianovska.
Winners of the tender to select independent members of the supervisory board of the Energy Efficiency Fund are Andrzej Rajkiewicz (Poland) and Yulia Sabatiuk (Ukraine).
