The largest 25 Ukrainian banks (in terms of net assets) in January-September 2018 received a net profit of UAH 10.9 billion, which is 4.8 times more than in the same period of 2017. The best result was shown by PrivatBank, which received a net profit of UAH 5.093 billion against a net loss of UAH 1.604 billion a year earlier, Raiffeisen Bank Aval, which increased profit by 0.96%, to UAH 4.071 billion, and UkrSibbank, which saw profit rise by 2.2 times, to UAH 1.898 billion.
The loss in the reporting period was received by Sberbank with UAH 6.995 billion, VTB Bank with UAH 1.788 billion, Ukrsotsbank with UAH 839.465 million, and Prominvestbank (PIB) with UAH 108.26 million.
PrivatBank received the highest net interest income before allocations to reserves – UAH 10.717 billion (an increase of 2.63 times), Oschadbank got UAH 3.664 billion (a decrease of 10.34%), and UkrSibbank some UAH 2.771 billion (an increase of 46.77%).
In relative terms, the interest income of Ukrsotsbank rose most of all, by 2.68 times, to UAH 759.934 million.
However, if to consider the assets of the banks, OTP Bank turned out to be the most successful in the reporting period as its net interest margin for the reporting period was 6.62%, followed by Kredobank with 6.24% and FUIB with 6.01%.
Over 2,000 participants of the fifth Kyiv International Economic Forum (KIEF) were exchanging ideas and experience, finding partners, clients, and investors on October 18–19, 2018 in Kyiv. KIEF has confirmed its reputation as a world-class business event and a powerful platform for dialogue between Ukrainian and foreign business, which plays the role of a generator of new investment projects.
More than 100 speakers—well-known entrepreneurs, economists, investors, representatives of financial organizations and authorities from more than 30 countries have participated in this Forum. More than 150 representatives of both Ukrainian and foreign media—from the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Poland, and France—have covered the Forum.
The Forum was opened by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman. He drew attention to the growth of Ukraine’s GDP for ten quarters in a row and the country’s rise in most global ratings, but he also noted that we can and must achieve even greater growth because Ukraine has a large unrealized potential. Mr. Prime Minister is confident that human capital can help the Ukrainian economy to grow by more than 5% a year. Therefore, one of the Government’s priorities is investment in education and training of professional personnel.
The future of countries, businesses, and communities in the high-tech world, where breakthrough technologies and rapid transformations change the rules of the game on the conventional markets, was the key topic of this year’s KIEF. World-renowned experts from various fields gave their insights and predictions about key changes that will influence the humankind in the coming years, and what countries and businesses need to do to use the challenges of the new era for the better. During the discussions, the issue of human capital was of top priority because innovation requires talents and developed ecosystems, not cheap labor and raw materials.
“Five years ago, when I was inviting foreign investors to Ukraine, I told them about cheap labor and smart people. But today these advantages do not work—technology is more important. There are two challenges facing the manufacturing—robotization and artificial intelligence. To effectively use these innovations and beat the competition, companies need talented professionals. Therefore, it is important to ensure all possible conditions for talents to stay in the country and create successful teams here,” comments the initiator of KIEF and founder of the UFuture Investment Group Vasyl Khmelnytsky.
Foreign investors also pointed out the rich human potential of our country. In particular, José Manuel Entrecanales, CEO of Acciona, which entered Ukraine with large investments in renewable energy this year, noted that “Ukraine has more talent that you would normally find at an emerging market.”
Vasyl Khmelnytsky brought into focus another aspect of the new era: “Today many large companies in Ukraine are introducing innovations. As a result, there will be job cuts. Therefore, the state needs to support small and medium businesses, as they can create millions of jobs and balance the situation in the labor market.”
KIEF also plays an important reputation role—it represents Ukraine to foreign business. The Forum helps Ukrainian and foreign entrepreneurs meet in person, find common language and interests, as well as agree on the development of joint projects. Like in previous years, KIEF was attended by numerous delegations of potential investors, this time from Italy, Spain, and others.
Participants of the panel discussions of KIEF 2018 paid much attention to the global competition and transformations businesses need to undergo in various areas in order to survive in modern conditions. During the Forum, industry specialists and entrepreneurs also searched for answers to current issues of the local economy. Among them were: creating innovation ecosystems to retain qualified personnel inside the country, search for resources to develop transport infrastructure, interaction of small, medium and large businesses, introduction of new technologies in the agricultural sector, etc.
Kyiv International Economic Forum (KIEF) is a permanent platform for the formation of Ukraine’s economic development strategy. It is aimed at organizing a dialogue between experts, business and government, adopting the best international experience, creating a roadmap for development and facilitating the conversion of ideas into real actions. www.forumkyiv.org.
The amount of the first tranche under the new Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could be $1.5-1.9 billion, First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Kateryna Rozhkova has said. “We recently had a monetary briefing where the NBU Governor Yakiv Smolii said that the tranche could be received by the end of this year. As for the sum [of the first tranche], I think that it would be some $1.5-1.9 billion,” she told reporters at the BEPSinUA forum in Kyiv on Thursday.
As reported, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff and Ukraine have reached an agreement on economic policies for a new 14-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), which will replace the arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), approved in March 2015 and set to expire in March 2019.
The agreement is subject to approval by the fund’s management and approval by its board of directors. The board’s meeting is expected to take place at the end of the year after the Verkhovna Rada adopts the national budget for 2019 in accordance with the recommendations of the IMF and the increase in gas and heating tariffs for households, reflecting market trends while maintaining support for low-income consumers.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was not as critical as Kyiv about the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and was in favor of Ukraine preserving its transit role after 2019. “We know that Ukraine is against this project. I am less critical about the project and I am in favor of Ukraine having guarantees, that Ukraine will preserve its transit role,” she said at a meeting with the Ukrainian parliament speaker, Andriy Parubiy, and the heads of parliamentary groups in Kyiv.
She noted that the negotiations on Nord Stream 2 are being conducted with both Russia and the European Commission. “The matter concerns creating a transit agreement. We want Ukraine to remain an important transit country,” Merkel emphasized. The chancellor noted that in addition to Nord Stream there is also TurkStream. “Thus, gas flows are expanding from Russia to the European Union, but this does not mean that we want to reject the transit role of Ukraine. I think that gas transit revenues are extremely important for the budget of Ukraine,” she said.
Merkel noted that Berlin “very seriously” considers the strategic opinion of Ukraine on the issue of Nord Stream 2. “We want to see Ukraine as a partner with respect to transit,” she said.
Prior to this, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy called on Merkel to study in more detail the arguments of Ukraine against the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
“The construction of Nord Stream 2 could bring imbalance and threaten the security of not only Ukraine but the entire European space. And this is the position of the Ukrainian parliament. I would ask that the arguments of the Ukrainian side be studied more in detail,” Parubiy said during a meeting with the German chancellor in Kyiv.
The speaker called for supporting the position of the Ukrainian parliament on the Nord Stream 2 issue.
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
