The inflationary expectations of Ukrainians in January 2018 improved by 5 points after a negative trend in December 2017 and reached 185.3 (on the scale of 0 to 200), while in general the consumer confidence index in January decreased by 0.8 points compared to the indicator a month earlier and rose by 5.8 points in annual terms, to 59.5.
“In January 2018 the consumer confidence index remained almost unchanged compared to December 2017. On the one hand, one can indicate the improvement of estimates of the current personal financial standing. From the other hand, the expectations of the country’s economic development over the next year continue to deteriorate for the second month in a row,” according to a monthly survey of GfK Ukraine.
The index of expectations of the country’s economic development over the next year declined by 4.5 points, to 54.5, while that for the next five years decreased by 0.9 points, to 70.6. At the same time, Ukrainians were optimistic about the expected changes in personal financial standing: the index rose by 1.6 points, to 57.5, the research says.
However, in general, the index of economic expectations was down by 1.3 points, to 60.9.
In January Ukrainians were also pessimistic about the national currency exchange rate for the next three months: the index of devaluation expectations rose by 1.3 points, to 167. At the same time, the index of expectations of changes in unemployment increased by 0.8 points, to 139.2, according to GfK Ukraine.
The volume of non-cash transactions in the Internet using mobile banking and e-commerce in Ukraine in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016 rose by 69.1%, to UAH 105.5 billion.
According to the website of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the number of such transactions at the same time increased by 28.9% and amounted to 275.8 million units.
The central bank also notes a significant increase in the volume of operations for transferring funds from one card to another by 54.1%, to UAH 73.4 billion (the number of transactions increased by 39.2%, to 43.2 million), as well as the volume of transactions in trade networks by 35.9%, to UAH 79.8 billion (the amount increased by 34.9%, to 329 billion deals).
The volume of transactions using self-service devices grew by 60.9%, to UAH 7.6 billion, and their number by 8.5%, to 14.4 million.
The total volume of non-cash transactions in 2017 was up by 46.16%, to UAH 835 billion. In particular, 38.8% of the total volume were transactions in the Internet, 31.9% were payments in trade networks, 26.4% transfers from card to card, and 2.9% transactions using self-service devices.
The total number of non-cash transactions last year increased by 30.2%, to 2.311 billion. In particular, 50.6% in the total number of payments were made in trade networks, 41% in the Internet, 6.1% were transfers between cards, and 2.3% transactions using self-service devices.
The growth of consumer prices in Ukraine in 2017 accelerated to 13.7% compared with 12.4% in 2016, which, however, is significantly lower than in the past years: it was 43.3% in 2015 and 24.9% in 2014. Industrial prices in Ukraine in 2017 increased by 16.5% against 35.7% in 2016, 25.4% in 2015, and 31.7% in 2014.
The national budget of Ukraine for 2018 provides for the allocation of UAH 86.9 billion for funding the healthcare system, which is 15% more than in 2017 (UAH 75.1 billion).
Industrial production in Ukraine in 2017 decreased by 0.1% compared to 2016, and in December it decreased by 0.5%.
Agricultural production in Ukraine (excluding the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea and Sevastopol, part of the ATO zone) in 2017 decreased by 2.7% compared to 2016.
More statistics see at the table below.
Credit Agricole Bank (Kyiv) saw a 37% rise in profit in 2017, to UAH 1.11 billion, the bank has said in a press release.
“For Credit Agricole Bank, this was a successful financial year with a record net profit of UAH 1.11 billion. Along with this remarkable financial result, I would like to emphasize the increase in the bank’s contribution to the economy of Ukraine, which was made possible by increasing the bank’s loan portfolio by 25% in 2017 after growth of 12% in 2016. This positive trend creates the prerequisites for an increase in the bank’s net income in 2018,” the press service of Credit Agricole Bank said, citing CFO Regis Lefevre.
According to the report, the growth of the bank’s profit was achieved due to diversification of the main sources of the bank’s revenues and a decrease in the cost of risk.
Net income of the bank decreased by UAH 86 million or 3% in 2017 compared to 2016, to UAH 2.791 billion thanks to the reduction in currency spreads and the number of currency forward contracts with customers. The decrease in net income of the bank was compensated mainly due to an improvement in the cost of risk, which fell by 68%, or UAH 594 million compared to 2016 and amounted to minus UAH 275 million, the bank said.
Credit Agricole Bank was founded in 1993. Credit Agricole S.A. on January 1, 2017 owned a 99.9961% stake in PJSC Credit Agricole Bank.
Credit Agricole Bank ranked 11th among 88 operating banks in the country on October 1, 2017 by total assets (UAH 30.159 billion), according to the National Bank of Ukraine.
Private joint-stock company Weidmann Malyn paper factory (MPF, Zhytomyr region), the only producer of electrical insulating board for power engineering machines in Ukraine, increased production by 5.9% in January 2018 year-over-year, to almost UAH 52.23 million. According to statistics of the UkrPapir association, paper output in natural terms rose by 13%, to 460 tonnes, while cardboard production decreased by 23.6%, to 390 tonnes.
MPF Weidmann is a member of the WICOR international group, the only company in Eastern Europe that can supply almost all kinds of electrical insulating paper and cardboard meeting regional and international standards. In 2017, the factory increased production of commodity goods by 15.9%, to almost UAH 591 million.
The commissioning of the new dual-track Beskydsky Tunnel in Lviv region will remove the existing problems and eliminate “bottlenecks of cargo traffic to Slovakia and Hungary, Acting Chairman of PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia Yevhen Kravtsov has told journalists during an inspection trip to Beskydsky Tunnel.
“If to look at history, this project or, more precisely, the need to build the second tunnel, was caused by an objective necessity, since the old tunnel was built more than 100 years ago, is at the final stage of its operation and requires conservation as soon as possible. And if we leave everything as it is, freight traffic in the direction of Hungary and Slovakia would be extremely complicated. Therefore the tunnel is an objective necessity to ensure freight traffic,” he said.
In addition, according to Kravtsov, the tunnel significantly increases the throughput capacity in this area, as today 47 pairs of trains pass the tunnel, and the new one will accept 100 pairs or more.
“The actuality is that we see a steady growth in traffic volumes in the direction of western border crossings. This is demand from Ukrainian exporters, primarily metallurgists, grain traders, chemists, etc. Moreover, the tunnel is part of the Fifth International Transport Corridor,” he said.
