The Export Credit Agency (ECA) could issue first pilot products at the end of this year, Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister, Trade Representative of Ukraine Natalia Mykolska has said.
“We hope that by the end of this year ECA could issue first pilot products. I want to pay attention that any new company requires some period of operation in the pilot mode, especially if it provides services that were not presented on the market previously,” she told reporters after a government meeting where the decision to approve the creation of the ECA was made.
Mykolska recalled that UAH 200 million provided in the 2018 budget will not provide for the full-featured operation of the institution. Therefore, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade hopes to increase budgetary financing and raise funds from international sources.
“At the same time, we see an understanding on the part of lawmakers, the government, that if we take the steps necessary to create a legal entity for ECA, we can talk about increasing, including budget financing. Possibly this year or the next it would be the sums which would provide the necessary tools to support Ukrainian exporters,” the trade representative said, recalling that the initial application for financing ECA was at the level of UAH 364 million.
According to her, to attract funding from abroad, it will be necessary to amend the legislation on corporate governance.
Mykolska said that the attraction of funds from financial institutions is possible through loans, entry into authorized capital or joint programs, when ECA will be an agent of a concrete international institution, providing some services. Another type is the agency’s cooperation with an institution abroad.
“We have established a working group with authors of the bill from the deputy corps and experts. We are working to create a general bill [with the necessary amendments to the current legislation on ECA]… It will not be the last one. When ECA starts operating the necessity of making changes could appear,” Mykolska said.
Participants in the pharmaceutical market are concerned about a lack of transparency in the formation of the National List of Essential Medicines, as well as the definition of nosologies that it covers. “The principles of forming the national list today remain unknown for the pharmaceutical industry,” President of the Medicines Manufacturers of Ukraine association Petro Bahriy said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.
He noted a lack of clear criteria on which drugs are included or withdrawn from the list does not allow domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers to plan production of certain medicines for several years.
“Pharmaceutical plants plan production of certain drugs based on the national list, invest money in the development of this drug for years, and then the state changes approaches and this drug does not get into the national list,” he said.
The head of the strategic planning department of Farmak pharmaceutical company, Yuriy Komarov, in turn, emphasized that questions are also caused by the method of calculating the need for drugs from the national list by medical institutions and the period for which they are purchased.
Health facilities should calculate and provide 100% need for medicines from the list for one quarter in order to be able to take into account any changes in the health system, as well as purchase drugs that are not included in the list, taking into account that at present the list does not cover nosologies, according to which a number of categories of patients previously received the drugs they needed, Komarov noted.
Antonov State Enterprise (Kyiv) saw UAH 5.9 billion of net revenue I 2017, which is 1.6 times more than in 2016, according to tentative data from the Ukroboronprom State Concern. The press service of Ukroboronprom reported that net profit was UAH 180 million.
Antonov is the leading Ukrainian developer and manufacturer of aircraft, a recognized world leader in the niche of transport aircraft. The enterprise cooperates with more than 75 countries. By the decision of the government, the enterprise has been part of the Ukroboronprom State Concern since April 2015.
According to the enterprise, in 2016, its net profit under Ukrainian accounting standards grew 4.1-fold, to UAH 178.1 million and net revenue fell by 0.16%, to UAH 3.64 billion.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine allocates UAH 2.5 billion for construction of new dairy farms in Ukraine using the tool for distribution of funds to support the agro-industrial complex in 2018.
“We are sending UAH 2.5 billion for construction of dairy farms in the country. Using these funds we will provide loans to agro-industrial enterprises. The rate of these loans will be about 3% in hryvnias [with the term of up] to five years. This is enough, and all associations support this. Or we will compensate about 30% of the cost, if the credit resources of the commissioned facilities are not involved. Throughout this year, mass construction of farms, dairy complexes will begin. We will increase the number of livestock and the volume of products made,” Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said at a government meeting on Wednesday.
According to him, this year funds to support dairy livestock will be sent.
“We will compensate about UAH 1,500 per milk cow a year to all legal entities and manufacturers to increase milk production,” the prime minister said.
He said that now it is unprofitable to grow and keep cattle in the country, therefore the state plans to stimulate breeding of livestock.
The government plans to support gardeners and berry growers in 2018.
“Today’s decision means that 70% of the cost of planting material will be compensated by the state. The only requirement is that this planting material should be grown in Ukraine. We expect the creation of new gardens for 3,000 hectares,” the prime minister said.
This year UAH 1 billion is provided to support farmers. This money will be used to reduce the cost of loans for farms.
“Loans to farmers will be provided under the coordination of the Association of Farmers at 1% per annum in hryvnias. We plan the compensation for farmers of 40% of the cost of domestic agricultural machinery,” Groysman said.
In addition, the government allocates about UAH 1 billion for a program on compensation 20% of the cost of Ukrainian agricultural machinery to farmers.
Some 83 organizations from Ukraine, including higher education institutions, research organisations, and private sector, receives EUR 17.23 million from the EU within Horizon 2020 programme.
The EU Delegation to Ukraine wrote on its Facebook page that In total, 505 Ukrainian organizations participated in the preparation of 915 project proposals, expecting European Commission contribution of EUR 312.81 million.
These results classify Ukraine in the sixth place among Associated Countries in both: the number of participations, and gained contributions from European Commission.
“The potential of the country is bigger, though. Ukraine requires further reforms to create more favourable conditions for the intensification of cooperation between Ukrainian science and industry with partners from the EU and other countries involved in Horizon 2020,” the EU Delegation to Ukraine said.
Ukraine became a new member of Associated Countries (AC) in March 2015. Since then, Ukrainian organizations have been able to fully participate in Horizon 2020 on equal terms with the EU Member States and other ACs.
The number of tourists visited Kyiv in 2017 grew by some 21%, the press service of Kyiv City Council has reported, referring to head of the permanent commission for budget, social and economic development Andriy Strannikov.
The press service said that the number of foreign tourists rose by 25%, to 1.6 million people, and the number of domestic tourists – by 18%, to 850,000, which allowed attracting additional funds to the city budget. “The tourist tax amounted to UAH 25 million in 2017. This is a very good indicator, taking into account the fact that in 2016 this figure was UAH 18.8 million. Profits grew by almost a quarter,” Strannikov said.
According to the press service, a significant factor in attracting tourists last year was Eurovision song contest.
Kyiv City Council recalled that in 2018 in Kyiv will be the final matches of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Women’s Champions League 2017/2018. The expected number of tourists is 120,000.
In 2018, Kyiv plans to establish another tourist information center on the European Square, as well as create photo zones with 3D designs of tourism logos at the railway station and near the city hall.
