KYIV. Aug 28 (Interfax-Ukraine) –U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch believes that Ukraine needs to develop competitiveness in the domestic and foreign markets and activate start-ups.
Speaking at the Inaugural Economic Forum “Supporting the Economic Development of Ukraine: Cooperation between Government and the Diaspora,” in Kyiv on Friday, Yovanovitch said they believe that an important element of enhancing the competitiveness of Ukraine’s economy is activating start-ups and increasing competitiveness in the domestic market.
The ambassador believes that now it is important to raise Ukraine’s competitiveness on the international market.
KYIV. Aug 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection jointly with Odesa Regional Administration, Odesa customs office and business representatives initiate the launch of a pilot project to relax biosecurity control for fruit and vegetables.
“After long discussions in Odesa a model that provides for the balance of interests of the state and importers has been found. The proposed changes mean that fruit and vegetable samples will be selected once for the first batch of food supplied under a contract if the next batches are shipped under the same contract, by one sender or the supplier from the same country for the same buyer,” acting Head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine Myroslav Prodan wrote on his Facebook page.
He said that among obligatory conditions is that the exporting country must be a signatory of the International Plant Protection Convention, and importers are to present food origin and biosecurity certificates issued by the exporting country.
According to the proposal, vegetable (potatoes, tomatoes and carrots), fruit, berries, citrus fruit and other fresh fruit will be checked under the relaxed rules.
“I hope that the draft resolution will be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers,” Prodan said.
KYIV. Aug 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Kyiv authorities are looking for an investor for the Bessarabsky market to reformat it in line with the modern retail format, CEO of ESTA Holding Maksym Hromadtsov has told Interfax-Ukraine.
“I hope that the Bessarabsky market would be transformed from the most expensive market without any distinguishing features into a normal format of the right European market, as, for example, the San Migel market in Madrid or Camden Market in London. I know for sure that Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has a vision. We have discussed this. The authorities are still looking for an investor,” he said.
He said that with losing the status of the main shopping street of the country by Khreschatyk Street the share of clothes retailers in it shrank to around 20% of all retail space, and bank departments, cafes and restaurants occupied the rest of the premises in the street. Visiting of the street by local residents in weekends has decreased.
Hromadtsov said that the project on the creation of the pedestrian zone from Kontraktova Square and Petro Sahaidachny Street until the end of Khreschatyk Street could positively influence on resumption of retail trade in the street.
“This is a long-term project. We would be lucky if they manage to finish it in five years,” he said.
KYIV. Aug 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The startup of the Ukrainian origin – DMarket blockchain marketplace selling items from virtual games has raised $11.48 million of investment at the first phase of the Initial Coin Offering (ICO), DMarket has said on its website.
In five days of the ICO – from August 17 through August 21, a total of 34.493 coin tokens were sold (including bonus tokens) for $11.48 million. It is planned to sell 50 million tokens.
The second token distribution phase of the ICO is scheduled for November 2017. Their cost would grow by 25%.
“We are building DMarket – a global marketplace based on blockchain and smart contracts. It enables one-click sale, exchange or evaluation of every virtual item between all games on any platform,” DMarket said on its website.
The blockchain will ensure 100% security and safety and smart contracts are the bridge on blockchain to connect all game worlds and universes without any third party needed, the designers of DMarket said.
Over 2.2 billion people play games every day on different platforms and devices and just a couple of games with 6% auditory already turn over close to trading in-game items.
The designers of DMarket are the co-founder of Ukraine’s Na`Vi (Natus Vinсere) cyber sport club Oleksandr Kokhanovsky and the founder of the website selling skins from CS:GO (skins.cash) Volodymyr Panchenko.
BAKHMUTIVKA. Aug 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has opened a new radio and television broadcasting station in Bakhmutivka (Luhansk region) on Tuesday, which will ensure the broadcasting of Ukrainian TV and radio channels in the temporarily occupied territory of the Luhansk region.
“The opening of the TV tower in the village of Bakhmutivka is a step towards restoring the unity of Luhansk and all Ukraine […] Residents from the controlled territory and from the occupied cities and regions of Luhansk are returning to the common information space of our Motherland,” Poroshenko said during the grand opening of the station.
The Ukrainian president said that “information war is the key element of Russian aggression.” Given this, Poroshenko said, the opening of the station is becoming more important, which was built, including with the help of the U.S., a 134-meter transmission tower with a range of 50 km.
“This station will ensure the broadcasting of 11 Ukrainian TV and four
KYIV. Aug 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The top 100 state-owned enterprises in Ukraine in 2016 received UAH 26.4 billion of net profit against UAH 53 billion of loss a year earlier, First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Maksym Nefyodov has said.
“The profitable sector is oil and gas due to Naftogaz, energy, engineering. The rest are unprofitable. Four companies of Ukraine demonstrate this result. The rest show a loss of UAH 10 billion,” he said during a press briefing.
Nefyodov stressed the book value of the top 100 state companies is UAH 1.4 trillion.
“Of course, UAH 26 billion in comparison with UAH 1.4 trillion of the book value of these companies is not a figure that can be proud of,” he said.
As reported, the government approved the concept of the strategic vision for the management of state-owned enterprises, according to which 378 enterprises from the general list of 3,444 in the long term will remain in state property, 359 will be transferred to concession, 893 will be privatized, and 1,255 will be liquidated.
