Forecast of changes in discount rate of National bank of Ukraine, %
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Ukraine and Turkey will ratify the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the near future, and after the ratification procedure is completed, the document will enter into force in early 2024, the Economy Ministry said on Wednesday following a meeting between First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and the new Turkish Ambassador Mustafa Levent Bilgen the day before.
“The free trade agreement will also simplify logistics issues, promote the development of Ukrainian business in wartime, and open new prospects in Ukraine for our partners from Turkey,” Svyrydenko was quoted as saying in a press release.
She added that a working group on grain will be set up to discuss global and bilateral trade in this market.
“Ukraine highly appreciates Turkey’s participation in protecting the grain export initiative, which is an important factor in ensuring global food security,” the First Deputy Prime Minister said.
It is noted that the parties are also ready for a constructive dialogue on expanding economic cooperation, in particular, the creation of joint projects in priority sectors of the economy. Strategically important sectors for restoring and attracting private investment are defense, agricultural production and processing, renewable energy, gas production and storage, green metallurgy, environmentally friendly transport, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals.
Svyrydenko added that Ukrainian entrepreneurs are ready to establish joint business with international partners, so the government is using every opportunity to attract additional resources, including for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.
“Humanitarian demining is another important area. We need heavy demining vehicles, training for sappers, everything that will help us clear our land as soon as possible. We are open for cooperation and encourage international business to enter Ukraine,” the First Deputy Prime Minister said.
As reported, following 12 rounds of negotiations and a series of expert consultations in 2011-2022, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mush signed an FTA between the two countries in Kyiv on February 3, 2022. The document will enter into force after ratification by the parliaments of both countries and the exchange of instruments of ratification.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he had approved another $200 million military aid package for Ukraine.
“I just signed a document allocating $200 million for Ukraine’s defense,” Biden said at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.
He added that this aid package would be promptly sent to Kyiv.
The US president did not specify what exactly would be included in this tranche of aid.
Dynamics of changes in discount rate of NBU – from 2013 to June 2023
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Monthly sales of the online fabric store tk.ua, owned by the Textile-Contact group of companies, currently amount to about UAH 5 million, while almost two years ago, with the start of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, they dropped to UAH 3 million per month.
“Pre-war sales of the online store amounted to about UAH 8 million per month, but almost two years ago they dropped to UAH 3 million. Today, sales have increased to UAH 5 million per month,” the company’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
The company cites the constant replenishment of the online store’s catalog with fabrics, a convenient interface for searching and paying for goods, and improved logistics processes and sales approaches as the factors behind the sales growth.
According to the company, more than 140 thousand retail customers and 10 thousand wholesale customers buy fabrics online every year. At the same time, 10% of the site’s users come back for more.
As the owner of the company, Oleksandr Sokolovskyi, noted on Facebook, tk.ua, which was founded seven years ago, is currently the largest online fabric store in Europe in terms of assortment and number of visitors.
“Of course, there are many resources in Germany, Italy, the UK, and Finland, but there are no analogues to our product. If you have a desire to buy fabric in Europe, you will most likely be advised to come to a small family-owned store or be taken to a large (by European standards) fabric store,” Sokolovsky wrote.
At the same time, he added that when the retail network, B2B sales, corporate and departmental uniform orders dropped significantly in 2020-2021 due to the covid, online trading supported the company greatly.
“The online store’s revenue increased significantly during the covid restrictions, almost doubling to UAH 10 million in some months,” the company owner said.
Today, tk.ua offers more than 30 thousand fabrics from 25 countries, more than 9 million visitors to the online store, and more than 4.5 million running meters of fabrics delivered to customers over seven years.
“Every year, the percentage of in-house production from 12 factories of the Textile-Contact group scattered throughout Ukraine is increasing. And these are not only fabrics, but also finished products – eco-bags, clothing for defenders, medical clothing, curtains, tulle and other finished home products,” Sokolovsky notes.
“Textile-Contact is the largest trading and production group in the Ukrainian light industry market, founded in 1995. It combines the entire range of services in the textile industry: from raw materials and yarns to ready-made solutions for B2B, B2G, B2C customers.
The holding employs 1549 people. In 2022, the Group paid more than UAH 277 million in taxes to the state budget of Ukraine (in previous years – about UAH 160-165 million).
The event will become a platform for constructive dialogue, expression and discussion of various opinions between the authorities, developers, architects, builders and the public sector
On December 14, the first UKRAINIAN CONSTRUCTION CONGRESS will be held at the CEC “Parkovy” in Kyiv, where participants will have the opportunity to discuss, express their opinions and visions of the Formula for the Reconstruction of Ukraine.
Both foreign partners and the Ukrainian government, developers, builders and architects are already working on planning and implementing the reconstruction of Ukraine. But unfortunately, there is currently no clearly articulated consolidated vision, basic principles, or common vision of cooperation and interaction among all participants in the process. This was the trigger for the idea of discussing the Formula for the Reconstruction of Ukraine.
The UKRAINIAN CONSTRUCTION CONGRESS will become a platform for constructive dialogue, exchange of views and ideas between the government, developers, architects, builders, manufacturers of building materials, the public sector and other industry participants. An important issue of the congress will be the problem of returning Ukrainians from abroad, without whom Ukraine’s recovery is impossible.
The program of the event will include discussion panels, speeches and presentations by experts in various fields.
Mykhailo Podolyak, Advisor to the Head of the Presidential Office and Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy Rostyslav Karandeyev, will also deliver a welcoming speech at the event.
The organizers have already announced a list of topics to be discussed at the event, the results and conclusions of which will form the basis of the Formula for Rebuilding Ukraine.
Among them:
– “Education in architecture. Destruction or misunderstanding of the needs of reconstruction?”
– Innovations and their impact on business development;
– “Promising areas of investment in the future reconstruction of Ukraine”;
– “Technologies of future recovery as a tool for modernization of Ukraine”;
– “Money for housing. Sources of income in 2024: investments, sales, mortgages”;
– “City without Borders: own examples and actions towards barrier-free access”;
– “Sustainable City: transforming Ukraine through urban transformation;
– “Ageism. Discrimination against the adult generation”;
– “Architect or developer. Who is in charge?”
Among the panel discussions were “How to build during the war. Innovations in construction”, “What to build during the war”.
“Our congress is a platform where we provide an opportunity for different teams and companies to interact and express their opinions on how Ukraine should move forward in the context of reconstruction,” comments Igor Parubsky, organizer of the Ukrainian Construction Congress.
The discussion of topics and opinions on the Formula for Rebuilding Ukraine will be attended by Tetiana Lomakina, Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Barrier-Free Access, Vadym Svyrydenko, Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Rehabilitation of Combatants, Daryna Marchak, First Deputy Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, Volodymyr Popereshniuk, co-founder of Nova Poshta, Massi Nayyem, Founder of Miller Law Firm, co-founder of the Human Rights Center “Principle”, Artur Mikhno, CEO of work. ua, Anatoliy Amelin – Director of Economic Programs at the Ukrainian Institute for the Future, Andriy Dligach – Ph. Sc. Chairman of Advanter Group, Vitaliy Melnyk – Vice President of UDP, Vlad Goldakovskiy – Founder of Goldakovskiy Group Architects, Oleksandr Kashchenko – Dean of the Faculty of Architecture of KNUBA, Anatoliy Davydov – Dean of the Faculty of Architecture of NAOMA, Borys Goldenstein – Founder and CEO of ZEZMAN HOLDING, Andriy Vavrysh, founder of SAGA Development, Mark Kestelboim, CEO of Well-Being contech, Budova, Sergey Samusev, development company ZV Development, Mark Marchenko, CEO of SENSAR Development, Igor Guda, founder of Creator-Bud, Igor Mazepa, CEO of Concorde Capital, and others.
The congress will also feature an analysis of the Ukrainian real estate market by Olga Okhrimenko, an expert of LUN.
Other representatives of the construction industry from all over Ukraine can also take part in the Ukrainian Construction Congress. Admission is free upon pre-registration on the organizer’s website, which reserves the right to refuse participation.
The full program and speakers, as well as the registration form, are available at https://www.ubc-ua.info/.
