According to Serbian Economist, Montenegro is entering 2026 with relatively stable GDP growth, but with significant external imbalances and a growing role for fiscal policy as the main instrument of macroeconomic regulation. The country uses the euro as legal tender and is effectively deprived of standard monetary policy tools, so the key challenges for the economy lie in the budget, debt management, and structural reforms.
According to preliminary statistical data, Montenegro’s real GDP grew by 3.1% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2025. Estimates from international organizations generally fall within a range of around 3%: the IMF mission, for example, indicated a baseline growth forecast of 3.2% for 2025, attributing this, in particular, to a moderate tourism season.
Prices rose moderately in 2025, but inflationary pressures intensified by the fall. According to MONSTAT, consumer prices in January–November 2025 were on average 3.9% higher than in the same period a year earlier, and in December 2025, inflation stood at 4.0% year-on-year.
According to MONSTAT’s labor force survey, the unemployment rate in the third quarter of 2025 stood at 10.1% (with an employment rate of 56.0%). For an economy with a high share of services, this indicates a persistent structural gap between seasonal employment and stable jobs outside the tourist peak.
The IMF expected the general government deficit to widen to 3.6% of GDP in 2025 (after 2.9% of GDP in 2024). At the same time, the debt trajectory appeared manageable throughout the year: according to the Ministry of Finance, total public debt stood at €4.76 billion, or 58.59% of GDP, as of the end of September (compared to 61% of GDP at the end of 2024, according to the same source).
Tourism once again confirmed its status as a key generator of foreign exchange revenue.
The Central Bank reported that in January–November 2025, the number of tourist arrivals rose by 5% year-on-year to 2.67 million, and revenue from foreign tourists over the nine-month period reached €1.328 billion, slightly above the level of the previous year.
But it is the external environment that remains the main source of risk: the IMF expected the current account deficit to widen to approximately 18% of GDP in 2025, attributing this to a decline in electricity exports, signs of a weaker tourist season, and rising import demand.
The baseline scenario for 2026 is sustained moderate growth, provided that fiscal policy offsets external shocks and the economy begins to gradually shift from consumption to investment and diversification. Risks center on the external deficit and fiscal commitments, while opportunities lie in infrastructure projects, the energy sector, and the reforms necessary for European integration.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2441
PJSC “Ukrstal Zaporizhzhia Steel Structure Plant” ended 2025 with a net loss of UAH 4.821 million, compared to UAH 15.803 million in 2024.
According to the company’s filing with the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), a proposal will be made at the shareholders’ meeting scheduled for April 17, 2026, to leave the net loss for 2025 uncovered.
According to the agenda, shareholders will review the supervisory board’s report for the past year, approve the results of financial and economic activities and the procedure for covering losses, as well as decide on the use of the company’s reserve capital.
The draft resolutions, copies of which are available to the Interfax-Ukraine agency, propose, in particular, that the net loss incurred by the company as a result of its financial and operational activities in 2025, amounting to UAH 4,821,120 thousand, be left uncovered. Additionally, regarding the decision on the use of the company’s reserve capital, it is proposed to utilize the reserve capital, which as of December 31, 2025, amounts to 80,038 thousand UAH, specifically to cover losses.
PJSC “Metal Structures Plant ”Ukrstal Zaporizhzhia“ is the legal successor to PJSC ”Zaporizhzhia Metal Structures Plant” (the name change took place in April 2017). Its primary business activity is the production of structural steelwork.
According to the State Registration Service data for the fourth quarter of 2025, JSC “Closed Undiversified Venture Corporate Investment Fund ‘Rift’ owns 56.303% of the shares of PJSC ”Metal Structures Plant “Ukrstal Zaporizhzhia,” and Technological Renaissance LLC holds 42.9107%.
The authorized capital of the private joint-stock company is UAH 137.424 million, with a par value of UAH 0.01 per share.
Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, is interested in expanding its digital growth strategy by entering the digital banking market and is engaged in discussions with the National Bank of Ukraine, company representatives said during a conference call on Friday regarding its 2025 financial results.
“If you look at the portfolio of Sasha (Kyivstar President and CEO Alexander Komarov) and Boris (CFO Boris Dolgushin), you’ll see one obvious element that’s missing, namely digital banking. “I think this is the part that inspires us all for the next few years,” said Kaan Terzioglu, chairman of Kyivstar’s supervisory board and CEO of VEON, the company’s majority owner.
“We’re working on it. We are in dialogue with the National Bank of Ukraine. We want to resolve this issue, but, of course, you know, we want to combine this with a very clear strategy,” Komarov noted in turn.
According to him, the question is what role Kyivstar wants to play, because there are different types of licenses and different approaches.
“So for us, this is… not just a matter of regulation; it’s also a matter of the right strategy for entering this segment,” emphasized Kyivstar’s President and CEO.
As reported, Kyivstar served 22.4 million mobile subscribers and 1.2 million “Home Internet” subscribers as of the end of 2025. In 2025, the company increased its EBITDA by 30% to UAH 27 billion, with revenue growing by 30.3% to UAH 48.2 billion; including a 23.1% increase in EBITDA to UAH 7.2 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, with revenue growing by 30.1% to UAH 13.5 billion.
According to Fixygen, Handelsimobilen Investment Ukraine PJSC will hold its annual general meeting of shareholders on April 7, 2026, in Kyiv at 34 Khreshchatyk Street. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m., with registration of participants from 11:30 a.m. to 11:55 a.m.
According to the published notice, shareholders will review the executive director’s report and the annual report for 2025, discuss profit distribution, dividend payments, approval of significant transactions, and amendments to the list of persons authorized to act on behalf of the company. The company proposes to approve dividends in the amount of 21 UAH per ordinary registered share, or 4.425 million UAH in total, with the record date set for April 23 and the payment period from April 23 to October 7, 2026.
Separately, the agenda includes a matter regarding changes to information in the Unified State Register: it is proposed to remove Volodymyr Stadnyk from the list of persons authorized to act on behalf of the company without a power of attorney, as well as to clarify the powers of Lidiia Muravska as a non-executive director; It is proposed to appoint Executive Director Inna Kutuzova as the person authorized to register the changes with the state registry.
PJSC “Handelsimmobil Investment Ukraine” was registered in December 2000 in Kyiv. The company’s primary activity is the leasing and operation of its own or leased real estate. According to Opendatabot, the company’s revenue in 2025 amounted to 23.53 million UAH, net profit—4.62 million UAH, assets at year-end—19.03 million UAH, and authorized capital—10.54 million UAH.
Agronova, an agricultural company (AC) part of the Novaagro group, plans to begin its spring planting campaign in late March and sow 11,700 hectares with spring crops in the Kharkiv region, the company announced on Facebook.
According to the post, sunflowers will remain the main spring crop in the planting mix, with about 7,000 hectares allocated for them. The remaining areas are planned to be planted with peas, corn, soybeans, flax, and chickpeas.
“For us, the key aspects of this year’s planting campaign are the careful selection of effective microbial preparations, fertilizers, plant protection products, and high-quality seed. Seed treatment on the recently acquired line allows us to increase yields by 25–30%, which is a critical task under challenging weather conditions,” the company emphasized.
The agricultural holding reported that for the 2026 harvest, 8,700 hectares of winter wheat (over 40% of the total area) were sown, as well as 310 hectares of winter barley and 90 hectares of winter rapeseed. The fall planting was completed in mid-November 2025.
“The condition of winter crops is currently assessed as good or excellent. The conditions are in place for good yields, though sharp temperature fluctuations and possible spring frosts indicate that it is too early to make definitive forecasts,” Agronov concluded.
The Novaagro Group of Companies was founded in 2006 in Kharkiv. It specializes in the full cycle of agricultural production: growing grain, oilseed, and industrial crops; purchasing, storing, and processing them into flour (TM “Darislava”), oil, meal, and compound feed; as well as producing fertilizers and raising broiler chickens. The group’s structure includes the Novaagro agricultural complex, the Novatorg trading company, the Nova poultry complex, the Novaagro trading house, and the Agronova agricultural company.
The group’s land bank is concentrated in the Kharkiv region and totals approximately 30,000 hectares, distributed among three clusters. Production facilities comprise a network of six grain elevators (Hrakivsky, Orilsky, Shevchenkivsky, Kovyagivsky, Blyznykivsky, and Novovodolazky) with a total capacity of over 280,000 tons of simultaneous storage. The agricultural group also owns the Vasyshchevsky oil extraction plant with a processing capacity of 180,000 tons of sunflower seeds per year and a poultry complex with a simultaneous stocking capacity of 650,000 birds and its own slaughterhouse.
The beneficiary of the agricultural holding is Serhiy Polumysny.
The state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” has put more than 1.5 million cubic meters of timber products up for auction as part of the main bidding for the second quarter of 2026, which is 250,000 cubic meters, or 20%, more than usual volumes, the state-owned enterprise’s press service reported on Facebook.
According to the report, starting prices are set at the level of the first quarter of 2026 (+8% relative to the consumer price index) and are significantly lower than selling prices. In most regions, with the exception of Volyn and the Carpathians, the auctions have already taken place. Preliminary results indicate that 100% of both commercial timber and firewood for industrial use (FI) has been contracted.
The state-owned enterprise noted that the average price of firewood increased by 73% compared to the starting price, reaching 2,520 UAH/cubic meter, while the price of commercial timber rose by 26%, reaching 6,500 UAH/cubic meter. Overall, across all product types, the average price increased by 31%, to 5,200 UAH/cubic meter.
“Timber has been getting more expensive every quarter since the second half of 2024. Finally, the trend has paused. The price settled above the starting price but below the current one. In effect, there has been a price adjustment for round timber to the level of the third and fourth quarters of 2025,“ reported ”Forests of Ukraine.”
The price adjustment affected the fulfillment of first-quarter contracts: despite the availability of harvested products, some consumers declined to purchase them. In such cases, “Forests of Ukraine” uses Dutch auctions with price reductions. Over 100,000 cubic meters of round pine have already been listed for sale.
Overall, since the beginning of the year, harvesting has increased by 29% compared to the same period in 2025, but sales volume has increased by only 3%.
“At meetings and conferences, the market cited a shortage of resources and unused capacity, but in reality, it did not respond to the increase in the supply of commercial timber. As a result, there is a surplus of resources and a significant increase in warehouse inventories,” the report notes.
The imbalance applies only to commercial timber, while consumers of industrial firewood are purchasing the full volume (sales breakdown: 40% roundwood, 60% firewood).
To reduce inventory, the company plans to adjust its harvesting strategy: priority will be given to thinning and forest restoration operations that yield more firewood. Currently, the average daily harvesting volume is 45,000 cubic meters.
