In 2024, state-owned Ukrgasbank (Kyiv) provided UAH 40 million in loans to farmers working in high-risk military areas, up from UAH 120 million a year earlier, said Tetyana Korinenko, director of the Small and Medium Business Department.
“Of course, a client who wants to get a loan must meet the bank’s requirements. A very negative factor for a significant share of clients who would like to receive financing is (requirement – IF-U) to be located in a safe territory. We also have requirements that the client must operate in an area no more than 50 km from the front line. But we also have cases using guarantee instruments provided by the state in the form of a guarantee from the Cabinet of Ministers and the Partial Guarantee Fund. We have already come closer to 22 km to the front line,” she said at Grain Ukraine in Kyiv on Friday.
According to Kornienko, Ukrgasbank has four clients from the agricultural sector in Kherson region who received loans to operate within a 30-kilometer zone from the military operations. In their case, state guarantee instruments cover 50-80% of the loan issued by the bank.
“This is a cool tool that allows us to help clients from the agricultural sector who work as close as possible to the area of active military operations,” the expert said.
Kornienko clarified that in 2024, Ukrgasbank lent about UAH 40 million to farmers working in the high military risk zone. A year earlier, this figure was 120 million.
“Of course, this is not much compared to our annual UAH 5 billion loans to the agricultural sector. But with each such client, we understand that we are giving the market an impetus, showing that it is possible to work in this way. It is also possible to have credit relations with such clients. And this risk is acceptable thanks to government instruments,” summarized the Ukrgasbank representative.
JSB “Ukrgasbank” was established in 1993. The state, represented by the Ministry of Finance, owns 94.9409% of the financial institution’s shares.
The international chain JYSK plans to open two new stores in Odesa this year, according to JYSK Country Director in Ukraine Yevhen Ivanitsa.
“Odesa, Arcadia, Rodos shopping center. This is where the seventh JYSK store in the southern capital of Ukraine will open in the fall. Currently, there are five JYSK stores in Odesa. The sixth JYSK will open in the summer in the Mercury shopping center,” he said on Linkedin.
Currently, there are 95 stores and the online store jysk.ua in Ukraine. The plan is to reach 100 stores by the end of 2024.
JYSK has more than 800 employees in the country.
JYSK is part of the family-owned Lars Larsen Group with more than 3.4 thousand stores in 48 countries.
JYSK’s revenue in the financial year 2022/23 amounted to EUR 5.2 billion.
Receipts of taxes, fees and mandatory payments to the general fund of the state budget of Ukraine, according to operational data, amounted to UAH 151.6 billion in May, compared to UAH 154.6 billion in April and UAH 164.3 billion in March, such operational data (as of 16:00 on May 31) reported the Ministry of Finance on its website.
According to its data, in May, through the State Tax Service revenues recovered to 99.8 billion UAH from 59.7 billion UAH in April, which is slightly less than 105.7 billion UAH in March.
It is specified that in May, income tax revenues increased to UAH 42.0 billion after falling to UAH 3.2 billion in April, partially offset by a one-time transfer of UAH 38.64 billion of profits by the National Bank. As reported, in March and February, income tax brought over UAH 60 bln monthly to the state budget, but part of it was paid in advance.
As for other taxes, personal income tax and military levy increased to UAH 17.3 billion (UAH 16.5 billion) in May, rent tax increased to UAH 5.8 billion (UAH 5.5 billion), and excise tax decreased slightly to UAH 11.4 billion (UAH 11.5 billion).
Value-added tax also fell to UAH 20.2 billion (UAH 22.8 billion): UAH 32.8 billion (UAH 34.8 billion) was collected and UAH 12.7 billion (UAH 12.0 billion) was refunded.
Receipts from the State Customs Service increased in May slightly decreased to UAH 48.4 billion from UAH 48.9 billion in April.
The Ministry of Finance pointed out that the monthly revenue estimates for the general fund of the state budget, according to operational data, were exceeded by 8.6% (+12.0 billion UAH), including by the State Tax Service – by 6.6% (+6.2 billion UAH), while the State Customs Service – by 12.1% (+5.2 billion UAH).
At the same time, there were no receipts to the general fund of the state budget of international aid in the form of grants, while in April they amounted to UAH 2.7 billion, in March – UAH 3.1 billion.
“In general, according to operational data, at the end of May 2024, the general and special funds of the state budget received 227.4 billion UAH (in April – 200.8 billion UAH, in March – 225.9 billion UAH) of taxes, fees and other payments. In addition, about UAH 42.0 billion (in April – UAH 40.1 billion) in the form of ERUs was received by the Pension Fund and social insurance funds,” the ministry added, thanking taxpayers for their contribution to the support of the Ukrainian army and financial stability of the country.
Data on expenditures in May are not yet available.
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the state budget for 2024 with a deficit of UAH 1.57 trillion, or 20.6% of projected GDP. Revenues of the state budget-2024 are set at UAH 1.77 trillion (not taking into account possible grant aid), expenditures – UAH 3.36 trillion at an average annual exchange rate of UAH 40.7/$1.
State budget-2023 revenues amounted to UAH 2.67 trillion, of which grant aid amounted to UAH 0.43 trillion. Cash expenditures of the state budget last year exceeded UAH 4 trillion, while the deficit amounted to UAH 1.33 trillion at an average annual exchange rate of about UAH 36.6/$1.
In late May, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko estimated the need for additional military expenditures in the 2024 state budget at $5 bln, while according to the head of the parliamentary committee on finance, tax and customs policy Daniil Getmantsev, “expert estimates that the actual gap is at least twice as large as the current estimate of UAH 200 bln ($5 bln) are not far from the truth”.
In this regard, the possibility of raising the military levy and value-added tax, as well as a number of excise taxes, is being considered.
Earlier Experts Club analytical center and Maxim Urakin released a video analysis on macroeconomics in Ukraine and in the world, more video analysis is available here.
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The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has set from June 1, 2024 the electricity tariff for the population at the rate of 4.32 UAH/kWh with VAT, which is 64% higher than the current tariff of 2.64 UAH/kWh with VAT.
This was announced by the first deputy head of the energy Committee of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksiy Kucherenko.
“4.32 is a single price. For electric heating – up to 2000 kWh at the old price in the heating period, in the summer as for everyone,” he wrote in his Facebook on Friday.
The maritime corridor created by the Navy has ensured the export of 50 million tons of cargo since August 2023, with 1,737 vessels handled at the ports, the Ministry of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure (MCDI) said.
“50 million tons of cargo were exported by the Ukrainian Sea Corridor in 9 months. Despite constant attacks by the Russians, Ukrainian port workers managed to handle 1,737 vessels,” the Ministry said in a Facebook post on Saturday.
Thanks to the combined efforts of the government, the Administration of Sea Ports of Ukraine, international partners and all employees of the port industry, it was possible to establish a stable export of Ukrainian agricultural products by sea, the report said.
The Facebook of the Administration of Sea Ports (AMPU) reports that the Black Sea ports have reached a record volume of cargo processing.
“Starting with the first Joseph Shulte vessel that left the Ukrainian corridor on August 16, 2023, Ukrainian Black Sea ports have processed this record volume of cargo despite constant enemy attacks on our critical infrastructure. This is 1,737 vessels handled!”, – AMPU said in a statement.
Last Thursday, the fact that exports through the sea corridor reached 50 million tons was reported by Yuriy Vaskov, former Deputy Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure (Ministry of Restoration).
The head of the Administration of Sea Ports of Ukraine (AMPU), Yuriy Litvin, reported that the results of the Ukrainian “grain corridor” almost one and a half times exceeded the indicators of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. According to him, the indicator of transportation of only grain cargoes for eight months is already 10% higher than the results of the “grain initiative” for the year.
Carriage-building enterprise Dneprovagonmash JSC (DVM) plans to sell up to 100 railcars for export to Europe, businessman Serhiy Tihipko said.
“Today we produce 80 railcars per month for the domestic market, but we have already started to make and for export… The European market is 8-9 thousand railcars per year, we have set a goal of 100 railcars per month to sell there. In money, the average car is about EUR100 thousand,” he said during the forum ‘Money for Victory’ organized by Forbes Ukraine.
According to him, Austrian metallurgical company voestalpine provides lighter and stronger metal for construction of railcars, which is a competitive advantage in the European market.
In turn, the group will invest in the modernization of the plant (metal work, welding, painting) and staff training.
As reported, in early 2023, TAS Group became a strategic investor in TransAnt GmbH, a wagon-building JV of Austrian voestalpine and ÖBB Rail Cargo, with a 40% stake, and in spring 2024 became a majority shareholder of TransAnt, increasing its stake to 61%.
In October 2023, as part of an innovative project with Austrian partners, Dneprovagonmash, a member of the TAS group, shipped the first lightweight modular freight cars (MultiBOX) for operation on EU railroads, and by the end of the year it already had a full line of platform freight cars for the EU market.
According to information in TAS Dneprovagonmash’s financial statement for 2023, this year it plans to invest UAH 100.2 million in the development of the European direction, in particular for the purchase of equipment.
The company in 2023 produced 378 freight cars (including for the EU market), which is 34.8% less than in 2022, sales decreased by 40.6% to 370 units.
Net income from sales of railcars and other products decreased by 2.8% to UAH 1 bln 77 mln, net profit increased insignificantly to UAH 49.2 mln.
TAS Group was founded in 1998 by businessman Tigipko. Its business interests cover the financial sector (banking and insurance segments) and pharmacy sector, as well as industry, real estate, and venture projects.
