The state budget deficit of Ukraine in June 2023 increased to 135.1 billion UAH from 88.3 billion UAH in May and 32.6 billion UAH in April, according to the website of the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday.
It specified that the general fund deficit increased to 130.8 billion UAH from 91.6 billion UAH in May and 65.6 billion UAH in April.
The Ministry of Finance, referring to the operational data of the State Treasury, said that the cash expenditures of the state budget in June increased slightly – to 376.4 billion UAH from 364.7 billion UAH in May and 295.8 billion UAH in April.
They even slightly decreased to 264.7 billion UAH from 277.7 billion UAH in May, which, however, is more than 229.7 billion UAH in April.
As pointed out by the Ministry of Finance, in June 2023 the receipts to the general fund of the state budget decreased to 133.7 billion UAH from 184 billion UAH in May and 162.8 billion UAH in April.
At the same time, international grant aid provided by the USA amounted to 44.4 billion UAH, approximately the same as in the previous two months.
In general, in January-June this year, cash expenditures of the state budget reached UAH 1 trillion 784.3 billion, including general fund – UAH 1 trillion 407.6 billion, or 93.5% of budget expenditures against 95% in May, while state budget revenue was UAH 1302.2 billion, of which UAH 269.4 billion was grant international aid.
During those six months, the state budget was executed with a deficit of UAH 476.3 billion, including the general fund deficit of UAH 532.7 billion against the planned schedule of the general fund deficit of UAH 931.8 billion.
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada on March 21, 2023 increased the state budget expenditures by 487 billion UAH, revenues – by 61 billion UAH, which led to an increase in the deficit by 419 billion UAH.
Now the state budget revenues are set at 1 trillion 390.4 billion UAH, including the general fund – 1 trillion 233.8 billion UAH, while the expenditures – respectively 3 trillion 75.9 billion UAH and 2 trillion 783.4 billion UAH.
The limit of the state budget deficit measures is set at 1 trillion 719.7 billion UAH, including the general fund – 1 trillion 543.9 billion UAH. It is assumed that it will be financed almost entirely by foreign borrowing of $42 billion.
The Ministry of Finance specified that the value added tax (VAT) from goods produced in Ukraine in June brought 17.5 billion UAH compared to 17.3 billion UAH in May, while VAT refund increased from 9.9 billion UAH to 10.3 billion UAH.
Import VAT added another 28.7 billion UAH to the budget (28.5 billion UAH in May), personal income tax and military levy 15 billion UAH (14.1 billion UAH), royalties for using mineral resources 4.5 billion UAH (4.5 billion UAH) and corporate income tax 2.3 billion UAH (28.5 billion UAH). Excise tax brought another 8.8 billion UAH (9.5 billion UAH) to the state budget, and import and export duties 2.6 billion UAH (2.5 billion UAH).
It is specified that the tax authorities exceeded the budget by 1.1%, or 8.4 billion UAH, while the State Customs Service – by 6.8%, or 2 billion UAH.
Receipts of ERUs to the Pension Fund and social insurance funds in June 2023 rose to 42.6 billion UAH from 38.5 billion UAH in May, added the Ministry of Finance.
According to him, the actual state borrowing in the general fund of the state budget in June 2023 decreased slightly – to 140.2 billion UAH from 142 billion UAH in May and 193.4 billion UAH in April, and a total of 879.1 billion UAH for six months, or 82.9% of the plan.
Particularly, UAH 285.7 billion (UAH 45.4 billion in June) were received from placement of government bonds, including UAH 97.4 billion (UAH 17.1 billion) in foreign currency, or $1963.8 million and EUR640.9 million (June – $319.7 million and EUR136 million).
Credit proceeds from external sources for six months amounted to UAH 593.4 billion, including UAH 94.8 billion in June (EUR 73.4 billion in May). The main volume was provided by EU macrofinancial aid – UAH 357 billion and IMF loan – UAH 131.4 billion.
Payments for redemption of public debt in June 2023 decreased to 48.3 billion UAH from 55.1 billion UAH in May, while the service – to 33 billion UAH from 45.7 billion UAH.
The Ministry of Finance stressed that the rollover of OVDPs in five months was full: the funds raised from OVDPs allowed to fully cover the needs for payments on them.
Poland is studying the possibility of creating an experimental checkpoint that would speed up the passage of trucks by joint cargo control by Polish and Ukrainian border guards, said Grzegorz Ostasz, a board member of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIT), during a conference on the development of transport communication between Ukraine and Poland.
“Poland has become a hub for the supply of important goods for Ukraine. The authorities can increase the capacity of border crossings. We proposed such a solution – to make an experimental checkpoint at which Polish and Ukrainian border guards would jointly check trucks,” the PAIT press service quoted Ostash in a release to Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
According to Ostash, 870 Polish companies now do business in Ukraine, and Poland is interested in developing cooperation with Ukrainian business. “We are collecting suggestions and comments from Polish business on how we could simplify doing business in Ukraine. All proposals will be transmitted to the Ukrainian authorities by the government commissioner for the development of Polish-Ukrainian cooperation Jadwiga Emilewicz,” said Ostash.
According to a press release PAIT, the agency created a register of Polish companies that plan to enter the Ukrainian market and participate in programs to restore the country – today more than 2500 companies and organizations have expressed interest in cooperation with Ukrainian business.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed on Tuesday that the alliance countries have decided to extend his term for another year, until October 2024.
“I am honored that NATO allies have decided to extend my term as secretary general until Oct. 1, 2024,” Stoltenberg tweeted.
The Associated Press reported last week that NATO nations had given a tentative agreement to extend Stoltenberg’s term for another year.
Earlier it became known that none of Stoltenberg’s possible successors as head of the alliance, such as Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, had gained overwhelming support among the North Atlantic Alliance’s 31 member states. At the same time, Stoltenberg assured in June that he was not seeking an extension of his term in office.
Stoltenberg has been secretary general of the alliance since 2014. His term has already been extended twice. Again it expired in 2022, but because of the Ukrainian crisis he kept the post until the end of September 2023.
There is no official election of the NATO Secretary General; the Alliance appoints him based on the consensus of all member countries of the alliance.
Turkey and Egypt have upgraded their diplomatic relations to ambassadorial level, appointing them for the first time in 10 years, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
“Turkey and Egypt announce that diplomatic relations between the countries have been upgraded to ambassadorial level,” the media cited excerpts from a Foreign Ministry press release.
Salih Mutlu Shen, the country’s former representative to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, was appointed the new Turkish ambassador to Egypt. The Egyptian side offered to appoint Amr Elhamami as ambassador to Ankara.
“The move is aimed at normalization between the two countries and reflects the mutual desire to develop bilateral relations in accordance with the interests of the peoples of Turkey and Egypt,” the document stressed.
Arab media recall that Turkish and Egyptian presidents Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi agreed to exchange ambassadors in late May. At that time, the office of the Egyptian leader said that in a telephone conversation the two presidents agreed to strengthen relations and cooperation between the two sides and therefore decided to raise the level of relations to ambassadors.
Relations between Ankara and Cairo deteriorated after the military coup in Egypt in July 2013. At that time, Turkey and Egypt recalled their ambassadors. In November 2013, Cairo declared the Turkish ambassador “persona non grata.
Energy Company of Ukraine” (“EKU”) has transferred about UAH 17 mln to pay dividends for 2022.
As noted in the release of the company on July 4, this is the first dividends received by the state from the new energy trading company, which began its commercial activities in August last year.
It is indicated that the net profit of EKU for the five months of 2022 amounted to 33.9 million UAH.
According to the decisions of the government and the State Property Fund (SPF) of Ukraine, to which the state company is subordinated, 50% of this amount shall be used to pay dividends, 30% – to counteract the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, and 20% – for the costs provided for by the financial plan of the company for 2023, the company explained.
Thus, in total, “EKU” will allocate 27 million UAH to the budget and to the fight against the Russian Federation.
“In a short time we managed to build a capable company from scratch and reach the planned level of profit. The state has strengthened its position in the energy market and began to earn in highly competitive segments, where it was almost not present before”, – commented the general director of “EKU” Vitaly Butenko, whose words are given in the release.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, JSC Energy Company of Ukraine (EKU) is a diversified energy supplying company, which deals with buying, selling and supplying energy resources to commercial customers, including import and export operations. 100% of the company’s shares are owned by the state.
Generation distribution in power system of Ukraine in 2022
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
