The decision of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to cancel mandatory sale of currency by business could result into active use of derivatives, such as forwards, futures, options, and swaps, Senior Associate Lawyer of Evris Law Firm Kateryna Breduliak has said. She recalled that the regulation on mandatory sale of 30% of currency on the interbank currency market was canceled on June 20, 2019. Mandatory sale of currency from clearing accounts was canceled on June 19, 2019.
Breduliak said that the NBU’s decision to cancel mandatory sale of currency was “rather predictable” taking into account the law on currency and currency transactions, which took effect on February 7, 2019, as well as the NBU’s course towards currency liberalization.
“Despite another relaxation of currency rules by the NBU, several approved currency liberalization measures have no significant effect on the financial market. However, the regulator took a timely decision as long as demand for U.S. dollar and at the same time for currency earnings is expected in summer,” the lawyer said.
She added that as a result of such changes businesses could actively use derivatives (forwards, futures, options, swaps).
“Bankers also hope for improvement as long as businesses will transfer currency in Ukraine more actively because now they can withdraw it any time,” she said.
The lawyer stressed that “in such situation it will be much more difficult to make dollar rate forecasts and the volume of currency on the market is also unknown.”
Breduliak added that “cancellation of mandatory sale of currency will not have a dramatic effect on businesses.”
“For example, take an agricultural company. The farmers need hryvnias to prepare for the sowing campaign. Hence, there is no point in holding currency back and the agricultural company anyway has to sell currency to insure its further work,” she said.
As reported, the NBU canceled the mandatory sale of currency by businesses from June 19, 2019.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said about his vision of how to make Ukraine the really rich country and called on business to invest money, time and ideas in Ukraine.
“We are carefully studying the experience of countries that are successful. We understand that they, first of all, invested in education, technology and infrastructure. Ukraine will do the same. Therefore, the role of the state in the economy in the next five years will be reduced to three things: do not interfere business; to build an excellent infrastructure for business and create conditions for doing business in Ukraine was simply convenient; third, focus on education, science and technology,” he said at a meeting with the business community in Kyiv.
Zelensky said that he was not used to catching up, therefore he is looking for creative breakthrough and innovative solutions for Ukraine with his team, and will tell more about them in the near future.
The president said that “to turn from a poor country into a middle-income country is not so difficult.” “The recipes are simple, success stories are known. All these is a mandatory program for us, and we will do it in the next five years,” he said.
At the same time, Zelensky is convinced that Ukraine needs to become a “truly rich country.”
“According to the World Bank, in 1960 there were 101 countries that are developing, and only 13 of them were able to become developed rich countries. In addition, most of them did it at the expense of natural resources. Economists have a special term: “middle income trap.” Its essence is very simple: poor countries compete with cheap labor. As soon as a country receives an average level of income, competitive advantages disappear and the country ceases to develop rapidly. According to this scenario, the country almost never becomes rich, the highest level is “medium,” he explained.
“Half a year ago I decided to invest the most precious thing I have – my time – in Ukraine. I urge you to do the same: invest time, money, ideas in Ukraine. Let’s change Ukraine together!” Zelensky said, addressing business at the end of his speech.
BUSINESS, EDUCATION, INVEST, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGIES, ZELENSKY
There is no need any more to go to the politics to protect own business in Ukraine, and voters do not want to see businessmen in politics, large Ukrainian businessmen said during the Ukraine: Game of Thrones. Final Season! international investment conference organized by Concorde Capital in Kyiv. According to Sergiy Tigipko (TAS group), the experience of 2014 showed that Ukrainian society does not want to see businessmen in politics.
“I think that big business needs to draw conclusions from this. They do not want to see business in politics. They want new faces,” Tigipko said.
According to Yuriy Kosyuk (MHP agricultural holding), before businessmen were forced to support politicians to protect their interests, but now there is no such need.
“Political parties can be supported, if you share values with them. Once, probably, this [funding of politicians] was protection for someone. For me, too, it was in the form of different political parties. And today, this is absolutely surely that there is no point: the power is not terrible, it is an absolute impotent, it cannot destroy anyone,” he said.
Kosyuk said that the government has taken away business from smugglers. “It does not have power over those who are doing the legal business, because civil society is now quite transparent and strong,” the owner of MHP said.
Businessmen as a whole positively assessed the change of president in Ukraine.
Kosyuk said that populistic statements, in which opponents accuse the newly elected president, will change after talking with foreign politicians.
“Populism before the elections. Where it does not exist? But when Zelensky starts running the post, will go to Washington once, many things will change,” Tigipko, who for many years held senior positions in the government and the National Bank, said.
P & O Maritime Ukraine, a subsidiary of DP World Group, a provider of tugboat services, has announced the start of operations at the Odesa seaport, the company has said on its Facebook page.
The letter on the start of the operations was sent to acting Head of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority Raivis Veckagans and thee Odesa branch of the authority.
“Odesa is the third Ukrainian port after Yuzhny and Chornomorsk, in which a representative of the world’s largest operator will work. For work in Odesa, contracts with leading global shipping companies have been concluded,” the company said.
“I am sure that the port, ship owners, terminals and the towing market as a whole will benefit from our cooperation,” P & O Maritime Ukraine CEO Mykhailo Sokolov said.
As reported, in January 2018, P & O Maritime, a fully owned subsidiary of DP World Group, received control over LB Shipping company and started providing tugboat services at the Yuzhny port. The co-investor of the deal was SD Capital investment company belonged to Andriy Stavnitser and Filip Hrushko.
In July 2018, P & O Maritime Ukraine began to provide services at the port of Chornomorsk.
The business delegation of Pharmexcil, the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India, will visit three importing countries, including Ukraine, Turkmenistan and the Russian Federation at the end of November. The Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s Association (IPMA) said the delegation of Pharmexcil will hold business meetings with the local pharmaceutical companies and regulatory agencies to stimulate Indian pharmaceutical exports.
In Kyiv, the delegation of Pharmexcil will meet with the representatives of the Ministry of Health and pharmaceutical companies.
According to Pharmexcil, the sales of Indian medicines in Ukraine in 2017-2018 increased by 14.4%, to $95.96 million. In the 2016-2017 fiscal year, India exported pharmaceutical products worth $83.91 million to Ukraine.
India as a manufacturer in Ukraine in 2017 ranked third in terms of pharmacy sales in packages after Ukraine and Germany, and in monetary terms (in the national currency) it ranked fourth after Ukraine, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Among the Indian pharmaceutical companies that are actively working in Ukraine, in particular, are Macleods Pharmaceutical, Dr Reddy’s, Euro Lifecare Ltd.
The Ukrainian business retains positive expectations regarding the level of business activity for the next 12 months, according to a poll of company heads conducted by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in the third quarter of 2018. “As in the previous polls, business activity is expected to boost by respondents of all types of economic activity. The most optimistic forecasts are in the processing industry. The business expectations index for the next 12 months was 117.2%,” the central bank reported on its website. The high economic activity growth pace remains mainly due to improved forecasts for the total sales of own products, as well as investment expenditures on machinery, equipment and inventory. At the same time, enterprises of all types of activities, except agricultural, expect further growth of foreign investments.
At the same time, the business pointed out a low level of stocks of finished products and the lack of its own production facilities in the event of an unexpected increase in demand.
The expectations of the respondents regarding the need for borrowed funds in the near future remained virtually unchanged compared with the previous quarter. At the same time, the majority of respondents who plan to attract loans are interested in financing in national currency. At the same time, the share of respondents planning to attract bank loans is declining for the third quarter in a row amid high credit rates.
The expectations of all enterprises in terms of production of goods and services in Ukraine for the next 12 months remain high: more than 30% of respondents expect production to grow, and about 50% are convinced that it will remain at the same level. Positive expectations have been observed for the last 10 quarters in a row.
For the second quarter in a row, the surveyed enterprises are lowering inflation expectations. “According to the survey, consumer price growth is expected to be at the level of 8.9% (in the second quarter of 2018 – 9.6%). The main factor affecting the price increase is the hryvnia exchange rate to foreign currencies (82.8% of responses). Production costs are at the second position, but the weight of this factor decreased by 3.1 percentage points compared to the previous quarter – to 68.5%,” the NBU said.
According to representatives of enterprises surveyed, in the next 12 months, consumer income and prices in global markets will affect the dynamics of consumer prices.
The National Bank said that the survey was conducted from August 3 through September 4, 2018. A total of 682 enterprises from 22 regions (excluding the temporarily occupied territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, as well as Donetsk and Luhansk regions), which represent the economy by main types of activities, ownership and size by the number of employees, took part in the survey.
