The spot price of gold exceeded $5,000 per troy ounce for the first time on Monday amid growing demand for safe-haven assets. As of 8:02 a.m., the spot price of gold rose 1.8% to $5,078.54 per ounce, reaching $5,093.05 per ounce during the session.
The price is supported by fears of another US government shutdown and the weakening of the dollar: the DXY index, which reflects the dynamics of the US currency against six major world currencies, is down 0.5%.
Since the beginning of the year, gold has risen in price by 15.5%.
Earlier, the Experts Club analytical center presented an analysis of the world’s leading gold-producing countries in its video on YouTube channel — https://youtube.com/shorts/DWbzJ1e2tJc?si=BywddHO-JFWFqUFA
Ukrainian industry is one of the sectors of the economy most affected by the war. Since February 24, many large enterprises, primarily in the east and south of the country, have lost their production capacities, and the staff was forced to evacuate. At the same time, individual production facilities were transferred to the western regions, where they are being restored on the basis of more modern industrial facilities, such as industrial parks that appeared shortly before the war.
The Open4business portal spoke about the future of Ukrainian industry and the prospects for the restoration of production with Igor Stakovychenko, an expert in the field of economics.
According to the expert, the production of goods with high added value should become a priority for the development of the economy for decades to come.
“Before the aggression, our industry worked mainly according to standards that were not particularly modernized in 30 years of independence. This is the so-called canonical model, when you have raw materials, workshops, shipping, logistics, and so on. And there must also be stable consumers who will always buy products. Many plants with such a system failed the market test and closed down. Mostly giants remained, who more or less adapted. After the war, it will definitely not be possible to rebuild production in the same form, a fundamentally new model is needed, ”Igor Stakovichenko is sure.
The expert noted that in the modern world, the modernization of production involves the introduction of new management methods, as well as the creation of more adaptive sites, such as industrial zones or parks.
“If you have a workshop for the production of one specific part, which is itself part of a complex and long chain for creating the final product, then the situation above is rather precarious in modern conditions since you depend on many factors: suppliers, market situation, current conjuncture. If you have, for example, a 3D printer that can produce any shape to order for a specific client, then the situation is more stable for you, since you can quickly reorient yourself when the market changes. In the modern world, the industry is striving for greater universalization,” explained Igor Stakovichenko.
According to him, the restoration of the industry should begin now and be based, firstly, on the creation of industrial parks in safe regions, and secondly, on the modernization of existing industries for new models. As an example, Stakovichenko cites the development of this concept in Poland or the Czech Republic, where industrial zones already provide up to 50% of GDP.
“The government is now acting in the right direction, providing tax incentives to such industrial zones, this will lay the foundation for the rapid restoration of the country’s industrial potential in the post-war period,” Stakovichenko summed up.
ECONOMY, IGOR STAKOVICHENKO, INDUSTRY, MARKETS, PRODUCTION, STAKOVICHENKO
Yesterday, the Cabinet of Ministers included the pharmaceutical industry in the list of priority sectors of the economy, thereby strengthening state support in this area. Since the beginning of the war, the main pharmaceutical companies in Ukraine have generally maintained their production capacities, while several enterprises suffered as a result of Russian strikes, in particular, in March, the warehouses of the Farmak pharmaceutical plant burned down in Makarov, Kyiv region. The damage then, according to the enterprise, amounted to about 1.5 billion hryvnia.
How important is state support for pharmaceutical manufacturers now, and will the industry be able to provide Ukrainians with medicines in full? Igor Stakovichenko, an expert in the field of economics, answered these and other questions for the Open4business portal.
In his opinion, now the production of medicines should be equated by the state with the provision of the army, since in a warring state medicine is one of the foundations of a stable situation at the front and in the rear.
“It is hard to imagine that the army will be able to fight effectively if it is not provided with high-level medical support. At the same time, the production of its own medications is strategically important for the state. Supplies from Western partners are good, but having your own working pharmaceutical industry in such a difficult time is much better And this is understood in the government,” Igor Stakovichenko believes.
According to the expert, pharmaceutical production in Ukraine today is able to provide both the army and the population with a significant part of the necessary medicines. Igor Stakovichenko believes that the government’s timely decisions taken since the beginning of the war made it possible to quickly adapt the industry to new conditions.
“In particular, back in the spring, amendments were adopted to the law “On Medicines”, limiting the export of certain vital drugs. In addition, they significantly simplified the registration of pharmaceuticals during the war, creating an emergency procedure. This was done literally on the third day. In general, the government’s decision on The inclusion of pharmaceutical production in the list of priority industries is a continuation of the policy of supporting the industry, which has been outlined since the beginning of the war. Such support should remain at the level of the main state priorities,” stressed Igor Stakovichenko.
ECONOMY, MARKETS, MEDICINE, PHARMA, STAKOVICHENKO, ИГОРЬ_СТАКОВИЧЕНКО
On July 4, an international conference for the restoration of Ukraine started in Lugano, Switzerland. Among the main decisions taken on the first day of the conference, one can single out the approval of a plan to provide Ukraine with macro-financial assistance in the amount of $750 billion. Of this total, from 150 to 250 billion is expected to be directed to the restoration of infrastructure and housing damaged as a result of hostilities.
At the same time, the mechanisms for the practical implementation of this project remain unclear in the context of the ongoing war and the need to adapt legislation to it and establish partnerships between the state and private companies. Portal Open4business turned to Igor Stakovychenko, an expert in the field of construction and real estate, for a comment.
In his opinion, the practical implementation of the project should be started now at all levels, since delaying the process can lead to negative consequences in the autumn-winter period.
“Mechanisms for allocating funds from the confiscated assets of the Russian Federation and its large businesses are already being implemented by individual countries. We, in turn, need to implement the conversion of these financial assets into specific infrastructure and construction projects by creating representative offices in donor countries and coordination centers in Ukraine,” said Ihor Stakovychenko.
The expert also stressed that the regional principle of recovery, now promoted by the country’s leadership, when a separate partner state is engaged in projects in a separate Ukrainian region, is the most effective at this stage.
In addition, Igor Stakovychenko suggested creating a system of decentralized funding for the implementation of individual projects at the local level.
“But we must not forget about our responsibility to our partners. It is necessary not only to minimize, but to completely exclude the possibility of misuse of foreign aid by local officials. To do this, it is necessary to create a separate trust fund for each individual restoration project, the activities of which will be as transparent and controlled as possible by both the Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities and the donor country,” Ihor Stakovychenko emphasized.
According to the expert, the basis for the creation of such funds should be existing budget programs, as well as amendments to the main financial document.
“In fact, now we can receive funds both in the form of direct assistance and in the form of investments from partners. Here it is important to successfully implement and present the first major restoration projects, which will help increase investment attractiveness even in the current conditions,” added Igor Stakovychenko.
CONSTRUCTION, EXPERT, FINANCE, MARKETS, REAL ESTATE, RESTORATION_OF_UKRAINE, TECHNOLOGY, ІГОР_СТАКОВИЧЕНКО, СТАКОВИЧЕНКО
On July 1, the “Register of Destruction” is launched in Ukraine. With its help, homeowners whose houses and apartments were damaged as a result of hostilities and enemy shelling will be able to apply for compensation using the Diya application.
At the same time, the question of what the restored houses of Ukrainians will be like, taking into account the new realities and requirements for the housing stock after the war, remains no less important. The Open4business portal discussed these issues with Igor Stakovichenko, an expert in the field of construction and real estate.
“The introduction of the “Register of Destruction” will greatly simplify the procedure for compensating for damages for affected citizens. In fact, such a registry will bring together all the data on the destruction in the country. This will be very useful both for the state of Ukraine and for individual citizens when receiving compensation from the aggressor through international legal institutions,” the expert noted.
As for the new technologies that will be used in the construction of housing, here Stakovichenko recommends first of all to focus on the needs of society.
“What most people want from a new home, whose homes have been destroyed by the war, is reliability and security. The presence of equipped bomb shelters, convenient evacuation routes, autonomy – these are the criteria without which it is difficult to imagine post-war architecture,” Igor Stakovichenko stressed.
In his opinion, a good option would be the restoration and development of numerous recreational areas, some of which were abandoned even before the war. Stakovichenko believes that many Soviet-built sanatoriums and boarding houses, which have been practically not used for all the years of independence, can become a good platform for building eco-friendly settlements with autonomous service, since most of the communications have already been connected to them.
“Environmental friendliness and high technologies during construction will also become the hallmark of post-war architecture in Ukraine. Projects such as “zero energy houses”, or even “mini-power houses”, which are now being widely implemented in the EU, will also be popular after the war,” the expert added.
At the same time, Igor Stakovichenko sees no special prospects for aggressive development in the central areas of large cities, which was practiced before the war.
“Multi-apartment residential complexes in large cities will certainly continue to be built, but whether there is a buyer for such housing is already a question. I think many have already revised or will reconsider their views on comfortable housing as a result of the war,” the expert concluded.
CONSTRUCTION, EXPERT, FINANCY, IGOR STAKOVYCHENKO, MARKETS, REAL ESTATE, TECHNOLOGY, СТАКОВИЧЕНКО
The war caused and continues to cause significant damage to the economy of Ukraine. Today, perhaps, the construction and real estate markets suffered the most from the hostilities. Thus, the report of the National Bank of Ukraine “On Financial Stability” dated June 17, 2022 indicates that since the beginning of the war, the market has practically stopped, both in terms of construction and the sale of housing. At the same time, according to the NBU, the situation has begun to level off in recent weeks, and above all in the regions that are least affected by the destruction from the war.
The most favorable situation is in the western regions of the country, while the National Bank notes that a number of significant problems remain there. First of all, this is a market imbalance, when the prices declared by sellers are not supported by demand and are supported artificially.
As for construction, here, according to the regulator, the situation is more optimistic. Developers have restored work on almost 50% of the facilities in the country. The most positive dynamics is observed in the western regions, in the center and in the Odessa region.
As for the office real estate market, according to the NBU, it suffered to a greater extent from the massive transition of staff to remote work.
The Open4business portal asked financial expert Igor Stakovichenko to comment on the current situation. In his opinion, the severity of the crisis in the real estate market directly depends primarily on the intensity of hostilities in various regions of the country, as well as on the well-being of the population.
“We see that the demand for housing in the same Kharkiv and Dnipro collapsed almost equally. At the same time, housing construction in Kharkiv is at a standstill, while in Dnipro it is being restored. This is due to the risk assessment by developers, since the Kharkiv region is now under devastating shelling by the aggressor,” the expert believes.
In his opinion, most of the prices in both the primary and secondary markets are dictated by the overestimated expectations of developers who continue to hope to find a buyer for their goods despite changes in the economy and a decrease in the income of part of the population.
“Builders think in the old way, and form the price based on the cost and those mark-ups that were fair in the pre-war period. Buyers have become much more cautious and assess the risks, in particular, the presence of bomb shelters, evacuation routes, and so on. As for the secondary market, here prices are often drawn from the ceiling, hoping more for luck, ”said Stakovichenko.
According to the expert, market recovery can be expected after the end of the war, when the demand for housing will increase and investors’ fears will decrease.
CONSTRUCTION, EXPERT, FINANCY, IGOR STAKOVICHENKO, MARKETS, REAL ESTATE MARKET, STAKOVICHENKO
