Ukraine may benefit from the restructuring of supply chains that will follow the crisis, said regional economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and former head of the Central Bank of Macedonia Dimitar Bogov.
“Ukraine, with its geographical proximity to Western Europe and the size that can have economies of scale, has every opportunity to capitalize on such a post-crisis development. This crisis will also provide additional impetus to the information and communication technology, e-commerce and delivery services industries while challenging the business models of retail, real estate services and the sharing economy,” Bogov in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
In his opinion, this is one of the economic opportunities that will arise in response to the Covid-19 crisis in the long run.
“The crisis can lead to a more thorough study of supply chains with an emphasis on sustainability and diversification. In many sectors, one economy, often China, is now the dominant global supplier,” he said.
In some of these sectors, the economies of the EBRD regions already have comparative advantages and large export volumes, which could lead to further expansion of their exports, he added.
A plan on restructuring of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, which foresees division of the company into three operators (infrastructure, freight and passenger) and a production block, will be prepared by the end of 2019, Ukrzaliznytsia head Yevhen Kravtsov wrote on Facebook.
“We will fulfill the order of [President of Ukraine] Volodymyr Zelensky in time,” he said.
According to Kravtsov, a gradual plan would become a part of the implementation of the Ukrzaliznytsia’s strategy agreed with the Cabinet of Ministers and approved by the supervisory council in June 2019. After the plan is fulfilled and approved by the supervisory board, Ukrzaliznytsia will begin making certain steps under the control of the government, he added.
“[Infrastructure Minister] Vladyslav Krykliy, [Prime Minister] Oleksiy Honcharuk back European model. The main is that infrastructure remains under state regulation, when passenger and freight carriages are carried under the market conditions,” he said.
As reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has instructed the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to prepare a plan on restructuring of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia by the end of 2019.
The president appointed Honcharuk and Krykliy responsible for the preparation of the plan.
