Ukraine shows growth in Doing Business rate
The international Doing Business project published its annual research about business regulations and their enforcement in various countries of the world. In 2019, Ukraine ranked 71st place compared to the last year's 76th and strengthened its positions in 6 areas.
The biggest success was noted in terms of the protection of minority shareholders, obtaining construction permits, taxation, and settling the issue of insolvency. Besides, in terms of international trade Ukrainian business reached 78th position compared to the last year's 119.
Cryptocurrency law: prospects in Ukraine
It's no secret that cryptocurrency is pretty popular in Ukraine. While there are no laws regulating this form of business at the moment, a bill regarding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency was registered in the Parliament at the beginning of October. The bill proposes to tax all financial operations with cryptocurrencies without any exceptions.
Besides, it says about creation of cryptocurrency exchanges in Ukraine. The new bill is criticized within the crypto-community for depriving the sphere its key feature - anonymity. The bill proposes that only Ukrainians have the right to legally exchange cryptocurrency for electronic money or securities. Up to date, the Parliament hasn't approved the bill yet.
China's investment in the green economy in Ukraine
Head of the State Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving in Ukraine Serhii Savchuk attended the Horasis China Meeting held in Kyiv on October 14-15. During the meeting, he discussed prospects of investing in Ukraine with numerous Chinese companies. According to Savchuk, generating energy from waste, as well as production equipment and materials for renewable energy, might be the promising areas of cooperation.
One of the current promising projects that involve Chinese investments is construction of the wind power plant in Kherson region. The 450-million dollar project grabbed the attention of Chinese Shanghai Electric Power Construction and Power China Fujian Engineering, as well as the Norwegian NBT.
Ukrainian animation picture hits USD 5 million box office
According to Business Ukraine, Ukrainian animation picture called “The Stolen Princess” has hit around USD 5 million in global box office revenues since its spring 2018 release. The cartoon is a major breakthrough in Ukraine's effort at competing in the international market. The Stolen Princess is currently the most successful ever feature-length animated film in Ukraine. Based on Pushkin’s fairytale “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, the animated movie gathered around USD 1 million during the first box office weekend, successfully breaking the country's previous records.
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Aviation boom in Ukraine
More than 20 flights are to be launched in Ukraine this autumn. During merely four days in late October, 22 new flights were successfully integrated into the schedule according to prior agreements with the airlines. Ukraine broke its own record mostly thanks to Ryanair with 17 new flights, and Wizz Air with 6 new flights from Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv.
Besides, it's not the only piece of news. Lviv International Airport reached the mark of one million passengers per year in August 2018. Earlier this year, Airports Council International (ACI) data showed that Boryspil International Airport became the fastest-growing European airport, surpassing Warsaw and Budapest with 22.2% index growth. The rapid extension in the passenger flow is largely attributed to the visa-free regime with the EU countries as well as the growing number of low-cost flights that connect Ukraine and Western Europe.
AXA Group becomes Fairfax
In late October, the AXA team announced the news in terms of the Ukrainian market. According to the information on the company's website, Canadian company Fairfax Financial Holding Limited will acquire 100% of AXA Insurance and AXA Life Insurance in Ukraine. The completion of the operation will depend on the fulfillment of the relevant conditions for its closure, including obtaining the necessary regulatory permissions.
International holding company Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, has been engaged in insurance, reinsurance and investment management since 1985. The company is listed on Toronto Stock Exchange (FFH: CN), the market capitalization is $ 15.1 billion, the investment portfolio is $ 39.4 billion with total assets of $ 65.1 billion and a share capital of $ 18.4 billion. The holding operates in 40 countries of the world.
Qatar and Ukraine: now visa-free
Ukraine hasn't dropped its efforts in the liberalization of visa policies since the signing of the visa-free regime with the EU in June last year. Thus, in March 2018, Ukraine and Qatar signed an agreement on the visa-free regime. It allows residents of both countries to transit and stay on the territory of the respective country up to 90 days in a 180-day term without a visa. The agreement between the two countries will come into force on November 2.
Ukraine boosting trade with Turkey
According to Business Standard, Ukrainian and Turkish presidents pledged to strengthen the strategic cooperation between the countries, notably in the areas of trade and defense industry. The trade free agreement between Ukraine and Turkey is the latest ongoing deal between the two countries. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko agreed to talk details about the deal by the end of 2018. Besides, the officials encourage mutual investments in the countries' economies.
The U.S. Energy Secretary to visit Ukraine
Business Insider shares the plans of the U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry to visit Ukraine among other Eastern European countries as the U.S. seeks alternatives to buying gas and coal from Russia. The reason behind is the drop in the level of domestic consumption in the U.S., which showed the lowest rate since 1983. Last year, Centrenergo PJSC, one of the largest power companies in Ukraine, agreed to buy 700,000 tons of the U.S. coal.
A new law on the resumption of credit ranking
The new law on the resumption of credit ranking comes into force on November 4, says 112 International. The new document is expected to reduce the risks of creditors in credit operations to boost the usage of bank loans. According to the new law, it will be impossible to alienate the subject of the mortgage without the consent of the lending bank. Besides, the rights of the lender-mortgage holder are to be protected.
Sources: saee.gov.ua, bunews.com, me.gov.ua, business-standard.com, 112.international, Business Insider. Photo sources: depositphotos.com, stolenprincess.com, axa.com, president.gov.ua, Reuters. All images belong to their rightful authors.
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