Ukraine: $40m DuPont seed plant to boost quality and yields

Jun 17, 2013 4:28pm by Roman Olearchyk

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Ukraine’s vast potential to feed a hungry world has long been held back by outdated farming techniques – including the use of poor quality seeds – which keep agricultural yields far below those of EU countries.

But now DuPont is doing something about the problem – at least as far as seeds as concerned. The US chemicals group this month launched a $40m seed plant in Poltava region to support the increasing domestic demand for quality maize, sunflower and oilseed rape hybrid seeds. Continue reading »

Tags: DuPont, Ukraine agriculture Posted in Ukraine | Permalink

Guest post: EU and Ukraine must build a bridge between east and west

Jun 17, 2013 10:47am by beyondbrics

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By Romano Prodi, former president of the European Commission

It is rare that world leaders have a chance to pragmatically achieve an idealistic goal, to unite bold dreams and careful statesmanship at the same time. Yet such an opportunity is now upon us, as the time for the European Union and Ukraine to come closer together, to create a bridge between east and west, is at hand. Continue reading »

Tags: diplomacy, EU, EU membership, guest post Posted in Europe, Ukraine | Permalink

Guest post: Kiev must get off the fence

Jun 10, 2013 12:27pm by beyondbrics

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By Jacek Saryusz-Wolski MEP

Ukraine must get off the fence when it comes to its relations with Russia and the European Union.

Hopes that an EU-Ukraine association agreement, including a deep and comprehensive trade agreement, might be signed at the November Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius are fading. Continue reading »

Tags: Gazprom, guest post, Ukraine economy, Ukraine politics Posted in Global, Ukraine | Permalink

Ukraine: less cash, more cards and bank transfers, please

Jun 7, 2013 12:39pm by Roman Olearchyk

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Many Ukrainians may be in for a rude shock when they return from this year’s summer holidays – thanks to a new central bank rule revealed this week.

As of September 1, all cash transactions will be capped at the equivalent of $19,000. Transactions above this amount will need to be settled through banks transfers, payment cards and other electronic means. Continue reading »

Tags: IMF, Ukraine economy, Ukraine politics Posted in Ukraine | Permalink

CEE: out of the woods? Not really

May 24, 2013 12:21pm by Jonathan Wheatley

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A note from Capital Economics on Friday suggests the economies of central and eastern Europe may finally be emerging into the light.

Or at least its title does (Emerging Europe: Slump in regional growth may be bottoming out). Its message, though, is that while recent GDP figures may have given grounds for that kind of hope, growth is extremely weak and any recovery is likely to be sluggish and uneven. Continue reading »

Tags: GDP Posted in Czech Republic, Europe, Global, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine | Permalink

Guest post: pardon of political prisoners opens door to renewed Ukraine-EU dialogue

Apr 29, 2013 6:06pm by beyondbrics

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By Jamie Scudder of Maplecroft

The European Parliament’s decision on April 18 to extend its monitoring mission to Ukraine is a crucial step for the country in the context of its European aspirations. The mission, which has acted as an informal platform to promote dialogue between the European Union and Ukraine, was one factor behind the government’s decision a week earlier to pardon a number of former opposition politicians. They include former ministers for the interior and the environment, Yuri Lutsenko and HeorhyFilichuk, and four others convicted of corruption. The pardons create renewed hope for stronger trade relations between Ukraine and the EU and have already defused tensions between Kiev and the 27-member bloc. Continue reading »

Tags: diplomacy, EU, guest post, IMF, Ukraine-IMF Posted in Europe, Ukraine | Permalink

Ukraine’s TVi in murky takeover

Apr 26, 2013 2:27pm by beyondbrics

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By Graham Stack of bne

TVi, a Ukrainian television channel seen as a last bastion for opposition voices and critical investigative reporting, has fallen victim to a murky hostile takeover that it is feared may lead to its muzzling. Continue reading »

Tags: media, regulation, TV Posted in Europe, Ukraine | Permalink

Record week for EM bond issuance

Apr 12, 2013 8:30pm by Pan Kwan Yuk

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Whatever happened to the “great rotation“? Wasn’t 2013 supposed to be the year when investors finally took their cash out of bonds and put it to work in equities?

Judging by the record week emerging market bonds have had, EM equities bulls might have some waiting to do yet. Continue reading »

Tags: EM bonds, EM debt Posted in Dominican Republic, Global, Indonesia, Lebanon, Mexico, Turkey, Ukraine | Permalink

Ukraine: fresh cash, but not from IMF

Apr 10, 2013 11:04am by Roman Olearchyk

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Ukraine’s cash-strapped government failed to reach agreement on Wednesday with a visiting IMF mission on a $15bn bailout, according to local officials. Having realised that a deal was unlikely, Kiev moved on Tuesday to patch up short-term financing needs. Ukraine raised $1.25bn through a fresh 10-year eurobond at 7.5 per cent on Tuesday, helped by international investors’ hunt for yield.

And so, Kiev has bought itself more time, though at borrowing rates much more expensive than the IMF has offered. It’s a strategy Ukraine has stuck to in recent years, but one that may not be possible if market confidence shrinks and the country’s economy continues to deteriorate. Continue reading »

Tags: Ukraine economy, Ukraine-IMF Posted in Europe, Ukraine | Permalink

Ukraine: Cyprus ripples not negligible

Mar 29, 2013 5:29pm by Roman Olearchyk

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News headlines about a Cyprus-crisis contagion have so far focused largely on Slovenia, Malta, Italy and Spain.

But Ukraine could also take a hit. While Ukrainian businesses are said to have possibly just $1-3bn in Cyprus – much less than the $30bn that has been estimated for Russia – if this money gets confiscated by the bailout levy or tied up by financial transaction limitations, it could be enough to tip the country’s troubled economy deeper into crisis. Continue reading »

Tags: Cyprus, Ukraine economy Posted in Europe, Ukraine | Permalink

Ukraine: replacing Russian gas with cheaper European imports

Mar 28, 2013 10:38pm by Roman Olearchyk

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Long the main transit route for Russian natural gas exports to Europe – and a big consumer of Gazprom fuel itself – Ukraine is now starting to use its vast gas transit pipeline network in reverse mode. It is importing less expensive gas from Europe to the West, and at prices lower than its “brotherly” Slavic neighbour charges. Continue reading »

Tags: Gazprom, oil & gas, Russia-Ukraine Posted in Europe, Russia, Ukraine | Permalink

Ukraine: record snows hit economic recovery hopes

Mar 27, 2013 12:46pm by Roman Olearchyk

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It’s not a pretty picture on the ground in Kiev.

The Ukrainian capital is still crawling out from under a record weekend snowfall that has muddied streets, paralysed traffic and upset basic services including rubbish collection.

It will do nothing to prevent the economy falling into recession in the first quarter of 2013, after GDP growth of 0.2 per cent in 2012. But it does increase the urgency for Kiev to find external economic support, if not from Russia, then from the International Monetary Fund, which had a delegation arrive in town on Wednesday. Continue reading »

Tags: IMF, Ukraine economy Posted in Ukraine | Permalink

Why Cyprus ripples are hitting Russia harder than Ukraine

Mar 18, 2013 4:52pm by Roman Olearchyk

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Like Russian ones, many Ukrainian companies do business through offshore special purpose vehicles or holding companies registered in Cyprus. By some estimates, billions of dollars with Ukrainian roots flow through Cyprus into offshore tax havens each year. And large portions of this – some $17bn since independence in 1991 – have made their way back into Ukraine through the Cyprus conduit, which is, in fact, the largest contributor of foreign direct investment in the Ukrainian economy.

But this does not mean that most Ukrainian companies exploiting the Cyprus tax loophole actually stash their cash there. And if they don’t, exposure will be limited, analysts say. Continue reading »

Tags: banking, Cyprus, eurozone crisis, Russia-Cyprus Posted in Cyprus, Europe, Russia, Ukraine | Permalink

Ukraine’s backward-looking car tax

Mar 15, 2013 6:31pm by Roman Olearchyk

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In slapping fresh import duties on car imports, Kiev may achieve its short-term goal of partially reducing Ukraine’s trade deficit while simultaneously providing a boost to slumping domestic car output.

But the protectionist move — announced on Thursday by a cash-strapped government in talks with the IMF on a $15bn bailout — could carry costlier long-term consequences. It may infuriate fellow WTO member countries already shocked by Ukraine’s plans announced in September to renegotiate 371 tariffs just five years after becoming a member of the international trade organization. Continue reading »

Tags: regulation, trade, Ukraine economy, Ukraine politics, vehicles Posted in Europe, Ukraine | Permalink

Guest post: safeguarding nuclear’s role in Ukrainian energy

Mar 13, 2013 5:33pm by beyondbrics

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By Riccardo Puliti of the EBRD

The use of nuclear power generates at least as much debate as electricity.

This is especially true in the case of Ukraine, where in 1986 the Chernobyl accident happened. The events demonstrated that in nuclear power generation safety always must be the utmost priority – from the first moment of operation to long after the active life of any nuclear reactor. Continue reading »

Tags: EBRD, nuclear power, Ukraine energy Posted in Ukraine | Permalink

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