The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today (July 31) completed the first review of Ukraine’s Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The completion of this review enables the disbursement of SDR 1,182.1 million (about US$1.7 billion), which would bring total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 4.72 billion (about US$6.68 … Continue reading
Ukraine’s international private creditors have proposed a 5% haircut. Last month Kiev asked the bondholders for a 40% debt relief worth about $15 billion. The 5% debt reduction proposal was made this week by Ukraine’s largest creditor Franklin Templeton Investments. The investment house holds about $8.9 billion in bonds, according to two people close to the negotiations. It … Continue reading
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday (March 11th) approved a four-year extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility for Ukraine. The arrangement amounts to the equivalent of SDR 12.348 billion (about US$17.5 billion, 900 percent of quota) and was approved under the Fund’s exceptional access policy. The Board also took note of … Continue reading
As the Ukrainian National Bank introduces new capital controls, this time for businesses, and raises interest rates, the country’s economy slides into Zimbabwe-grade hyperinflation, as measured by the Cato Institute. There are five main reasons why. By Sputnik News A recent Cato Institute study cited in a Washington Post blog claims that Ukraine’s inflation rate is … Continue reading
Chairwoman of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeriya Gontareva stated that Ukraine’s GDP declined by 7.5 percent, whereas the inflation rate since the beginning of the year reached 21 percent. To crown it all, the Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia has lost 100 percent of its value since the beginning of 2014, TASS reports. According to … Continue reading
By Ben Aris BNE Russia’s economic situation looks nothing like its 1998 crisis, but today’s Ukrainian economy bears a striking resemblance to that of Russia in the run-up to its last big collapse on August 17, 1998. Below is a table comparing some of the numbers. The comparison has been made more difficult by the … Continue reading
By Charles Recknagel As the value of Russia’s ruble tumbles amid low oil global prices and Western sanctions, it is taking the currencies of many former Soviet republics down with it. Just ask Gagik Ghazaryan, an exporter in Armenia. He used to be able to sell soft drinks and canned food profitably to Russia before … Continue reading
By BNE IntelliNews Ukraine will default without a donor conference, Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk told parliament on December 11. “To avoid a default, we need an international donor conference,” Yatsenyuk told deputies. “For next year, in addition to this programme from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – this is what the Financial Times writes, not what we say – we … Continue reading
Ukraine is ‘in fact bankrupt’ says the new Minister of Economic Development and Trade Aivaras Abromavichus. He advises that the government shouldn’t interfere in how businesses are run if it wants to get the economy out of trouble. “Businessmen ask for one thing – they do not ask the government for help, they ask it … Continue reading
BNE IntelliNews Ukraine’s foreign reserves fell to only $9.966bn in November, or six weeks’ import cover, according to figures released by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on December 5. Three months’ import cover is regarded by the International Monetary Fund as the critical threshold for import cover, under which a country becomes vulnerable to a balance of payments … Continue reading