Get a PDF version of the 2019 Doing Business online or find the magazine in Kyiv.
For this year’s 5th annual Doing Business guide, the Kyiv Post compares Ukraine with the economies of other countries. It’s clear that Ukraine – with 42 million people – should do much better than a 2018 gross domestic product of $125 billion, accounting for a mere 0.0015 percent of $87 trillion in global economic output.
Thankfully, the country is moving in the right direction: The National Bank of Ukraine has done an admirable job in cleaning up a bank sector that cost taxpayers $20 billion in fraud and bad loans. It has adopted sound macroeconomic policies and liberalized the currency market. Dozens of new laws will hopefully improve the business climate. New agricultural records are continually being set. And the redirection of Ukraine’s economy, from imperialistic Russia to the democratic West, is accelerating.
But Ukraine deserves better.
Ukrainians should: sell off more than 3,000 state-owned enterprises; put an end to massive corruption in the tax and customs services, spurring more people to pay taxes voluntarily; demonopolize sectors, create an agricultural land market; quickly sell off foreclosed assets from banks; stem offshore tax evasion; modernize the public sector, open markets and attract human capital; and take other steps to create welcoming conditions for foreign direct investment.
The obvious challenge is to create a trusted judicial system and rule of law.
Ukraine must break the inequality and poverty suffocating its population and triggering an exodus of millions of people to find work abroad. With more economic growth, Ukraine’s bright and talented youth will have better chances to achieve their ambitions at home.
Perhaps the underlying answer is to create a stronger moral code in Ukraine. As the famous political scientist Francis Fukuyama tells the Kyiv Post: A healthy economy is one whose population has strong ethical habits, ultimately comprised of honesty, reliability, cooperativeness and a sense of duty to others. This is where everyone can become more involved – religious organizations, investors, schools, philanthropies, lawmakers, journalists and activists.
We especially liked what Fukuyama said about the role of independent journalism in a democracy. “The media is actually part of the ecosystem that reduces corruption. Independent media is usually the source of information about corruption,” he said.
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This is our fifth Doing Business magazine, with our editorial team focusing on how to improve Ukraine’s global position in all sectors of the economy. We are very thankful to the advertisers, general partner DTEK and section partners – CITI, Corteva, Darnitsa, ELEKS, EY, Integrites, Montreal, ONUR Group and VKP for making this publication possible. Independent journalism depends on the support of advertisers and subscribers. Let this magazine be your investment guide, and enjoy reading!
