Today we are living in the age when information becomes the most important and the most consumable good. No wonder that many of us are lost in the ocean of data.

It’s not enough to just read the news to understand if Ukraine is changing. Sometimes you need to step out of the information field and look back to compare the situation today with the situation yesterday. You need to peel off the husk to see the core – numbers and facts.

So we in the Office of the National Investment Council launched a special report for everyone who wants to discover how Ukraine’s economy and business climate is changing.

To create the report, a mid-year review titled “Investment Climate Outlook,” we summarized and analyzed information from both the government and business, added some important international indexes and companies’ messages.

As a result, we would like to introduce a brief, sharp summary of the changes in the Ukrainian economy in the first half of 2017, covering macroeconomic indicators, regulatory improvements, and investment highlights. In this publication, we put special focus on renewable energy, the sector which is already generating major interest from international investors.

Last year was the year of macroeconomic stabilization in Ukraine. This year shows the expected growth. Much of this progress reflects the authorities’ efforts and proves the viability and prospects of the chosen path of economic reforms.

The government has pursued policies aimed to deregulate entrepreneurial activity, improve the business climate, optimize public sector governance, and ensure the harmonization of national legislation with European Union legislation. As a result capital investment in the first half of 2017 exceeded pre-crisis level, the net foreign direct investment amounted to $1,156 million and was mostly directed towards the real economy. The first half of 2017 also brought some significant transactions and announcements of new investments.

Today Ukraine is like the proverbial glass, with politicians arguing if it is half empty or half full. We are looking into the future with cautious optimism. Our research shows that investors are sharing our point of view. Of course, business still has a lot to complain about, and Ukrainian authorities should listen to these complaints more carefully and react quicker. But the path is already trodden, and we should all walk it further.

Yuliya Kovaliv is the head of the Office of the National Investment Council, a non-governmental organization that partners with government to lure investors to Ukraine.