The outbreak of coronavirus is already impacting the Ukrainian economy, and negative effects can be expected on first quarter results at least. Ukraine has strengthened trade relations with China – which is now the country’s largest single nation trading partner – and experts predict that exports of food and other goods will drop while supply chains are weakened by the virus. At the same time, the European Union is starting to feel the impact of the novel coronavirus, placing a heavy strain on Ukraine’s largest overall trade partner.
The Ukrainian economy minister has denied that coronavirus will negatively impact business in Ukraine. The rapid spread of the novel virus in other countries will not hurt the Ukrainian economy, according to Economy Minister Tymofiy Mylovanov. “There may be negative scenarios when the coronavirus spreads rapidly in other countries… then, it will greatly affect travel and tourism, but tourism takes a small percentage here, so there will be no significant impact,” he said, according to Interfax-Ukraine.
Meanwhile, some traders tell the Kyiv Post that they are temporarily reorganizing their portfolios amid the viral panic. They see an opportunity to buy shares while the market is dipping. They bet on strong companies bouncing back into the green once the turmoil subsides, allowing the market to recover to record highs. Tech and IT companies, as well as cryptocurrencies, online payment providers and firms that provide tech-based solutions to remote working and online collaboration are seen as possible opportunities for long term investment. This means the Ukrainian IT sector, which is growing at 30% per year, may move to cash in on some of the current market volatility.
Tests conducted on 89 Ukrainians evacuated from Wuhan in China are negative for coronavirus, officials said, despite widespread speculation that Ukraine is ill-prepared for the disease. The quarantined individuals are currently under observation in the village of Novi Sanzhary in Poltava Oblast. As of today, they do not have symptoms, Interfax-Ukraine reports, referring to the National Security and Defense Council.
But in Japan, four Ukrainians from the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess have been hospitalized with the virus. Four Ukrainian citizens working on the Diamond Princess were sent to hospital after being diagnosed with coronavirus, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated.
Despite concerns over avian flu, Ukraine has become one of the top three poultry exporters for the EU, its main trade commission has reported. The first and second place in the ranking of exporters was taken by Brazil and Thailand, which during 2019 exported 313,000 and 308,000 tons of poultry meat, respectively. Last year, 134,000 tons of poultry meat was exported to the EU from Ukraine, which is 8.6% more than in 2018.
A company allegedly owned by the son of former Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko is implicated in an illegal logging and smuggling scandal. The State Investigation Bureau says it also suspects employees of the Zhytomyr customs office, the State Forest Agency and other private firms in conspiracy and the smuggling of timber. The company allegedly belonging to the son of ex-Prosecutor General Lutsenko appears in the criminal case.
A Ukrainian hacker who stole $10 million from Microsoft faces 20 years in a U.S. prison. American authorities say that Vladimir Kvashuk robbed not only Microsoft, but the government too. Kvashuk, who lives in the U.S. city of Renton, Washington, was convicted on 18 criminal counts: electronic fraud, money laundering, cases of theft of personal data under aggravating circumstances and filing tax returns with false information, Geekwire reports.
Some 62% of Ukrainians are against lifting the moratorium on farmland sales, according to a poll cited by Interfax-Ukraine. The majority of Ukrainians are against the introduction of an agricultural land market in Ukraine, according to the survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology between Feb. 21–25.
Ukraine’s Metinvest has paid a fine for polluting the eastern Azov Sea city of Mariupol. While the port city of 450,000 people in Donetsk Oblast relies heavily on Metinvest’s plants, which provide 35,000 jobs, the company has been dubbed “Deathinvest” by locals for the pollution generated by its two steel plants: Ilyich Iron and Steel Works and Azov Stal.
Deloitte Ukraine CEO Sergiy Kulyk spoke to the Kyiv Post about Naftogaz, the auditor’s growth and mistakes. For Kulyk, the client isn’t always right. That’s because his clients expect him to tell them when they’re wrong. Kulyk, 44, is among Ukraine’s top auditors with 20 years of experience. And in a country where base erosion and profit shifting cost the state an estimated $40-50 billion annually, he is always busy. Here is what the CEO had to say in the interview.
