Ukraine and Israel can reach $2 billion in trade in 2020. If a bilateral free trade agreement comes into force, trade turnover between the countries may go up significantly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his official visit to Israel on Jan. 24. Kyiv is now waiting for Jerusalem to ratify the FTA, which the countries signed on Jan. 21, 2019. Zelensky personally asked Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein to hurry up. Ukraine, for its part, ratified the agreement in July 2019, and Zelensky signed it in August 2019. During Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Kyiv in August, the two countries agreed to extend the FTA’s application to the service sector. Ratification in Israel has been delayed by the absence of a parliament. Despite holding two parliamentary elections, the elected lawmakers have been unable to form a ruling coalition. Israel will hold a third election on March 2.
The NBU has lost a case against shareholders of one of the banks liquidated in 2014-2016. According to Financial Club, the Kyiv Economic Court ruled in favor of former shareholders of Bank Radical in a case regarding the central bank’s allegedly illegal decision to recognize Radical Bank as insolvent. The court ruled that the NBU must pay the Industrial Innovation Company, which owned the bank, about $5.2 million, as well as cover court fees. The National Bank has pledged to appeal the decision as soon as possible.
Private equity fund Horizon Capital plans to invest $150 million more in Ukrainian businesses. The firm will increase its investment portfolio from $850 million to $1 billion, Lenna Koszarny, the fund’s CEO, told Interfax-Ukraine on Jan. 24. Horizon Capital intends to use its “direct investments, co-investor funds, and debt financing,” Kosharny said. Horizon Capital currently manages four direct investment funds created by more than 40 institutional investors. In Ukraine, the fund has invested in such companies as Rozetka, Ajax, Intellias, Jooble.
During 2019 Ukraine fell in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index to the level of 2017. The country earned only 30 points and took 126th place out of 180 in the ranking compiled by Transparency International (TI). By comparison, Belarus stands at 66th place in the ranking with 45 points, and an improvement of one point compared to the previous year’s index. TI executive director in Ukraine Andriy Borovyk said that the negative result has been a long time coming: “Since the beginning of 2017, reforms and the anti-corruption struggle in Ukraine started somewhat rolling back. The authorities made increasingly active attempts to restrict the independence of anti-corruption agencies, stalled the launch of the High Anti-Corruption Court, came up with arbitrary legislative restrictions.”
Largest private delivery firm Nova Poshta delivered 22% more items in 2019. In a Jan. 24 statement, the firm said it delivered 212 million more items than in 2018. In 2019, the operator opened over 6,000 new branches in more than 3,100 cities and towns across Ukraine. The company plans to invest $100 million into its infrastructure in 2020, primarily into building new postal terminals close to Ukraine’s largest cities.
The Ukrainian currency, the hryvnia, has fallen in value against the U.S. dollar – again. Ukraine’s National Bank lowered the hryvnya’s official rate against the U.S. dollar on Jan. 24. It’s now Hr 24.5 per $1, roughly 19 kopeks less than under the previous rate. Devaluation has happened for the second time this week: only yesterday, on Jan. 23, the hryvnia went down 7 kopeks to Hr 24.33 per $1. But even such a subtle devaluation of the currency is a surprise for many, as the currency had been strengthening during 2019 – by 14.5% compared to the dollar
Only Hr 3 out of every Hr 1 million in banknotes are counterfeit in Ukraine. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, this is a slight increase compared to 2018, when the ratio was Hr 2.5 counterfeit out of every Hr 1 million in bills. The fake notes have been detected in various oblasts of Ukraine. The probability of getting a counterfeit Hr 500 note is highest (65% of all fake banknotes). A fake Hr 100 note is next in line (15% fake bills). To detect a counterfeit note, one can ask bank tellers or cashiers in shops for help. For a quick check, the central bank suggests seeing if the number on the reverse side changes its color. If so, it’s likely not counterfeit.
Ukrainian police and prosecution authorities search premises of Favorit Sport betting company. Law enforcement searched the company’s premises and the private residences of suspects who allegedly “performed illegal bookmaking activities,” the Kyiv prosecutor’s office said in a statement. The people in question allegedly provided access to gambling through virtual poker, betting, roulette, and gaming machines on specially dedicated websites. Favorit Sport denied that its offices had been searched. In December, the government revoked licenses of casinos legally registered as lottery offices. On Jan. 10, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced the closing of 900 illegal gambling halls.
