Ukraine’s businesses are financially recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey shows.
According to the study, presented on Sept.21 by the American Chamber of Commerce and Citi Ukraine, the majority (62%) of surveyed companies will achieve planned financial results at the end of 2021, with 28% of respondents’ results exceeding expectations. Only 10% of companies will fail to hit their targets.
AmCham polled 100 executives from mostly foreign companies in Ukraine on the impacts of COVID-19, state of the investment climate and business trends.
In comparison with 2020, when authorities repeatedly imposed extensive restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus by forcibly closing venues, 65% of companies managed to increase their revenues and 37% increased their investments this year.
Employment
The polled businesses are pretty optimistic about their headcount — 52% believe they can maintain the current number of employees, and 42% see themselves hiring new personnel.
More than two-thirds of companies surveyed (74%) have a hybrid work format or work in shifts. Another 17% returned to the office, with 9% of companies having employees work remotely.
Businesses advocate for judicial reform, better economic policy
The majority (93%) of surveyed companies advocate that eradicating corruption and implementing real judicial reform are crucial steps the government should take to improve the business climate and attract foreign investment.
Judicial reform is currently blocked as the Ukrainian Council of Judges on Sept. 13 failed to nominate members to the Ethics Council, a pivotal body for Ukraine’s entire reform drive.
Over half of the respondents, 77% of whom are company CEOs, say that courts create the biggest obstacles for business.
According to the survey, Ukraine’s businesses expect the government to “guarantee a fair, equal, predictable, and transparent tax policy and fair competition, continue cooperation with the IMF to ensure macroeconomic stability, ensure predictability of the regulatory environment for investors, and secure investment and property rights”, the survey reads.
COVID situation
Over half of surveyed companies (61%) indicate the possibility of the new lockdown as the biggest concern.
All of Ukraine’s 24 oblasts will strengthen quarantine measures starting Sept. 23. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has been rapidly growing since late August. Last week, the daily number of cases went from 3,300 on Monday to double that amount on Friday.
Under its adaptive COVID-19 quarantine, Ukraine color-codes oblasts green, yellow, orange or red, depending on the severity of the outbreak there.
All of Ukraine’s oblasts are currently green, except Zakarpattia, which went yellow on Sept. 20. Under the new governmental decision, the whole country is moving to yellow.
The yellow zone restrictions require restaurants, cinemas, gyms and cultural institutions to operate with lower capacity.
However, venue owners and event organizers may not follow the new restrictions if they choose only to allow visitors vaccinated with at least one dose or those who had tested negative for COVID-19 in the past 72 hours.
Read more about all the yellow zone restrictions here.
The survey shows that between 40%-70% of different companies’ employees are vaccinated against COVID-19.
