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support of policies to maintain macroeconomic stability and keep the economy on a path toward sustainable and inclusive growth. The statement followed the adoption of amendments to the new law necessary for establishing the nation's anti-corruption court, which is a key condition for a new tranche from the support programme.
The conditions for the European Union (EU) to release a new €1bn macro-financial assistance (MFA) for Ukraine have been agreed and the parties will sign off on the deal in the near future, according to the nation's permanent representative to the EU Mykola Tochytsky. "There is progress, but there are conditions," Interfax quoted Tochytsky as saying. "I cannot disclose them with you until the agreement is signed." In July, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that Ukraine expects to receive a first tranche of the EU's MFA facility worth €1bn this autumn. The new assistance will cover Ukraine’s financing needs over a period of two and a half years. The loans will support economic stabilisation and a programme of structural reforms. The European Parliament (EP) greenlighted a new €1bn MFA programme for Ukraine on June 13 — the fourth MFA Ukraine has signed with the EU.
The World Bank has prepared a $650mn guarantee to help Ukraine obtain funding in global-debt markets , but Kyiv must first comply with economic reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund. The World Bank's Country Office for Ukraine said in a Facebook posting on August 16 that, at the request of Ukrainian authorities, it will provide Kyiv with an International Bank for Reconstruction and Development guarantee so it can raise about $800mn in funding, once the IMF's demands are met. "Once appraised and approved, the proposed operation would provide a $650mn IBRD guarantee that is expected to help Ukraine raise about $800mn through a private transaction in the lending market," the global development lender said. For Ukraine to obtain the guarantee, the IMF must first "confirm the completion of all reform actions and the adequacy of the macroeconomic framework" established by Kyiv, it said. Especially "critical" will be the enactment of banking and credit-reform laws passed in July by Ukraine's legislature, the Verkhovna Rada, the World Bank said. Ukrainian authorities must also reach agreement with the IMF on a fourth review of its program in Ukraine, "without, which the proposed operation will be unable to proceed," the bank said. Satu Kahkonen, the World Bank's country director for Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine, recently said that the bank has invested about $5.5bn in Ukraine since 2014, including $2.5bn allocated for various investment projects, $2bn to support regional budgets and pursue reforms, and $500mn for purchases of natural gas.
The Finance Ministry of Ukraine plans to sell government domestic bonds to retail investors using the nationalized PrivatBank as the conduit, acting Finance Minister of Ukraine Oksana Markarova said, reports Interfax . Individuals already hold UAH3.983bn ($147mn) worth of bonds, according to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), including those pegged to foreign currency worth UAH2.671bn, the central bank estimates as of August 1. The Finance Ministry on July 31 placed hryvnia-pegged government bonds for over UAH1bn at 16.82% per annum for three-year bonds and 18% per annum for six-month bonds. Currently the Ministry of Finance is funding much of its domestic spending using domestic short-term bond issues.
Ukraine natural gas monopolist Naftogaz remains Ukraine's biggest taxpayer sending UAH78.1bn ($2.89bn) in taxes and dividends to the state budget in January–July 2018, the group reported as cited by UIAN. Naftogaz
36 UKRAINE Country Report September 2018 www.intellinews.com