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The Regions This Week
May 4, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 8
Eastern Europe
The US Department of the Treasury has extended the suspension of the temporary sanctions relief for nine Belarusian entities
for six additional months, the department said
in a statement published on April 27. In February 2016, the European Union lifted most of its sanctions against Belarusian authorities following a peaceful presidential election in October 2015.
Real wages in Ukraine in March 2018 compared to March 2017 increased by 9.5%, compared to February 2018 by 5.9%, the State Statistics Service has said. The average nominal wage of full-day workers in March 2018 compared to February 2018 increased by 7.1%.
The consumer confidence of Ukrainians improved in March 2018: The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) equals 57.7, which is 2.3 points higher than the indicator in February 2018, according to a study of GfK Ukraine.
Belarus annual inflation is 5%-6% in 2017 and will be reduced in 2018, the nation's President Alexander Lukashenko said on April 28. Inflation stood at 0.8% month-on-month in March (4.5% year-on-year).
Russia's largest oil company Rosneft said it will launch a $2bn share buyback program running from the second quarter of 2018 to 2020 -- the first share buyback since its IPO in 2006. In April the company pledged to cut its record-high debt burden to investors as well.
Russia's second-largest oil producer, the privately owned Lukoil has taken advantage of the falling price of Russian debt and redeemed $1.5bn worth of 5-year Eurobonds issued in 2013 carrying a coupon of 3.416%.
The London Stock Exchange says it will suspend trading in Russia’s EN+ GDRs as of the end of
trading on May 2 because of the new US sanctions imposed on April 6 on the company’s main shareholder Oleg Deripaska.
Russian encrypted messaging app Telegram has scrapped plans to hold a public issue of digital tokens. The company needs no additional funds after raising a record-high $1.7bn in two rounds of private ICOs.
Russian state-owned development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) reported a record net loss of RUB288bn ($4.5bn) for 2017, soaring 2.6- fold year-on-year, the bank said on April 27.
The shareholders of PJSC Raiffeisen Bank Aval (Kyiv) approved the payment of UAH4.244bn in dividends for 2017 (approximately 6.9 kopecks per share), at an annual meeting on April 27. The bank's net profit for the past year amounted to UAH4.469bn, of, which UAH700,000 will be used to pay dividends.
The third stage of Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant of Russia's independent gas major Novatek will be launched in December 2018 or January 2019, the head of the company Leonid Mikhelson said.
Russia has finally lifted the ban on Turkish tomatoes that were imposed as a punishment after Turkey shot down a Russian bomber that strayed into Turkish airspace for 17 seconds over in November 2016.
Russia’s state-owned gas monopolist Gazprom shipped as much gas to Europe in the last months as it usually ships in the depths of winter, according to Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman. Gazprom shipped a record monthly supply of 19.6bn cubic meters (bcm) of gas to Europe in March.