Page 19 - bne_newspaper_April_12_2019

Eastern Europe
April 12, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 19
ecutor Laura Kovesi for prosecutor general, liga. netreported.
“This list of promises goes a long way to remove doubts in the minds of voters about Zelenskiy’s commitment to Ukraine’s Western integration. And this list helps to create the impression among
voters that Zelenskiy represents, at minimum, the prospect for reforms and improvement. Meanwhile, the campaign of President Petro Poroshenko is creating the impression that Ukraine will endure five more years of warfare, corruption and economic stagnation,” Zenon Zawada of Concorde Capital said in a note.
Putin pushes Russia's Doing Business goal back by six years
President Vladimir Putin has postponed the goal of Russia making to the top 20 of World Bank's Doing Business rating to 2024, Vedomosti daily reported on April 5 citing the sources in the Ministry of Economic Development.
Previously in 2012 the goal was set to make it to the top-20 by 2018. Russia's economy was ranked 31st in the 2019 Doing Business report with a score of 77.37 (+0.61 year-on-year). While Russia advanced 4 places as compared to the previous report, it stopped short of the goal.
Reportedly, the ministry will now argue to the World Bank a number of measures that were not taken into account in the latest issues of the ranking. These include shortening lead times for tax forms submission, improvements in minority shareholders' protection and international trade.
In the meantime Interfax cited the ministry as saying that since 2011 Russia jumped 89 ranks in Doing Business, being the only economy showing such a fast-paced improvement.
IMF almost halves Belarus GDP growth forecast for 2019
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised downward its forecasts for the economic growth in Belarus in 2019 from 3.1% year-on-year to 1.8% y/y, according to the multinational lender's World Economic Outlook published on April 9.
Last week, the World Bank has revised the nation's GDP growth from 2.7% y/y to 2.2% y/y in 2019, from 2.5% y/y to 2.4% y/y in 2020 as well
as from 2.5% y/y to 2.1% y/y in 2021. The World Bank said that the country's economic growth will depend on the results of Minsk's talks with Russia on compensation for the latter’s so-called tax manoeuvre in the oil sector.
The Belarusian economy grew by 0.8% y/y in January-February following 0.7% y/y growth in January, according to national statistics agency Belstat. Belarus' GDP grew by 3% y/y in 2018 after a 2.4% y/y expansion in 2017 after two years of recession. It contracted 3.9% y/y in 2015 following 1.6% y/y of growth in 2014.
In January, the IMF said that Belarus faces a new economic crisis if Minsk fails to secure full compensation from Russia and told Minsk it had better prepare a “plan B” in case there was no money forthcoming.