Page 15 - bne_newspaper_January_11_2019

Eastern Europe
June 14, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 15
Ukrainian government approves rail monopoly strategy till 2023
The Ukrainian government has approved the strategic plan of Ukraine’s battered state-owned railway monopoly Ukrzaliznytsia for 2019-2023, the company’s CEO Yevhen Kravstov said on June 12.
Among its key strategic goals are the satisfying customer demands, securing financial stability, modernizing and drawing investments, as well as improving safety, competitiveness and the quality of corporate governance.
To fulfil its strategy, the company plans to
set efficient rates, conduct reorganization, approve a long-term investment program and fight corruption. The presentation contains no numbers, with the company stating it's still developing the details.
"The company drafted its strategy during the last two years, and it’s a great achievement that the cabinet finally approved it," Alexander Paraschiy at Kyiv-based brokerage Concorde Capital believes. "At least, it should mean the government is ready to help the company to set railway rates based on justified levels, or on existing market rates."
He added that in its 2019 business plan, also approved by the government, the company presented some forward-looking numbers that might be a part of its strategy till 2023.
These numbers foresee the company’s Ebitda rising to UAH25bn by 2023 (from UAH16.3bn
in 2018), as well as capital investments
of UAH78.5bn for 2019-2023, which looks underestimated. "We expect the company will provide more information on its financial outlook and needed investments in the coming months," Paraschiy added.
Moldova’s banking sector turning the corner
Moldova has long been a money-laundering black hole. Then in 2014 they had a shock when more than $1bn was stolen from the bank sector – equivalent to 15% of GDP.
Belatedly the government is now responding. Stakes in three of the country's biggest banks, which together account for about 80% of the sector’s assets, have been sold to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and private investors and the central bank has been given real teeth to enforce regulations.
bne IntelliNews editor-in-chief Ben Aris talks
to special advisor to the president and head
of strategic planning at Moldova-Agroindbank (MAIB) Corneliu Munteanu and asks if Moldova’s banking sector has turned the corner.
Corneliu Munteanu
special advisor to the president of Moldova, head of strategic planning at MAIB
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