Page 46 - UKRRptApr19

Cashless purchases using bank cards jumped by 55% last year, hitting $48bn. The number of transactions rose by one third, to 3.1bn, reports the National Bank of Ukraine. The portion of all non-cash transactions made with cards hit 45%. As Ukraine increasingly goes cashless, the number of point of sale terminals rose by 20% last year, hitting 279,000.
As contactless also becomes popular, the number of contactless cards jumped last year by 44%, to 4mn. Today almost 80% of point of sale terminals allow contactless transactions. Starting April 12, Mastercard increases the limit of contactless payments on cards without a PIN code to UAH500, or $18.50, up from the current level of UAH100. Mastercard accounts for 70% of purchases by card in Ukraine.
“Individual entrepreneurs,” a low-tax status enjoyed by about 130,000 Ukrainian IT workers is threatened by a draft law prepared by the Social Policy ministry, according to a report by OpenDataBot. Since 2015, the number of IT ‘individual entrepreneurs’ increased by 45%. They generally pay a 5% income tax rate, a rate credited with cutting Ukraine’s IT brain drain to the EU. This year’s elections may decide the future of this low tax rate.
9.1.8 Tourism sector news
9.1.9 Utilities sector news
Tourists visiting Ukraine by plane – rather than train – jumped last year,
according to the Border Service. As a result of this higher spending influx, tax money generated by tourism rose by 21% last year to $155mn, reports the Economic Development and Trade Ministry. EU growth champions were: Spain + 68%; Great Britain + 47%; Lithuania + 23%; Italy + 15%; Germany + 13%; and France + 9%. From the rest of the world, growth countries were: India + by 57%; China + 39%; Japan +38%; Israel + 22%; and the US +19%. Entries by citizens of border countries declined.
Ukraine imported from Russia 61%% of its nuclear power plant fuel last year -- and only 39% from Westinghouse’s plant in Sweden. Given that half Ukraine’s electricity comes from nuclear power plants, critics call continued reliance on nuclear fuel from Russia a major national security risk. One year ago, Igor Nasalyk, Ukraine’s Minister of Energy and Coal Industry, promised that Russian fuel imports would fall in 2018 to 45% of Ukraine’s needs. Instead, the year end figures were: Russia -- 335.2 tons of fuel for $374mn; Sweden – 211 tons of fuel for $148.5mn. Critics find it curious that Ukraine paid 59% more per ton for fuel from Russia than from Sweden. Last November, Westinghouse repeated its offer to supply 100% of Ukraine’s needs.
9.1.9 Renewables sector news
Worldwide investments in renewable energy hit $332bn last year, the fifth year in a row the figure was over $300bn, reports Bloomberg. Solar energy investment dropped by 24%, to $131bn. Technological improvements cut the average cost of installing 1MW of solar capacity by 12%. Investment in wind energy increased by 3% to $129bn. Investment in biomass and waste-to-energy increased by 18% to $6.3bn.
46 UKRAINE Country Report April 2019 www.intellinews.com