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The Regions This Week
July 19, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 6
Eastern Europe
Hopes for change are high ahead of Ukraine’s general election due on July 21, according to
a new poll from the International Republican Institute (IRI). 67% of Ukrainians approve of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s activities, according to the poll, while 48% expect the economic situation in Ukraine to improve over the next 12 months.
Major Russian agro holding Rusagro announced its shipment, in its first bulk vessel, of soybeans from Vladivostok to the Chinese port of Nantong, selling the cargo to COFCO Trading. Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) could acquire a stake in Rusagro, reportedly being interested in the latter's projects that focus on exports to China.
Russian sovereign Fund for Direct Investment (RDIF) and a consortium of Middle Eastern funds including Saudi Aramco and Saudi sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF) will invest in building four waste recycling and energy generating plants in Russia’s Moscow region, RDIF said.
The Belarusian government is mulling a 21.7% hike in oil transport tariffs from August 1 with the aim of compensating expenses incurred
due to losses caused by poor-quality oil from Russia. According to a letter sent to Russia's
oil pipelines operator Transneft by Belarusian state-owned monopoly Gomeltransneft Druzhba, the Belarusian company has seen a shortfall of BYN1.5bn rubles ($23.7mn).
Real disposable income of Russians in 1H19 declined by 1.3% y/y and by 0.2% in 2Q19 alone, according to the data from Rosstat statistics agency. In 1Q19 real disposable income declined by 2.3%, according to revised data. Eeakening consumer demand was the only driver of disappointing GDP growth in Russia in 1Q19.
Ukraine's natural gas monopoly Naftogaz
is going to reduce its gas price for the population by 10.4% for the May-July
period, the company's head of integrated gas business, Andriy Favorov, said during a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Naftogaz was under pressure to cut gas prices for consumers ahead of the July 21 general election.
A number of Russian banks have lowered their interest rates on mortgage loans, according
to a report by Vedomosti daily. As of July 15 restructured Financial Corporation Otkritie lowered its mortgage rate by 0.3-0.6pp to a starting rate of 9.9%, Alfa Bank lowered its rate by 0.4-0.8pp to a 9.69% minimal rate, while Gazprombank lowered its rate by 0.3pp to 10.5%.
Singapore Olam International gained full control of Russian Milk Company (Rusmoloko), buying out the 25% stake from the founder, Naum Babaev, Vedomosti daily reported. Olam is one
of the largest Asian investors in the Russian agricultural sector, along with Vietnamese TH Group, which has also invested in dairy.
Consumer prices in Belarus declined by 0.1% m/m in June, while growing by 5.7% y/y, according to the nation's statistics service Belstat. The National Bank of Belarus’ deputy governor Sergei Kalechits said that the inflation-driving factors are weakening and the regulator is maintaining its 5% inflation target for 2019.
Ukraine’s goods trade deficit reached $525mn in May, decreasing from $610mn in April, the nation's state statistics service Ukrstat said in its preliminary report. The seasonally adjusted goods trade deficit amounted to $890mn (staying close to the $900mn deficit of April) amid 5.4% m/m growth in adjusted exports and a 4.3% m/m increase in adjusted imports.