Editor fired/reinstated in Ag Minister interview dispute
Brian Bonner, chief editor at the strongly independent English language Kyiv Post newspaper was sacked and his staff resigned following a dispute over the publication of an interview with Ukraine Agriculture Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk. The editor has since been reinstated, to become part of a board making joint decisions on content of the outspoken paper – with the owner, Britain’s Mohahammad Zahoor of the ISTIL Group, saying the title is now effectively up for sale. The essence of the controversy was the proposition put to the Minister, that state-imposed grain export quotas unfairly favoured .....

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Euro 2012 hotel options considered
There is no point building hotels that won’t be needed after Euro 2012, and it may be better to ‘ferry’ fans in from other cities and temporary facilities, Director of the Euro 2012 Ukraine steering committee Markiyan Lubkivskyi reportedly told Delo newspaper. Donetsk intends to construct a camp for 7,000 football fans for Euro 2011, similar to...

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UK Ambassador interview - Reform can drive up investment
“The key question is the extent to which it (the Ukraine government) will allow the conditions required to develop economically. A number of reforms are necessary,” says Turner… in particular, signing up to the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCTFA), “… and if this were brought to a conclusion it would provide a stimulus for economic development. The latest IMF figures show that by 2010 GDP figures for Poland were four times those of Ukraine, and the Polish economy was three times larger. It made those fundamental reforms and undertook integration with Europe. If Ukraine were to take those same measures it too would see strong economic growth,” suggests Turner.

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Ukrtelecom privatisation agreed
Privatisation of the State Property Fund of Ukraine’s 92.79% stake in Ukraine fixed-line operator Ukrtelecom UTLM.PFT was finally agreed in mid-March with a UAH10.575bn (US $1.33bn) purchase by Epic Services Ukraine, the Ukrainian subsidiary of the Austrian investment company EPIC. After 11 years of political wrangling,....

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Ukrnafta appoints new CEO
In a move seen as increasing state control over Ukraine’s largest oil and gas producer Ukrnafta, president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych has appointed Belgian Peter Vanhecke, former CEO Ukraine and Central and East Europe at Renaissance Capital, as the new chairman of the Ukrnafta management board. The state owns a majority 50% plus one share in Ukrnafta, with Ukrainian oligarchs

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Black Sea refinery proposed
Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, during a meeting with Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, said Ukraine is interested in building a new oil refinery on the Black Sea shore for processing Azerbaijan and Caspian oil.

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Gross debt to reach 44.2% of GDP
Ukraine's gross public (direct) and guaranteed debt in 2011 is set to grow to 44.2% of GDP from 39.6% of GDP as of late 2010, Interfax-Ukraine reports, citing an offering memorandum on the issue of Ukraine's Eurobonds drawn up by the government. This compares to gross public debt of 34.8% of GDP in late 2009.

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Turkish gas deal planned
Exploration work is due to begin in April for oil and gas resources in the Black Sea area under a protocol agreed by the Turkish Petroleum Corp (TPAO) and Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz according to Turkish Energy & Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız. During the third protocol signing,

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Import and export quotas slammed
An agreement on a free trade area between Ukraine and the European Union is almost 90% complete, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, speaking at meeting with European Parliament members earlier this year..... Ironically, Kyiv is itself currently facing severe criticism for its own self-imposed export quotas relating to agricultural exports, including a report by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting,....

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Currency regulation changes
On 22 March 2011 a National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Resolution will amend various NBU regulations regarding making and repayment of investments. These amendments include:....

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