Timoschuk
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
More than nine billion US dollars. In such an amount, the National Bank of Ukraine estimated the need of the country in foreign currency for 2020. And this amount is necessary only for servicing and paying off the foreign currency part of the state debt.
This is approximately 6% of GDP. A huge amount for Ukraine. And ensuring the influx of currency into the country’s budget is a very, very difficult task.
Last year, a debt of three billion euros paid by Gazprom turned out to be very good help. It provided almost half of the foreign currency investments in the budget. This year there is no place to wait for such a gift. And one of the significant assets that can provide the necessary inflow of currency to the budget is the putting up for sale of agricultural land.
Currently, the main sources of foreign exchange are: transfers of labor migrants from abroad, credit funds and assets of foreign investors.
And at present, difficulties arise in all these areas.
Over the past six years, in search of a better life, more than three million Ukrainians have left for Europe. And further growth is not expected. Recently, the global economy has seen a downward trend. The so-called recession. And in the event of financial difficulties for European employers, labor migrants will be the first to be hit. And the fact of their existence significantly increases the added value for the products of other states. At the same time, Ukraine itself incurs losses.
Last year, hryvnia and foreign currency bonds of government debt were placed at huge interest. Up to 20% on hryvnia and up to 7% on foreign currency bonds. And it was a very attractive offer for foreign investors. This year, rates have halved. Now hryvnia bonds can still be placed at 9.5-10%, and the first placement of securities in dollars took place at 3.4%.
Therefore, the National Bank of Ukraine has so far managed to fulfill the borrowing plan in foreign markets only by 55-80%. While last year, demand exceeded supply.
The Ukrainian leadership expects to resume cooperation with the IMF. With a positive decision, a program of 5.5 billion for a period of three years will be adopted. At the same time, the first tranche will most likely be comparable with the amount of debt repayment for the current year (1.4 billion). That is, the bulk of the funding will be spent on servicing of previously issued loans. And one of the main conditions for the allocation of funds is the lifting of the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land.
The country needs large financial injections. And they can be secured either by again increasing interest on government loan bonds or by opening the land market to external agents.
And it seems that the choice has already been made. The Verkhovna Rada is currently considering a bill to lift a moratorium on the sale of agricultural land. The law is proposed by the president. Deputies made more than 4,000 amendments. It is considered hard. But sooner or later they will accept him. And Ukrainian lands may become not completely Ukrainian.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
This is what happens when you p*ss in everyone’s pocket and say it’s raining. Juntas and Fascist coups against Russia and a demands to the IMF and cries for US/EU/UK backing hasn’t go unnoticed. Now Ukraine is in indentured servitude and failing to respect the small print by trying to back a debt it isn’t meant to repay. It could try to emulate the south seas fiasco, but we know how that went and Ukraine has even less backing to turn face and pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. It’s only hope is to tell Europe to stick it and… Read more »
Perhaps Ukraine’s best bet is to dump Europe, kick out the US and its missiles, beg Russia’s forgiveness and reunite with Russia. The Donbass and Lugansk problem could be made to go away, and the US/Nato/UK/EU would all have a hissy fit party and start accusing Russia of annexing Ukraine and having expansionist intentions for the whole of Europe and beyond.
The ghost of Honecker back to haunt Merkel. Seriously though I agree as anything else will have the debtors in and the Ukraine is absolute ruin. US will kick Nato in and really put the squeeze on the EU. Bringing in a Russian security force (no tanks or anything bigger than a 20mm) as a talisman will send enough of a message to back off as no russian presence wll leave Ukraine over run by yanks and their proxies.
So what does Russia have to lose .They get blamed for everything anyway.
They already sold their souls. Land should be an easy choice for them now.
Like Donbass and Lugansk over to Russia and the Azov back to the sea. I give Ukraine the next decade to descend to civil war and complete dissolution.
They sold their souls when they let the US in and allowed the US to take Ukraine’s gold reserves out of the country for “safe keeping” to New York City on March 7th, 2014. The National Bank of Ukraine (Central Bank) estimated Ukraine’s gold reserves in February to be worth 1.8 billion dollars. According to William Kaye: “That would amount to a very nice down payment to the $5 billion that Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland boasted that the United States has already spent in their efforts to destabilize Ukraine, and put in place their own unelected government.” Kaye… Read more »
Creepy Joe Biden alone, with his son, has taken more than 5 billion out.
Uncle Sam’s Planet of the Apes is a Piracy with a PayDay Loans storefront.
Holy smoke. Rumors that Joe Biden’s planning if elected, to replace the stars & stripes with a totenkopf skull and wolfsangel crossbones, as a new-age carpetbagger pirate nation. I think Nolan Peterson over at the Atlantic Council gave him the idea.
His plan, Trump Trump’s Syrian oil sacking with bigger and better stuff all around.
They aren’t just selling off the land, they are literally scooping up the rich black earth topsoil and freighting it off abroad. The only future Ukraine has is a CIA/ NATO playground, with foreign owned agribusiness (Monsanto), foreign owned extractive industries (Joe Biden’s son), and if they are lucky, some foreign owned sweatshop manufacturing. Millions of Ukrainians have voted with their feet, scratching a living abroad picking cabbages in Poland, or as the ubiquitous Natasha prostitutes, the only thing Ukraine produces that the EU wants. Egypt now has a higher average standard of living than Ukraine. At independence 30 years… Read more »
Just watch the oligarchs come back and scoop up the productive land .
Good stuff, that black earth. Just bought 100 bags at Home Depot last week and I’m growing ukronazi pod people in my basement to help Biden win the election.
“To free the Ukraine, we had to sell it to Monsanto”.
Enjoy all that ‘Diginity’ Ukrainians. Too bad you cannot heat of cook with it, but soon you won’t have food to eat anyway, and shortly thereafter, you wont need heat either.
Some dignity. They shoot 100 on Maidan themselves, then declare it a revolution of dignity.
Only ones more bereft of dignity are the Congressional buffoons that enabled them.
They should have stuck with Russia.
They should have stuck with neutrality but you need backbone, brains and a moral compass for that. The US has used easily-bought fascist fanatics and corrupt officials over and over again to destabilize nations per its desires. You’d think the Ukrainians would have figured out what the term ‘useful idiot’ actually means by now.
Get it from Barrack oBOMBa, the Clintons and Victoria Nuland.
All there in John Perkins’ Confessions of an Economic Hitman.
US and Nazi influence will only become worse should this happen.
It’s unfortunate that Ukraine isn’t a Russian Federation participant.
The exodus from Kiev’s grasp continues as people leave for greener pastures.
The same thing they are doing in Puerto Rico, with the easiness that the island is American.