A day of annual global reports - Ukraine

energy logo

I will immediately steer clear of the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2012, which unsurprisingly ranks Ukraine at 144th and perceived as corrupt, simply because that will grab the mainstream headlines.  Ukraine still perceived as corrupt shocker - blah blah blah - not news at all! Instead I will bring to your attention the 2012 […]

Proving me wrong - Government intervenes in currency

forced intervention

Yesterday I wrote this stating that it was “interesting” Ukraine was attempting to force transparency in the extraction industries - a place from where the oligarchy wealth comes, amongst others. It is interesting because it attempts to force some transparency into what and how much is extracted, and thus will give indications of what is […]

Transparency in Extractive Industries in Ukraine?

extractive industries

Now here is something interesting, not just because it involves transparency within the murky world of extractive industries, but the fact that this even exists in Ukraine - even if only on paper: МІНІСТЕРСТВО ЕНЕРГЕТИКИ ТА ВУГІЛЬНОЇ ПРОМИСЛОВОСТІ УКРАЇНИ НАКАЗ 02.10.2012 м. Київ № 785 Про створення багатосторонньої групи заінтересованих осіб (БГЗО) з питання імплементації […]

Combined Heating and Power plant privitisation - Ukraine

chp

This year, the combined heating and power plants (CHP’s) for Odessa, Kharkiv, Dnepropetrovsk and Kherson are all due to be privatised. None of which seems likely between now and the end of the year due to the tender process and the clauses within the tenders. Amongst the clauses are the conversion of the plants from […]

Hryvnia devalutation almost a certainty before the year end

hryvnia

On 2nd January 2012, I wrote this, stating that the Hryvnia needed to devalue to between UAH 10 or UAH 11 to US$ 1 by mid 2013. Since then I wrote this, on 1st July 2012 stating it would need to devalue to UAH 9 to US$1 by the end of 2012 and this on […]

Pouring oil on troubled waters - EU Ambassador to Ukraine

tombinski

The new head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, (Ambassador for want of a better analogy), Jan Tombinski, seems to be doing his very best to pour oil on the somewhat choppy waters between Ukraine and the EU in efforts to smooth matters between the two sides to some degree. He recently gave a press […]

Reducing bureaucracy - Tax

tax returns

It has to be said that the new Tax Code brought in under the current government was by and large quite welcome and far simpler than that which previously existed. Many of us who have to deal with tax in Ukraine will have noticed the situation is somewhat easier and far less duplicitous than it […]

After the elections - Is what happens to Ukraine that important to its neighbours?

geopolitics

Naturally there is a lot of interest in the forthcoming elections in Ukraine - particularly so by its immediate neighbours.  To be frank, there always has been since independence was dumped in the lap of Ukraine. In fact the degree of meddling, both overtly, covertly, cleverly, clumsily, diplomatically and politically, either through direct channels or […]

Free Trade Agreements - Ukraine

BSEC

Turkey looks set to be the next Free Trade Agreement negotiated and signed by the current Ukrainian government - quite possibly by the end of 2012. Quite rightly too.  If there is a star economic performer in the Black Sea region over the past few years to date, it most certainly is Turkey. In all […]

Currency wars over Ukraine?

ruble yuan

Well, I was hoping to write something truly interesting from the meeting between the CIS Prime Ministers that has been held over the past few days in Yalta. Unfortunately, not much worthy of real comment has been said or done - unless you want to include the nearing ascension of Kazakhstan and then Kyrgyzstan as […]