Business Update – March 24: Ukrainian companies buy vital COVID-19 medical equipment

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal has said he sees no need for a state of emergency in Ukraine as part of the coronavirus containment measures. “At present, there is no need to enact a state of emergency in Ukraine. A state of emergency is declared when some emergencies occur. The pace at which coronavirus is spreading in Ukraine today is quite moderate in comparison with [what is happening in] many countries of Europe,” Shmyhal told the ICTV television channel.

Ukraine’s program with the International Monetary Fund should at least be raised to $10 billion, the head of the Dragon Capital investment bank has said. “The Extended Fund Facility, which we agreed on at $5.5 billion in December, needs to be doubled to at least $10 billion. And this year we should get at least half of this money to the budget but not to the reserves of the National Bank,” Tomas Fiala said, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) plans to provide Ukraine with a loan of 40 million euros to fight coronavirus. “Last week, Ukrainian Minister for Communities and Territories Development Oleksiy Chernyshov held an online meeting with the EIB. The parties discussed raising a loan of 40 million euros for a quick response and necessary measures to overcome the coronavirus in Ukraine,” a ministry statement said.

New ‘anti-Kolomoisky’ bank bill heads to parliament. The colloquially dubbed “anti-Kolomoisky Law”  – after billionaire oligarch and alleged fraudster  Ihor Kolomoisky – would prevent insolvent banks from being returned to their former owners.

Companies are buying COVID-19 medical equipment for Ukraine. The Myronivsky Hliboproduct (MHP) poultry company has allocated Hr $540,000 to purchase 19 artificial lung ventilators and personal protective equipment in Vinnytsia Oblast. Grain giant Nibulon spent slightly less to purchase 15 intubators for hospitals in Mykolaiv city and oblast.

Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agricultural groups, allocated $2 million for the purchase of tests for COVID-19. Vodafone Ukraine also said it purchased $125,000 worth of artificial lung ventilators for hospitals in Lviv, Lutsk, Kharkiv and Zhytomyr.

Preliminary losses to the city of Kyiv from the COVID-19 epidemic are about $36 million (Hr 1 billion), Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said. “Now I can say that preliminary calculations show losses of about Hr 1 billion, but I do not rule out that this figure will increase. We cannot predict how long the quarantine will last,” Klitschko said on ICTV Channel on March 24.

Ukraine placed $801.6 million worth of government bonds, Interfax-Ukraine reported. The Finance Ministry of Ukraine on March 24 at primary auctions placed a record-setting volume of three-month U.S. dollar government domestic loan bonds for $801.6 million at 3% per annum.

Sweden’s IKEA, the largest global furniture retailer, is rethinking its launch in Ukraine due to the coronavirus disease. “We reaffirm our commitment to Ukraine and plans to enter the Ukrainian market, however, in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are analyzing the possible time frame and next steps,” IKEA said in response to Interfax-Ukraine.

The government has introduced hourly pay for doctors and other medical employees who are directly involved in treating Ukrainians with the COVID-19 disease, the Health Ministry has said on its Facebook page.

The number of officially recorded COVID-19 cases in Russia has risen by 57 to 495 over the past 24 hours. The new cases of the novel coronavirus infection were registered in 14 regions in Russia, officials said. Furthermore, over 90,000 people are under medical observation in Russia due to possibly having come into contact with coronavirus.