France demands to release Ukrainian journalist kidnapped in Syria

News / 19 December 2012 | 17:10

The French authorities are still demanding that Ukrainian journalist Anhar Kochneva who was abducted in Syria be released, French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Philippe Lalliot said.

“The possibility of freely transmitting information is a universal value that should be observed everywhere. This also concerns the conflict zones. Therefore, this possibility should be guaranteed by all parties to the conflict in Syria. We are demanding that Ms. Kochneva be immediately released,” he told a briefing in Paris on Wednesday, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reports.

Lalliot added that as far as he knows, Ukraine had not asked France to provide assistance in releasing the journalist.

The rebels said they had planned to put Kochneva to death on December 16, but decided to “give her a second chance.”

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No reason to release Tymoshenko due to disease, Kuzmin says

News / 19 December 2012 | 16:45

There is no reason to release former Ukrainian Premier Yulia Tymoshenko from prison due to her disease, however there is a number of other legal ways to set her free.

First Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine Renat Kuzmin said during a hotline conference organized by the Komsomolskaya Pravda v Ukraine newspaper on Wednesday that the legislation contains a list of diseases due to which a convict can be released for treatment, following which the person has to return to prison.

“There are several legal ways to set free a person. A disease is one of them… The disease with which Tymoshenko was diagnosed is not on the list,” he said.

In connection with this, Kuzmin said that it is premature to raise the issue of releasing Tymoshenko.
At the same time, he named several other legal reasons for Tymoshenko’s release from imprisonment.

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NABU wants Ukrainians to be financially literate

News / 19 December 2012 | 16:30

Financial literacy of the population is important for banks, executive director of the Independent Banks Association of Ukraine (NABU) Serhiy Mamedov told the press conference “Results of the World Savings Day in Ukraine”, ForUm correspondent reports.

“It is very important for banks that a client understands a nature of the banking product, the responsibility for credits, that he can make purchases not only at the expense of credit, but at the expense of savings,” Mamedov stressed.

He noted that it is necessary to use an old system, when people saved money and then bought a particular product. Now, according to him, Ukraine has a boom in consumer lending, “when people want a kettle, go to the shop and buy it, even though they can wait a month and buy it for their own money.”

According to him, it is necessary to strengthen the level of financial education of the population at this stage. If people think several moves ahead, the banks will have fewer problems.

He noted that in recent years, there has been a significant increase in the banking system. “For two years, it has given more than 45 billion. This is a huge amount of money, so there is a growth,” Mamedov summed up.

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Yanukovych: Solving murder of Kharkiv judge is a matter of honor for police

News / 19 December 2012 | 16:15

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich calls solving murder of Kharkiv judge and his family an affair of honor.

Speaking at the ceremony of taking the oath of the judges, first appointed to the position of professional judges, the head of state stressed that this gruesome murder is a challenge to the entire Ukrainian society.

Yanukovych recalled that he had made instructions concerning the investigation of the criminal case. “Solving the murder is an affair of honor for all law enforcement agencies,” Yanukovych said.

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NABU: Deposit rates to decrease

News / 19 December 2012 | 15:50

Banks will decrease the deposit rates, executive director of the Independent Banks Association of Ukraine (NABU) Serhiy Mamedov told the press conference “Results of the World Savings Day in Ukraine”.

“Our economy cannot develop with current deposit rates, thus they will fall, definitely, it is a matter of time. Normal interest rate must be at 20%. Good level for economy development is 12-14%. Mortgage programs can be launched with interest rate at 16%. A person can earn this kind of money and repay a loan not bearing additional risks,” he said.

Mamedov added that current deposit rates should not remain at the level of 25-30%, but at the same time, he recommended Ukrainians to open deposits under such conditions.

“There is a new trend to reduce the terms of deposits. Thus, it is almost impossible to find a bank, which will open a deposit with such high rates for a year. However, having the state guarantee of compensation by the Deposit Guarantee Fund up to 200 thousand hryvnias, I would recommend to open deposits,” Mamedov summed up.

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Expert: Ukraine to make more steel in 2013

News / 19 December 2012 | 15:38

Steelmaking production in Ukraine in 2013 will grow by 3% compared to the expected performance of this year – up to 33.7 million tons, director of the Ukrpromvneshekspertiza Centre Volodymyr Vlasyuk told a press conference “Steel and Raw Materials: Ukrainian steelmaking industry in 2013”, ForUm correspondent reports.

According to the expert, in 2012, domestic steel plants have made 32.7 million tons of steel.

The following year, steelmakers will be favored by the fall in world prices for iron ore and coking coal, he said. “However, the demand for finished products will not significantly increase. – the analyst said. – In 2013, Ukraine can expect a slight increase in exports (by 500 thousand tons) and domestic sales (by 300 thousand tons). The annual average sales price for rolled metal in foreign and domestic markets will decline by 5-7%. However, under falling prices and primecost, profitability will remain unchanged, at 3% level. Accordingly, the Ukrainian economy will operate in conditions of reduced earnings from rolled metal products exports”.

The expert believe that the domestic market may grow by 300 thousand tons due to repairs and renovation of existing facilities, in particular, of the Ukrzaliznytsia railway company (cars and paths), metallurgical enterprises (capital construction), housing (replacing pipes), construction of terminals in ports etc.

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EBRD ready to finance projects in Ukraine

News / 19 December 2012 | 15:23

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is ready to finance projects in Ukraine regardless of the country’s cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, director of the department of external and internal relations of the EBRD Jonathan Charles told a press conference.

“Our task is to support Ukraine regardless of its cooperation with the IMF,” he said.

Charles stressed that the EBRD assesses projects taking individual solutions for each of them, and the fact of cooperation with the IMF does not determine such decisions.

At the same time, the EBRD considers the fact of cooperation with the IMF to be positive, as it is an additional benefit for the country in terms of the investment attractiveness, rating level and cost of borrowing.

Each year, the EBRD is ready to invest about one billion euro in Ukraine’s projects.

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NABU speaks about goals of World Savings Day

News / 19 December 2012 | 15:10

World Savings Day is committed to the idea of saving money in order to gain a higher standard of life and to secure the economy, as well as planning of expenses, executive director of the Independent Banks Association of Ukraine (NABU) Serhiy Mamedov told the press conference “Results of the World Savings Day in Ukraine”.

“The first World Savings Day in Ukraine was held in the period from October 31 to November 30. About 20 banks participated in the project. The main idea of the World Savings Day is to promote the very process. Savings is the basis of stability and security for every family in particular and for the state in general,” he said.

Mamedov also noted that if we analyze the banking systems of Ukraine and other countries, Germany for example, they are not so much different technologically (changing of the idea, structure, business risks).

According to him, the only significant difference is the level of population trust in the banking system.
“It is important for Ukraine to speak about savings and to improve the financial literacy of the population to make people feel more confident, because a person with savings is better protected,” he said.

Mamedov added that this month 3495 new accounts have been opened for people of various ages, stating from 9 and up to 51 years old. The deposit rates make 25%for hryvnia, 10% for dollar and 7% for euro accounts. The positive results is that 75% of accounts have been opened in national currency.

The most active regions, participated in the World Savings Day, are Kyiv, Crimea, Donets, Dnipropetrovs, Lviv and others.

The NABU official also noted that the next year the Association expects more than 50 banks to join the project.

The first World Savings Day in Ukraine was held on the initiative of NABU and German bank of development KfW, which acts upon charge of the Finance Ministry of Germany and upon support of the National Bank of Ukraine.

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