Country Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for Ukraine Sevki Acuner says that the Bank projects that Ukraine`s economy may grow by 2% per annum in 2016 and 2017.
”Our current forecast is 2% GDP growth this year and 2% in 2017,” he told UNIAN in an interview.
Yet, he said, the figures may be reviewed with due regard to a number of factors, as much depends on the success of reforms and transformation in the country rather than on figures.
”If we are successful concluding privatizations in a transparent, effective and competitive manner, I think there will be a good basis then to lift up the growth projections than previously expected 1.5-2%,” he said.
He also said that foreign direct investment should be an impetus to the economic growth.
”One of the things that might compound the hopes for the economic recovery and investment pick-up is the new concept of the Investment Council which [Investment Council head] Mr Lozhkin is going to set up by the end of this year, that will reach out to potential investors. I imagine that this whole concept, as I discussed with Mr Lozhkin, will be one to do everything possible to attract major global companies to Ukraine. Because Ukraine has very strong fundamentals – a quality workforce, technological position, engineering know-how, agribusiness, logistics, and the pharmaceutical sector. And now the question now is to create, through consistent and sustained action, confidence among international investors that Ukraine is the right place to invest,” he said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the EBRD in May 2016 forecast 2% economic growth in Ukraine by the end of 2016. It said that the conflict in the east of the country was among the factors constraining the growth. The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. To date, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost EUR 12 billion through 368 projects since the start of its operations in the country in 1992.
