Ukraine central bank sees economy growing 1 pct in 2015
KYIV, Sept 17 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s economy should pick up
next year and grow 1.0 percent, the central bank said on
Wednesday, after a sharp contraction this year due mainly to the
impact of the crisis in eastern Ukraine.
The bank did not say what would drive growth but the
government has said the economy will expand next year if a
package of tax laws, including changes to income and corporate
taxes, is adopted, making the country more attractive to
investors.
Parliament is expected to discuss the package soon, possibly
next week, after delaying a debate on it on Tuesday due to a
lack of lawmakers present.
The central bank, in a statement, also said that inflation
would average 9 percent in 2015. The annual inflation rate stood
at 14.2 percent in August, the latest data.
Ukraine has already received two disbursements under a $17
billion International Monetary Fund bailout this year. The IMF
said this month that the country might need as much as $19
billion in extra funds from donors if its conflict with
pro-Russian separatists continues into 2015.
The head of the central bank, Valeria Hontareva, said last
week that gross domestic product (GDP) could contract by as much
as 10 percent this year, against 6.5 percent previously
predicted by the IMF, due to the conflict in eastern Ukraine
where government forces are battling pro-Russian separatists.
The bank said its forecast for 1 percent growth in 2015 had
been accepted by the IMF in talks with Ukraine authorities but
it was unclear whether that was also the IMF’s forecast. The
central bank had not previously given a GDP estimate for 2015.
The Ukraine government expects GDP to shrink by 6 percent
this year and grow by 2 percent in 2015 if the tax package is
adopted.
(Reporting By Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Susan Fenton)