Board of Executive Directors of the world Bank on Friday June 26 took a decision on granting Ukraine $ 350 million US in the first loan to support reforms that are crucial for economic recovery and mitigation of a pandemic coronavirus, said message Bank.
Main reforms supported by the Bank include strengthening land and credit markets by creating an efficient agricultural land market and resolve bad loans in state banks; support for de-monopolization and anti-corruption institutions and the restructuring of the gas sector; strengthening social protection systems to support the elderly, who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.
"Pandemic COVID-19 caused a rapid economic downturn, which affected the income of ordinary Ukrainians and small businesses and created an additional burden on the state budget," said Arup Banerji, again, world Bank Director for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.
restructuring of the gas sector by establishing an independent transmission system operator already provides Ukraine the revenues from gas transit. Strengthening anti-corruption institutions aimed at implementing the same conditions in the private sector and strengthening investor confidence. The resolution of NPLs in the state banks will help improve the efficiency and availability of lending to Ukrainian companies.
"Ukraine took the first historic step towards the establishment of transparent and efficient agricultural land market and unlock the investment in agriculture, by adopting the law on turnover of agricultural land, which was supported in the framework of the development policy loan," said Farooq Khan, a Leading economist of the world Bank for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. "To ensure transparency and efficiency of land market it is important to adopt and implement additional legislation aimed at strengthening land administration, improvement of procedures of exclusion, improving access to financing for small farms, and gradually lifting restrictions on the purchase of land for all categories of investors".
This loan is one of two planned loans. As expected, the second loan will be allocated to support the development of additional important legislation in the sphere of land reform and the further strengthening of pension payments to vulnerable population the elderly.
program is part of the enhanced support provided by the world Bank of Ukraine for taking measures to overcome the consequences of COVID-19.
the world Bank is Ukraine's main partner for development. After Ukraine joined the world Bank in 1992, the Bank's assistance amounted to nearly 14 billion USD in more than 80 projects and programmes.
