Ukraine: privatization on hold until quarantine lifted

Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko says Ukraine has suspended its large-scale privatization campaign in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) quarantine. “Funds from privatization are practically not earmarked in the national budget. By changing the budget, we have reduced the amount of revenue from privatization as much as possible, sending a signal to all investors that…

Latvia: OECD predicts 8.1% GDP decline in 2020

The latest outlook of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), published on June 10, predicts an 8.1% GDP decline for Latvia. At the same time, according to OECD’s latest estimates, next year Latvia’s economy will increase by 6.3%. In previous outlooks, published in November 2019, OECD estimated Latvia’s GDP might grow by 2.3%…