Ukraine: decentralization entering second stage

The decentralization reform launched in 2014 that envisages transfer of financial resources and administrative powers to the regions is entering the second stage. That’s why it is impossible to halt the reform by hasty decisions, Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman stated during a meeting with the leadership of the united territorial communities of Rivne…

Georgia: external trade up in January-May 2019

Georgia’s external trade amounted to $4.95 billion in January-May, up by 1% YoY, says the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat). In the reporting period the value of Georgian exports increased by 14.2%, to $1.46 billion, while the value of imports decreased by 3.6%, to $3.49 billion. Georgia’s trade deficit came out to $2.02 billion,…

Kazakhstan: GDP up in January-May 2019

The country’s GDP growth reached 4% in January-May, Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin said at a government meeting. He instructed to take measures to increase the pace of economic development. The main drivers of the economy were construction – an increase of 8.8%, trade – 7.5%, transport – 5.3%, processing industry, including mechanical engineering –…

Ukraine: inflation accelerates in May 2019

Inflation in Ukraine in May amounted to 9.6% YoY, accelerating from 8.8% in annual terms a month earlier, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine reports. May prices compared against the previous month were up by 0.7% after rising in April by 1% against March. Compared with December 2018, consumer prices in May increased by 4.2%.…