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It is important to adhere to budgetary discipline and resume the cooperation program with the IMF.
Deputy Head of the Center for Economic Strategy Maria Repko says Ukraine in 2020 will have to pay off UAH 400 billion (US$16.9 billion) in public debt, including UAH 170 billion (US$7.2 billion) or about 4% of GDP in external debt.
The debt needs to be refinanced. Therefore, it is important to adhere to budgetary discipline and resume the cooperation program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), she told UNIAN on December 11.
Repko expects that an influx of investment into Ukraine may increase after the opening of farmland market, even if it remains closed to non-residents, since Ukrainian companies and citizens can return their funds from offshore jurisdictions to the country.
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The expert also considers the situation in eastern Ukraine to be a key factor for the stability of the hryvnia, Ukraine's national currency.
"If the situation repeats, as were the cases in Donetsk Airport [fierce hostilities between Ukrainian troops and Russian proxy forces] or Ilovaysk [the battle near the city of Ilovaysk], or Russia annexes another part of Ukraine's territory, we'll say goodbye to political stability and that of the [hryvnia] exchange rate," she added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) set the official forex rate of the hryvnia against the U.S. dollar for Wednesday, December 11, at UAH 23.69 per U.S. dollar, which was the maximum indicator since January 2016, or almost in four years.