REUTERS
Ukraine's economy shows signs of stabilization and the recovery can begin as early as next year, subject to continued structural reforms, World Bank Director for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova Qimiao Fan told UNIAN.
"We have seen some early signs of stabilization. The fiscal deficit is contained, deposit outflow from the banking sector is also slow. We see stabilization in exchange rate for the last few months. The reserves have increased mostly with the support of international community finance. We see signs of stabilization, but clearly whether the country can maintain a stable macroeconomic environment depends on policies of the authorities. The situation is still very fragile. If we want to have growth next year, we must continue the macro stability and we need to continue with structural reforms including - banking sector, energy sector, business environment, public administration reforms, judicial system. All these reforms are essential for future growth. I'm optimistic that with the reforms, the economy will recover next year," he said.
The Cabinet of Ministers has developed three scenarios of economic development in Ukraine for the current year, according to which the fall of the country's GDP is expected to range between 5.5% and 11.9%. The International Monetary Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development project Ukraine's GDP may fall by 9% in 2015. The World Bank in turn predicts a 7.5% decline in Ukraine's GDP in 2015. At the same time, economic growth by an average of 1-2% is expected in 2016.
In addition, the Finance Ministry of Ukraine stated that the Ukrainian economy could increase from the current $84 billion to $600 billion by 2040, provided maintaining a positive development trend and an annual growth of at least 4%.