AUB partners news

The National Bank of Ukraine has announced changes to currency regulations aimed at stimulating business activity and expanding opportunities for businesses without creating significant additional demand for foreign currency.

The changes are reflected in the regulator's forecast, which provides for maintaining international reserves at a sufficient level to support the stability of the currency market.

From now on, companies will be able to partially repatriate dividends for 2023 within the general limit of up to €1 million per month. The possibilities for hedging currency risks have also been expanded: residents — legal entities and individual entrepreneurs — have been given the right to purchase foreign currency in banks on forward terms with delivery of the underlying asset. Such transactions are permitted only within the limits of the currency purchased by the bank on similar terms from other clients.

Other innovations include changes in the area of international transfers to increase confidence in Ukrainian businesses. The National Bank will allow the return of mistakenly transferred funds in foreign currency and will also grant resident maritime agents the right to transfer unused funds received from non-resident shipowners or other trustees abroad.

Steps are also planned to develop transparency in the jewelry industry: businesses engaged in the retail sale of jewelry will be able to purchase bank metals for non-cash hryvnia, provided they comply with the established requirements. In addition, approaches to the regulation of external loans have been unified, in particular with regard to loans provided by a pool of foreign creditors with the participation of international financial organizations.

The National Bank is also expanding its incentive-based currency liberalization by including the repatriation of dividends in the list of transactions that businesses can carry out in excess of the established restrictions within the investment limit.