Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Ukraine's Competitiveness Going Down

The World Economics Forum Global Competitiveness Report downgrades Ukraine to place 82.


They write "Ukraine drops by 10 spots to 82nd. With a steep fall in demand for export products, a devaluation of the currency, and a near breakdown of the financial system, Ukraine faces daunting challenges in the short term. Nonetheless, past reform efforts will have to continue, in particular aiming at upgrading the institutional environment (120th), strengthening financial
markets (106th), and rendering goods markets more efficient (109th)"

I'd say the devaluation has substantially boosted Ukraine's competitiveness - an employee who used to cost $1000 now costs $600 or so - so for a foreign investor, Ukraine has become cheap again.

1 comment:

  1. I have the same concern about how they evaluate competitiveness: the devaluation of hryvna is both the curse and the blessing. Same can be said about real estate -- office space in Kyiv is one of the cheapest in Europe.

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