UEFA EURO 2012 may speed up GDP growth - economist

Ukraine's GDP growth in 2012 could be accelerated thanks to holding the European Football Championship 2012 finals in Ukraine and to reforms in the energy sector, this opinion was expressed by Art Capital economist Oleh Ivanets.

"Real GDP growth rates have expectedly slowed down in Q4, 2011, however, data by results of the year appeared higher against forecasts. Main drivers of GDP growth in 2011 were agriculture, construction and mining industry," he noted.

For 2012, the expert predicts Ukraine's real GDP growth by 3.1% and main drivers will be trade and the services sphere thanks to UEFA EURO 2012.

"At the same time, there are GDP growth risks in 2012, the most substantial of which is the hryvnia devaluation and aggravation of the debt crisis in Europe," he notes.

Also, according to Ivanets, there is possibility of higher GDP growth rate at the expense of capital investments. "If the government goes to a radical reform of the energy sector and creates conditions for the inflow of foreign capital in the sector," the economist believes.

To remind, the State Statistics Service published preliminary estimate of real GDP growth in Q4, 2011, at 4.6%. In total, over 2011, real GDP growth made up 5.2% in 2011. Nominal GDP amounted to UAH 1.31 trillion (USD 164 billion).


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