World Bank Board of Directors overnight into Tuesday approved the First Ukraine Jobs and Private Sector Growth Development Policy Operation (DPO) to support program of reforms of Government of Ukraine aimed at creating conditions for attracting private financing and investment, helping address labor shortage, and deepening cross-border market integration.
"This first operation in a programmatic series of two DPOs will provide total financing of $3.39 billion," bank says in press release.
According to it, this amount includes World Bank loan of $1.04 billion, backed by credit enhancement of $540 million from the Advancing Needed Credit Enhancement for Ukraine (ADVANCE Ukraine) Trust Fund supported by Government of Japan and guarantees of $500 million from Government of United Kingdom, as well as grant of $2.35 billion from the Facilitation of Resources to Invest in Strengthening Ukraine (F.O.R.T.I.S.) Financial Intermediary Fund.
"Despite extraordinarily challenging condition, Ukraine has steadily advanced on its reform agenda, creating the conditions for private investment and job creation, and steadily strengthening markets and institutions to meet its aspiration for European Union (EU) accession," World Bank Regional Director for Eastern Europe Bob Saum is quoted as saying.
The program supports recovery of Ukraine led by private sector through advancing reforms in three areas. Among them is creating conditions for financing and investment from private sector, including through reforming regulatory framework governing public-private partnerships and financial intermediation for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as through efforts to advance privatization program.
Second area is attracting skilled labor to jobs through implementation of reforms to modernize housing policy, develop entrepreneurship among veterans, encourage participation of women in labor market, and reduce skills mismatch.
Third area is advancing cross-border market integration by increasing transparency of payments to support agriculture, integrating electricity market institutions with EU, and aligning environmental monitoring requirements.
