SCM Group companies in the fourth quarter of 2019 are operating in the conditions of a sharp drop in the markets, SCM Communications Director Natalia Yemchenko has said.

"The next year will be very difficult for the Ukrainian economy and Ukrainian business. We predict an economic downturn, perhaps the most dramatic since Ukraine's independence. That means a decline in production," she said.

Yemchenko said that the fourth quarter of 2019 will be difficult for SCM and the Ukrainian economy, since the key global markets for the group (metallurgical and energy) are falling significantly and rapidly, and this already affects the work of SCM enterprises and contractors.

"Under such conditions, we will do our best to ensure that our enterprises remain stable, and our contribution to the development of the country is substantial. But it's not a fact that we will succeed to ensure the level of 2019," she stated.

She clarified that over the nine months of this year, SCM businesses paid UAH 45 billion in taxes to the national budget, which corresponds to last year, but increased capital investments by 30% compared to the same period in 2018, to UAH 31 billion, and also increased social programs spending in the regions to UAH 7.75 billion.

Yemchenko stressed that amid the global economic downturn, it is important for the group to establish a fair play for business in Ukraine, "so that the rules are transparent and uniform for all."