KIEV, Aug. 12 - The National Bank of Ukraine is to take additional measures to ensure the stability of the hryvnia and the country's banking sector, setting in September a 2% limit on the margin on the cash forex market between purchase and sale currency rates.

KRASNODAR, Aug. 11 - The Industrial Union of Donbass will not start building a steel plant in Armavir in the Krasnodar territory in southern Russia until 2012, the city administration told Interfax.

The plant would not in that case be commissioned until 2016.

KIEV, Aug. 11 - The outlook for Ukraine's steel industry is improving, even though output could fall 20%-24% in 2009.

Signs that the industry's decline is slowing were first detected in May. The latest figures from the Industrial Policy Ministry suggest the decline has bottomed out, with roll production falling 34% year-on-year to 12.354 million tons in the first half of 2009 and the same 34% to 14.579 million tons in January-July.

KIEV, Aug. 12 - Rent rates denominated in U.S. dollars for trade premises of 100-300 square meters in trade and entertainment centers and trade center have fallen by 30-40% since the autumn of 2008, the Ukrainian representative office of Colliers International consulting company (Kiev) reported.

KIEV, Aug. 12 – The implementation of railway ticket sales through the Internet will require significant changes in Ukrainian legislation Experts from consortium Management Consulting Group (MCG, Kiev) have said.

KIEV, Aug. 11 – System Capital Management Corporation (SCM, Donetsk) has decided to sell its stake in Commercial Fleet of Donbass Ltd. (Mariupol, Donetsk region).

"For SCM Group, this investment was rather financial than strategic. We, as minority shareholders of Commercial Fleet of Donbass, did not significantly influence the company's decisions and its activity.

MOSCOW, Aug. 11 - Experts forecast that Mobile TeleSystems' (MTS) net profit according to US GAAP will increase 23% year-on-year for the second quarter of 2008.

KIEV, Aug. 11 – Ukraine's government has increased state subsidies for raising and selling livestock and poultry from the current UAH 1.90 to UAH 2.90 per kilogram of live weight.

KIEV, Aug. 12 – Ukrainian Radio Systems (URS, Beeline trademark) and Golden Telecom Ltd. (both in Kiev) have merged their management structure.

As reported, OAO VimpelCom (Russia), the associated company of URS, in late February 2008 completed a deal on the purchase of Golden Telecom.

KIEV, Aug. 11 – The negative balance of Ukraine's foreign trade in commodities in January-June 2008 was $9.845 billion, which was 2.36 times up year-on-year ($4.171 billion), according to the State Statistics Committee.