KIEV, July 28 - Erste Bank der oesterreichischen Sparkassen AG is entering the Ukrainian market with the acquisition of a 50.5% stake in Bank Prestige for $35.3 million, the banks reported on Friday.

KIEV, July 31 ??“ Ukraine??™s economy will probably expand twice as fast as has been earlier expected in 2006 as the government keeps budget deficit under control and consumer inflation in check, the International Monetary Fund said.

KIEV, July 29 ??“ The banks that will participate in a World Bank and government-funded project to expand access to the financial services markets are to be selected in August, the Finance Ministry reported, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

KIEV, July 29 ??“ The government has approved a schedule for preparation and sale of stocks in 13 state-owned corporations in 2005, as fixed in its resolution No.285 of July 25.

KYIV, June 30 – Naftogaz Ukrayiny plans to import 15,600 tons of petrol and diesel fuel into the country in July, head of the company Yuriy Vitrenko said.

KYIV, June 30 – From June 30, Ukraine began exporting electricity to Romania at a capacity of 100 MW, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal announced.

Today, from 1 a.m., such exports went in the direction of Romania. The initial volume is 100 MW," he wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday.

KYIV, June 29 – The German engineering company Horsch has opened an official representative office in Ukraine (the village of Velyka Soltanivka, Kyiv region), and total investments in the project amounted to EUR 5 million, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Roman Leshchenko has said.

KYIV, June 30 – The introduction of additional restrictions on the Ukrainian power market, already suffering from them and other interference, is inappropriate, but the regulator needs to monitor the market and investigate where there are signs of manipulation, Director of the EU Energy Community Secretariat Janez Kopac has said.

KYIV, June 30 – The Mastercard international payment system points out a trend in the popularity of tokenized cards in Ukraine – in the near future their number may reach 10 million.

MOSCOW, June 29 - Gazprom has again refused to book additional transit capacity via Ukraine for July despite the upcoming major repairs on export gas pipelines, according to data of the Regional Booking Platform.