KIEV, Dec. 19 – International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde has welcomed the decision of the Ukrainian government and the National Bank of Ukraine on the nationalization of PrivatBank, the largest bank in the country, as it is an important step to ensure financial stability.

KIEV, Dec. 19 – Ambassadors of the Group of Seven (G7) countries have praised the Ukrainian government's decision to nationalize PrivatBank and expressed their hope for strengthening the country's banking sector.

KIEV, Dec. 18 – A project on joint production of harvesters between Kharkiv Tractor Plant and Sampo Rosenlew (Finland) which planned to produce a test batch of harvesters this year, has been frozen under the initiative of Finland due to “unjustifiable claims“ of the tax service to collect over UAH 400 million from the plant and attempts to nationalize the enterprise Kharkiv Tractor Plant, Kharkiv Tractor Plant Director Vladyslav Hubin said.

KIEV, Dec. 17 – The Board of the National Bank of Ukraine on December 17 decided to retain its refinancing rate at 22%, the NBU said in a press release.

KIEV, Dec. 17 – British-based Ferrexpo Plc, which controls Poltava and Yerystove mining and processing plants (PGOK, YeGOK), has said that reports of the company's plan to lay off 40% of employees at PGOK spread by mass media are untrue.

KIEV, Dec. 18 - Hyundai Corporation is mulling the possibility of creating a joint Ukrainian-South Korean venture in Lviv region, the Lviv Regional Administration reported.

WARSAW, Dec. 17 - Polish and Ukrainian state gas pipeline operators signed an agreement on Wednesday to look into expanding their capacity to transport gas between the two countries, the Polish pipeline group Gaz-System said in a statement, Reuters reported.

KIEV, Dec. 17 - Ukraine imported 472.8 million cubic meters of natural gas from Europe in December 1 through December 15, up from about 58 million cu m in the same period a year ago, UkrTransGaz, the state-owned gas shipper, reported Wednesday.

KIEV, Dec. 20 – The vacancy rate of office centers in Kiev in 2013 could grow from current 14% to 20%, according to Oleksandr Nosachenko a managing director of Colliers International Consulting Company in Ukraine.

KIEV, Dec. 20 - Ostchem Gas Trading AG, the core business of which will be trading with gas, was registered on December 10 in the Swiss canton Zug, according to a report of the company.