Business no longer needs to sell part of its foreign exchange earnings

The NBU has canceled the mandatory sale of foreign currency earnings for business entities. Experts say this is the most liberal move of the NBU in recent years. The norm, which obliges entrepreneurs to sell 30% of their foreign exchange earnings on the interbank market, has ceased to operate since June 20.

Relaxation will not have negative consequences for the state. According to statistics of recent years, when the norm for compulsory sale of foreign exchange earnings was 50%, and when it was reduced to 30%, the business on average sold more than 90% of the currency, the NBU reports.
Given that companies usually sell foreign currency earnings above the mandatory limit anyway, it is hard to expect that this news will significantly affect the performance of any business, commented senior analyst at Raiffeisen Bank Aval Mikhail Rebrik to journalists.
The National Bank indicates that this is one of the moves in accordance with the roadmap, which provides for the gradual removal of all currency restrictions while improving macroeconomic conditions in Ukraine. This year, the National Bank lifted or relaxed more than 30 currency restrictions. This will help the free movement of capital.

Alexander Baskov, Head of Sustainable Business at Baker Tilly

It is important that the business itself can now decide when to sell the currency in accordance with its own needs and commercial interests. This is a good promise to the market, along with a number of other NBU decisions and a stable inflation rate. For importers, this is especially important, because the prerequisites are created that the exchange rate will be predictable, without big leaps.

Sergey Kornienko, partner at "Antika" Law Firm

The abolition of the mandatory sale of foreign revenue may be an important step towards the deoffshorization of foreign exchange operations, and will have a generally positive impact on the business climate in Ukraine. The abolition of the mandatory sale of foreign exchange earnings indicates a gradual movement of the National Bank towards full liberalization of the foreign exchange market and is an indicator for business regarding the confidence of the regulator in exchange rate stability in the Ukrainian foreign exchange market.