UKRAINE COMPETITIVENESS REPORT PRESENTED BY WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM (WEF) AND FOUNDATION FOR EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE (FEG) 
Full competitiveness report 2008 can be downloaded free of charge

U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 23, 2008

KYIV - Ukraine ranked 73rd out of 131 countries in the Global Competitiveness Index Rankings according to Natalia Izosimova,  Director of the Foundation for effective Governance (FEG), on May 21st in Kyiv, at a presentation of "The Ukraine Competitiveness Report 2008...Towards Sustained Growth and Prosperity" prepared within the framework of the partnership project of the FEG and World Economic Forum (WEF).

The U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) was represented at the
presentation by president Morgan Williams and by Ludmyla Dudnyk, program director for USUBC in Ukraine. Around 125 persons attended the event including high level members of the government, parliament, business
community and civil society.

The Competitiveness Report showed that Ukraine ranks behind Brazil but ahead of EU newcomers such as Bulgaria and Romania. Compared to other CIS countries Ukraine is ranked in the middle overall.

With a general score 3.98 Ukraine ranked far behind other EU countries, whose general score is 5.06. Ukraine also ranked behind some CIS countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

TRANSITION STAGE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

The Report indicated Ukraine is in its transition stage of economic development that is between the stage at which economic growth depends on primary factors of production (non qualified working force and natural resources) and the stage at which the economic growth improves with better production efficiency.

The Foundation for Effective Governance (FEG) carried out the project assessing Ukraine's competitiveness on the national and regional levels in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF) according to its methodology, which underlies the annual ranking of WEF "Global Competitiveness Report".

"The goal of the project assessing Ukraine's competitiveness is to provide
independent and objective assessment of the national economy. The research offers to the Ukrainian statesmen and business leaders an objective view to the country's international position outlining its strengths as well as weaknesses, which are to be tackled first", stated Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz, Deputy Director and Senior Economist of the WEF Global
Competitiveness Network.

The WEF has been analyzing Ukraine's competitiveness since 1997. However,
this year, due to the Foundation's support, along with the global rating
among 131 countries Ukraine has obtained the competitiveness ratings of 12
separate regions.

This allowed WEF to give an in-depth analysis of Ukrainian economy
competitiveness as well as to define the priority areas for the state policy
of economic development.

ANALYSIS OF 12 UKRAINIAN REGIONS

"The in-depth analysis of 12 Ukrainian regions is the first research of this
kind in Ukraine. It fills in the information gaps especially in terms of
quality factors influencing the economic development of Ukraine including
the quality of development of institutions and system of education", stated
Thierry Geiger, an economist of WEF Global Competitiveness Network.

The research results provide an objective and well structured information,
which is very important for making decisions at the level of the country's
management. The Report does not contain direct recommendations or 
conclusions regarding what should be done.

"The results are valuable as they show strengths and weaknesses of the
economy and the key barriers to the economic growth. In other words the
results help define the priority areas of transformations", said Natalia
Izosimova, Director of the Foundation.

FULL REPORT DOWNLOADED FREE OF CHARGE

The full competitiveness report can be downloaded free of charge from
the websites of the World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org) and the
Foundation for Effective Governance (www.feg.org.ua).
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NOTE: The Foundation for Effective Governance (FEG) www.feg.org.ua
was established in 2007 by Ukrainian businessman, Rinat Akhmetov with a
mission to develop and implement long-term projects and programs which
encourage the long-term economic development of Ukraine.  FEG is
committed to help reach public and political consensus on the key areas of
the economic transformation programs.

"The Ukraine Competitiveness Report 2008" was published by the World
Economic Forum within the framework of the Global Competitiveness
Network. The editors were: Margareta Drzeniek Hanouz, Associate Director,
Senior Economist and Thierry Geiger, Economist, Global Leadership Fellow.