As a result of the war, the NBU imposed currency restrictions on the market, which provoked public debate. In particular, the IT industry believes that the current monetary policy is unfair.
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This was reported by the European Association of Software Engineering EASE. Due to the difference between the official and cash exchange rates, the IT industry loses a significant share of foreign exchange earnings on conversion.
“Today, the losses of the IT industry alone from the regulation of exchange rates already reach about 20%. We closed $ 2 billion in first-quarter profit, but keep in mind that it was about $ 800 million in February and about $ 500 million in March. That is, the trend is still going down, “said Vladislav Savchenko, President of EASE.
What restrictions apply in the foreign exchange market
It will be recalled that on February 24, the National Bank froze the official dollar exchange rate at UAH 29.25 and does not plan to “release” or change it yet.
Banks and financial institutions could sell foreign currency to customers for no more than 10% of the official exchange rate.
But since May 21, the NBU has somewhat relaxed restrictions – lifted restrictions on the exchange rate for the sale of cash currency.
Yes, there are different dollar rates: those who receive currency on cards must sell it at the official fixed rate (29.25 hryvnia per dollar), and buy – at market (over 36 hryvnia per dollar).
EASE notes that such a move harms the industry on par with other restrictions, such as the inability of IT professionals to travel abroad, and so on. The association warns that there is a high risk of losing 100-150 thousand professionals who want to go abroad and build an IT market in other countries.
“We understand that this war will not be easy for us for a long time. However, we are ready to work here in Ukraine to develop the technological sector, so we cannot stay away from the real problem and pretend it does not exist,” Vladislav Savchenko added.
Is the right decision of the NBU
Monobank co-founder Oleg Gorokhovsky also criticized the lifting of the cash exchange rate limit. He called the decision unfair for private individuals who earn income in foreign currency and have to sell dollars cheaply and buy much more.
At the same time, economist Yevhen Dubogryz sees no “betrayal” in this. According to him, the NBU has only lifted one of the restrictions set earlier. That is, he partially returned to what was before the war.