•The European Union will help Ukraine expand Dnipropetrovsk region businesses into European markets, Ukrinform reported. With that in mind, a special business support center will be created so European consultants can help Ukrainian entrepreneurs find paths to enter international markets.

•The United States and Ukraine signed an agreement on taxation transparency, which Finance Minister Alexander Danyliuk said will “reduce the opportunities for financial fraud and tax evasion, to promote a better exchange of information between Ukraine and the United States.” The United States will reciprocate in its dealings with Ukraine.

•Establishment of a new financial investigation agency as proposed by the Ukrainian Finance Ministry will ease fiscal authorities' pressure on businesses, according to Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, Unian reported.

•An international arbitration court sided with British oil and gas company JKX in its dispute with Ukraine. The court found that Ukraine was in violation of the terms of a bilateral investment treaty between Ukraine and Britain, and it awarded JKX damages of roughly $12 million.

•Russian company Lukoil sold a major petrochemical plant in the Ivano-Frankivsk region for $25 million, Liga.net reported. One of the new owners of the Karpatneftehima factory is Igor Shutsky. He declined to name the other buyer.

•Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said that January employment results show an upward trend in new jobs and wages, Ukrinform reported.

•As of Feb. 1, Ukraine’s international reserves had shrunk to $15.4 billion, following a decrease of $94 million over the previous month, the National Bank of Ukraine reported.

•In 2016, Ukraine exported finished consumer goods to 92 countries and with a value of more than $594 million, Ukrinform reported. EU countries took the lead among the countries that imported Ukrainian consumer goods in 2016.

•Ukraine's banking system hit new record highs in losses in 2016, taking a cumulative hit of $5.83 billion, according to the National Bank of Ukraine and Unian.

For comments and news tips, please email UBJ AM editor David Edwards at david.edwards@theubj.com.