•President Petro Poroshenko signed the 2017 national budget into law, praising its allocations for national defense, workers and road construction, multiple news agencies reported.

•Microsoft Ukraine will provide a discount on software of up to 90 percent to the Education and Science Ministry for installation in 23,000 PCs in Ukrainian schools, Interfax Ukraine reported. The software was provided through a project implemented by China. The PCs will be installed in early 2017.

•India has become the largest importer of Ukrainian wheat in the 2016-17 agricultural year, which started in July. That's according to an Interfax Ukraine report quoting UkrAgroConsult expert Yelizaveta Malyshko, who said the top three importers of wheat from Ukraine are India, Thailand and Indonesia.

•2017 revenue projections for Ukrzaliznytsia indicate that the national railway expects an 11 percent rise over 2016 data, according to Interfax Ukraine. Meanwhile, Infrastructure Minister Volodomyr Omelian approved Ukrzaliznytsia's financial plan for the coming year to prevent a shutdown, but he called the plan “obviously weak,” Ukrinform reported.

•The Nikolaev port, one of the five largest in Ukraine, processed more than 20 million tons of freight in the January-November period, multiple sources reported. That amount sets an all-time record for the port.

•The government's monopoly regulator approved the acquisition of Rosneft Management Co. Ltd by Switzerland's Glusco Energy, Interfax Ukraine reported. Rosneft Management has assets in Russia and Ukraine. The anti-monopoly service previously rejected the sale.

•Banks that have not undergone stress testing will do so, and the National Bank of Ukraine will recapitalize banks with negative capital, Ukrinform reported. In a separate news item, Ukrinform reported that the NBU will create a credit registry in 2017.

•The government has begun financing pensions for 2017, Ukrinform reported. No additional details were included in the report.

•The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is extending resources to support the renewal of rolling stock in municipalities across Ukraine, and the newest beneficiary is Ivano-Frankivsk, which is getting a loan of up to $8 million to upgrade its transportation network, Unian reported. The city will use the money to buy 35 new trolleys, renovate the trolley depot and extend the electric commuter network.

•The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade forecasts that industrial output will have grown 2.2 percent by the end of the year, according to Unian. Moderate growth is expected to continue in the first quarter of 2017 thanks to sufficient demand both internally and externally.

•Russia's TogliattiAzot has ceased its transit of ammonia through Ukraine as of Dec. 23, Novoe Vremya reported. A request for an increase in 2016 quotas was refused, according to the company's press service.

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