•The European Commission on Thursday approved a second tranche of macroeconomic assistance to Ukraine of $600 million to support the capital market. The money will be allocated between late March and early April. The offer is contingent on Ukraine's registering the bill lifting the moratorium on exports of untreated lumber.

•Odesa customs officials took only five days to fulfill a monthly revenue target, indicating that corruption has been eliminated there, Prime Minister Volodomyr Groysman said at the annual investment conference. Groysman said Odesa's positive outcome will serve as an example for what the government intends to bring about at all Ukraine's customs operations.

•The European Union and some Asian countries have temporarily restricted Ukrainian poultry imports because of bird flu outbreaks, Unian reported. The countries involved are Hong Kong, Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

•Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk said the trade blockade in the Donbas is costing the Ukrainian economy 1.3 percent of GDP based on a preliminary estimate, according to Unian. He added that the figure is a “best-case scenario” and could be as high as 2 percent.

•Metinvest and SCM Group said they have lost control of all their assets in the renegade areas of the Donbass, according to Interfax Ukraine.

•The Cabinet acted on Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman's resolution to indefinitely extend the state of emergency in the Ukrainian electricity market that was adopted in mid-February.

•The World Bank is forecasting that Ukraine will experience economic growth this year if the country keeps its reform commitment going, according to Ukrinform, Projections were presented by an economist for the agency during remarks at Ukraine's annual investment conference in Kyiv.

•Ukrzaliznytsia announced that it is adding runs on the Interciti fast train from Kyiv to Zaporizhia and Kharkiv, Novoe Vremya reported.

•President Petro Poroshenko authorized sanctions against Russian banks in Ukraine, according to Unian, which cited news service TSN.

•Zaporizhia automotive plant ZAZ posted a $22.4 million net loss in 2016, shaving 50 percent of its losses in 2015. In contrast to previous years, the plant added personnel in 2016, hiring 45 new employees.

•Ukraine's first Xiaomi retail store opened in the Prospect Mall in Kyiv, according to Novoe Vremya.

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