Banks issued $135 million in home mortgages during the first half of this year – more triple the amount of January-June 2020, reports the National Bank of Ukraine. Spurring the flow of money, the government adopted March 1 its ‘Affordable Mortgage 7%’ program. Under this program, up to $75,000 can be loaned for up to 20 years to buy a house or apartment not older than six years. About 90% of this year’s 4,652 loans have gone to buy homes on the secondary market.

 Ukraine’s trade in goods with China surged during the first half of this year, nearly hitting $9 billion, reports the State Statistics Service. Exports to China jumped by 43% yoy, to $4.3 billion. Imports from China increased by 25%, to $4.6 billion. This is more than the combined total of trade with Poland — $5.6 billion – and with Germany — $3 billion. Trade with Russia totaled $4 billion.