KIEV, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian authorities are mulling the creation of a national development bank to accelerate economic growth, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Arbuzov said Tuesday.
"It will be a first-tier bank, which will provide funds to commercial banks, which, in turn, will give long-term loans for modernization," Arbuzov said at a cabinet meeting.
The new institution, he said, would be established by the end of 2013 with budget funding as well as private investments attracted with state guarantees.
Ukraine's enterprises need a substantial modernization to boost the competitiveness of their products on the global markets and increase the volume of exports in the coming years.
The country's economy, which is heavily dependent on exports, rose by 1 percent last year, according to preliminary data.
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