China is interested in increasing the supply of Ukrainian soybeans, peas, barley, wheat, as well as poultry and other products, the Ministry of Economy said, following a meeting between First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy Oleksiy Liubchenko and Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Fan Xianrong on June 10. “Today we’ve heard from our Chinese partners confirmation of interest in deepening economic cooperation, increasing exports of Ukrainian agricultural products, building infrastructure and implementing joint investment projects in transport, construction, energy, IT and other areas,” the press service of the ministry said citing Oleksiy Liubchenko.
According to the report, the meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister Volodymyr Hryniuk and Deputy Minister-Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka, as well as representatives of the leadership of the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine.
The parties also noted the importance of signing an intergovernmental agreement on deepening cooperation in the construction of infrastructure in the near future, the ministry said.
“This step will allow starting preparatory work for the launch of investment projects, including the construction of the M-22 Poltava-Oleksandriya road and the first part of the Kyiv circular road – sections M05-M06, which will cost about $ 1.1 billion,” the ministry said.
It is also important to continue work on the development of freight traffic in the direction of China-Western Europe through the territory of Ukraine, the report notes.
In addition, the Chinese side stressed the importance of the implementation of the intergovernmental initiative of Ukraine and China “One Belt-One Road.” The matter concerns preparing a roadmap for the implementation of a program of cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the joint construction of the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and “21st Century Maritime Silk Road,” the ministry added.
Rating agency Expert-Rating has affirmed the financial stability rating of the agricultural holding KSG Agro S.A. at the level of “uaA +” on the national scale, according to the agency’s website.
The agency notes that a borrower or a separate debt instrument with a “uaA +” rating is characterized by high creditworthiness compared to other Ukrainian borrowers or debt instruments.
According to the agency’s data, as of March 31, 2021, the share of loans in the liabilities of KSG Agro was 47.70%, of which short-term loans – 5.12%, and long-term loans – 42.58%.
As of the beginning of 2021, the equity capital of KSG Agro S.A. covered loans from banks by 44.16% and by 19.64% – the total volume of loans from banks and the parent company OLBIS Investments Ltd., owned by owner of the agricultural holding Serhiy Kasianov.
“In 2020-2021, the management of the holding took measures to improve its credit history by fully repaying and restructuring overdue debts on bank loans, and also reduced the impact of foreign exchange risk on the KSG Agro’s creditworthiness by changing the lending currency from the U.S. dollar to the functional currency, that is the main currency that a company conducts its business,” the agency said in a report.
Expert-Rating also notes that in 2020 the ratio of the company’s EBITDA to its total liabilities increased by 8.04 percentage points (p.p.) compared to 2019, to 11.35%, EBITDA to loans received – by 16.70 p.p., to 23.94%, and EBITDA to bank loans – by 34.81 p.p., to 54.28%.
“The current level of EBITDA of KSG Agro S.A. covers a significant share of interest bearing liabilities in 2020, it exceeds the cost of paying interest on loans by over 4 times and the total financial expenses of the holding by over 3 times,” the report said.
The agency clarifies that as of December 31, 2020, the agricultural holding did not issue debt securities, except for short-term bills, the amount of debt on which was estimated at $2.35 million.
According to Expert-Rating, due to the listing of shares of KSG Agro S.A. on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), the agricultural company can issue new shares, thereby increasing the liquidity and value of its shares.
According to the agency, as of March 31, 2021, some 64.62% of the company’s shares belonged to Kasianov, who manages it through OLBIS Investments Ltd., 35.17% of the shares were in free circulation on the WSE, and 0.21% accounted for treasury shares.
On June, 12 and 13, Ancient Kyiv in the Principality of Kyivan Rus («Kyivan Rus Park») invites you to a weekend tour «The Ancient World in Ancient Kyiv». The guests will be awaited by horse performances, theatrical stagings based on ancient myths, horseback riding, tasty dishes from fire, extreme attractions, museums, exhibitions … And all these in a real live medieval city!
The event is held in accordance with the requirements of the quarantine regime.
Ancient Kyiv opens at 10:00. The program starts at 14:00.
* The event program is subject to change.
The ticket price: a full adult ticket – 200 UAH, for pensioners and students – 150 UAH, for schoolchildren – 80 UAH, for preschool children – for free.
Ancient Kyiv in the «Kyivan Rus Park» is located in Kyiv region, Obukhiv district, the vill. Kopachiv.
Details on the website www.parkkyivrus.com
The Interfax subscribers can save money with the “openbusiness-20” promo code for a 20%-discount for a full price adult ticket to the Principality of Kyivan Rus:
– by previous order by tel.: +38 044 461-99-37, +38 050 385-20-35
– or at the cash desk at the entrance to the «Kyivan Rus Park».
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in its June report has improved the forecast for the export of Ukrainian wheat in the 2021/2022 marketing year (MY, July-June) by 500,000 tonnes compared to the forecast in May, to 20.5 million tonnes.
In the report, the department also raised the forecast for the wheat harvest in Ukraine in the new marketing year by 500,000 tonnes, to 29 million tonnes due to a long period of favorable weather conditions.
In June, the USDA retained its forecast for corn exports from Ukraine in the 2021/2022 MY at 30.5 million tonnes, the harvest – at 37.5 million tonnes.
As reported, Ukraine has exported 42.61 million tonnes of grains and legumes since the beginning of the 2020/2021 MY and as of June 9, 2021, which is 22.4% less than on the same date of the previous MY. As of the indicated date, 16.04 million tonnes of wheat and 21.77 million tonnes of corn were exported.
Metallurgical enterprises of Ukraine in January-May this year increased consumption of natural gas by 8.8% compared to the same period last year, to about 800 million cubic meters.
According to an information note of the Ukrmetalurgprom association, electricity consumption by metallurgical enterprises during this period amounted to about 4.74 billion kWh (104.2% compared to January-May 2020).
As reported, metallurgical enterprises of Ukraine in 2020 increased consumption of natural gas by 4.4% compared to the previous year, to 1.88 billion cubic meters, and electricity consumption by metallurgical enterprises during this period amounted to about 11.1 billion kWh (99.4% versus 2019).
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal met with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy Luigi Di Maio, who is in Kyiv on an official visit, and discussed with him topical issues of trade, economic and investment cooperation, as well as cooperation in the field energy and infrastructure, according to a government portal on Thursday.
The prime minister said that in 2021 Ukraine will begin the process of privatization of large state-owned enterprises and invited representatives of Italian business to participate in tenders. “The auctions showed great interest on the part of foreign investors, and that the process of large and small privatization can be interesting for the further development of business in Ukraine,” the head of government said.
Shmyhal also noted positive trends in trade between Ukraine and Italy. “Ukraine is ready to offer Italian business the advantages of a deep and comprehensive free trade zone between Ukraine and the EU, in particular, in the format of industrial cooperation, including the implementation of joint production projects,” the prime minister said.
Shmyhal and Di Maio also touched upon the issues of cooperation in the agricultural sector and energy. “The European Green Deal is one of the priorities of our government. We are ready to join efforts aimed at realizing the goals of the Green Deal, and are interested in the development of alternative energy technologies,” the head of government said.
The prime minister invited Italian companies to cooperate in the field of gas production.
Also, the parties discussed interaction in infrastructure projects, in particular, on the development of the railway. “I would like to note the importance of the recently signed Memorandum between Ukrzaliznytsia JSC and the National Railway Company of Italy on the implementation of a high-speed railway communication project. This is an important and promising project. I am convinced that this cooperation has a wide range of opportunities,” Shmyhal said.
Di Maio, for his part, said that Italy strongly supports Ukraine’s European aspirations and the implementation of reforms, including agrarian, anti-corruption, and judicial reforms.
