In Ukraine, some 426,690 people died in January-September 2020, which is 2.3% less than in the same period last year, and 220,660 were born, which is 5.4% less year-over-year, the State Statistics Service reported on Friday, citing data from the Ministry of Justice.
Taking into account the data released earlier, in September this year there was a significant increase in the number of deaths compared to September last year – by 15.4%, to 48,370 people.
September became the third month this year, when the number of deaths exceeded last year’s data: the first was June with 8.4%, and the second was August with 3.9%.
At the same time, the June indicator could be associated with an unusually sharp decrease in mortality in May 2020 – by 16.9% compared to May 2019, and could be explained by strong fluctuations in statistics for May-June last year.
The number of newborns in September also increased as compared to September last year – by 7.3%, to 27,520.
According to the State Statistics Service, in the first nine months of this year, 4,300, or 1%, died from COVID-19. However, in September, the share of this cause of death increased to 3.6%, and the total number of deaths from the new disease was 1,740.
According to the Ministry of Health, in October COVID-19 became the cause of death for 3,110 people, and in 19 days of November – 3,290 people, which means that in November its share of the total number of deaths may already exceed 10%.
The main cause of death in the first nine months of this year, according to the State Statistics Service, remained ischemic heart disease – 199,100, or 46.7%, and in general, diseases of the circulatory system became the cause of death in 67.4% of cases.
Some 57,980 people (13.6%) died from cancer in January-September, 5,290 from infectious and parasitic diseases (including about 2,250 from tuberculosis and AIDS), and 17,270 from diseases of the digestive system.
External causes led to the death of 20,700, including 4,710 of deliberate self-harm, and 2,750 in transport accidents.
Average monthly wage by region for August 2020, UAH.
Number of unemployed in Ukraine and job opportunities, May 2019 — Sept 2020.
UMG Investments, owned by the SCM Group, has completed four merger and acquisition (M&A) deals since April this year, Investment Director Nadiia Kaznacheieva said at the CFO Forum 2020 held in Kyiv this week.
“We believe in this country, in the business where we work, and we continue investing. Since April, we have completed four M&A deals and opened two new businesses built from scratch,” she said.
Kaznacheieva said that the first such enterprise is the Ukrainian Mineral Fertilizers plant in Kryvy Rih, and the second, of a smaller scale, is the utilization of coal mine methane.
According to her, two projects were carried out in the mining segment, in which the company invests as a strategic investor, but these transactions are not public and are not disclosed.
Another investment was the purchase of a minority stake in Feednova, which is implementing a project to build a plant for the production of high-protein feed additives and animal fats in Busk (Lviv region), the investment director said.
“The importance of a domestic investor is sometimes underestimated. If domestic investors do not invest, it is difficult to expect the arrival of international investors,” Kaznacheieva said.
She added that in the context of the coronavirus epidemic, when even physical movement is limited, attracting foreign investors is even more difficult. “Now is the time of our, local investors, there is money in Ukraine,” the investment director said.
Speaking about the business of UMG Investments and its approaches to investment, Kaznacheieva said that the company operates as a private equity fund, and expects high returns from projects – IRR 25% and higher.
“What are the criteria, where we invest – industries that are growing and which, most importantly, will grow. Unlike Horizon Capital we don’t invest in FMCG. We have a different view of projects: more focused on B2B and export or import substitution,” Kaznacheieva said.
According to her, the white clay mining business from the assets of UMG Investments (VESCO) is the second largest such business in the world. “We will work further, and I believe that we will be number one in the world,” the investment director said.
She said that among the portfolio companies there is also the largest operator for the processing of waste and by-products.
For its development, the Mining and Metallurgical Complex (MMC) of Ukraine requires an increase in annual investments to $2.3-2.4 billion by 2030 from $1.8 billion in 2019, CEO of GMK Center Stanislav Zinchenko said, presenting the study entitled “Metallurgy of Ukraine: Vision 2030” in Kyiv on Friday.
According to him, the country’s mining and metallurgical complex is currently a low-cost exporter of raw materials and semi-finished products, and by 2030 it should become a stable supplier of quality products, maintaining the position of the basic industry in the “new” economy.
He said that among the global trends is weak demand for steel in the coming decades – growth of less than 1% per year; excess steelmaking capacity and the development of protectionism, which leads to high competition in the markets; volatility in steel prices, it is also decarbonization, digitalization, possible changes in supply chains, an increase in the need for capital investments. In general, the situation is characterized by weak market conditions and low financial performance.
In the domestic mining and metallurgical complex, the strong side is vertical integration, the weak side is underinvestment, a high need for investments, large emissions of harmful substances into the environment, insufficient quality of finished products, dependence on exports, low consumption in the domestic market.
In turn, Chief Analyst at GMK Center Andriy Tarasenko identified five strategic areas for the mining and metallurgical complex: cost leadership, increased unit efficiency, environmental friendliness, strengthening the benefits of vertical integration, and diversification by product and market.
To implement these areas, it is necessary to reduce the cost of steel production, increase the share of output with high added value, boost steel consumption from 108 kg per person to 160 kg per person, which will ensure the growth of products with high added value by 38%. It is also required to improve environmental friendliness, reducing CO2 emissions by 20%, dust – by 50%. To increase the production of premium pellets with a high iron content and direct-reduced grade (DR) pellets by 10 million tonnes.
As part of the diversification of product markets it is necessary to expand the geography of sales and reduce dependence on countries with a high level of risk (trade, environmental, military).
Ukraine should pursue a policy of stimulating investment, developing the internal market, countering protectionism and implementing environmental programs, including by joining the European Green Deal.
According to the experts, in the case of such activities, the MMC of Ukraine by 2030 will increase steel production by 14.4% compared with 2019, to 23.8 million tonnes, and will increase foreign exchange earnings from exports by $600 million per year. At the same time, GDP will be additionally generated in the amount of $1.75 billion, tax revenues to the budget will increase by $400 million annually, and capital investments will increase by $1.3 billion.
DOMESTIC MARKET, INVESTMENTS, METALLURGICAL COMPLEX, METALLURGICAL INDUSTRY
Some 39.3% of representatives of Ukrainian enterprises believe that their enterprises have significantly/insignificantly benefited from the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, according to a poll by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting.
According to a poll presented at an online presentation on Friday, in 2020, the largest number of enterprises assessed the impact of this document positively, since in 2018 this figure was 28%, in 2017 – 31.6%, and in 2016 – 28%.
At the same time, 50.7% of the respondents believe that the agreement did not affect their enterprise, and 5.6% believe the enterprise has lost significantly/slightly.
The lowest level of positive assessments of the impact of the agreement is among exporters. Some 22.7% of exporters indicated that the enterprise won, 62.4% that the document did not affect the enterprise, and 4.7% indicated that the enterprise lost.
Among the importers, 44.4% of the respondents believe that the enterprise won, 47.9% that the agreement did not have impact on the enterprise, and 3.8% that the enterprise lost. Some 45.1% of exporters and importers have positive expectations, 45.9% do not expect the impact of the agreement, and 4.9% expect a loss.
Big business feels more of the positive impact of the agreement. Among the representatives of large enterprises, 46.5% note that the enterprise won, 44.2% that the agreement did not have the impact on the enterprise, and 3.5% that the enterprise lost. The positive impact of the agreement is also indicated by 36.6% of the surveyed medium-sized enterprises, by 39.2% of small and by 39.4% of micro enterprises. The level of positive ratings increased among businesses of all sizes compared to 2016. The fact that the agreement did not have the impact on the enterprise is indicated by 50.9% of medium-sized, 49.5% of small and 52.7% of micro enterprises. Some 5.4% of the respondents of medium-sized enterprises said that the enterprise has lost. The same opinion is shared by 4.8% of respondents of small and 3.8% of micro enterprises.
The trade sector felt the greatest positive impact of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement (43.2%), and the least number of positive assessments was among the agricultural enterprises (21.7%). At the same time, in the service sector, there is the highest share of respondents who point to a loss caused by the agreement (10.4%). Compared to 2016, the share of positive assessments of industrial and trade enterprises increased by almost 1.5 times, at the same time, the level of positive assessments of agricultural and service enterprises almost did not change.
The leader among the positive assessments of the impact of the agreement is Lviv region, where 55.1% of the respondents indicated that their enterprise benefited from it. Almost every second respondent gave positive assessments in Rivne (48.3%), Ternopil (48%) and Chernivtsi (47.6%) regions. The smallest number of positive assessments is in Kherson region (18.2%), where only every fifth respondent indicated a benefit from signing an agreement.
In Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Volyn, Donetsk, Sumy and Vinnytsia regions, there are no respondents who felt a negative impact on their enterprise. In more than half of the regions, negative assessments of the impact of the agreement are less than 4%. And in Kherson region, there is the highest share of respondents who believe that their company has lost from the agreement (13.6%).
Some 44.9% of the respondents believe that their company will benefit from the agreement within the next five years, 24.3% that it will not have impact, and 5.6% that the company will lose.
The least positive expectations are among enterprises that are engaged only in export (34.1%). Almost every second representative of import enterprises (48.1%) or simultaneously export and import (48.6%) has positive expectations. Among the exporters, there is the highest proportion of respondents who do not expect the impact of the agreement on the company (28.2%).
The highest expectations of a positive impact of the agreement are in Cherkasy (62.5%), Lviv (60.3%), and Ternopil (60%) regions. The smallest number of enterprises that expect positive results are in Kirovohrad (30%), Zaporizhia (31.7%), and Chernihiv (34.5%) regions.
The poll was conducted in 2020 by the project “Support for the Public Initiative for Fair and Transparent Customs” with the support of the European Union, the International Renaissance Foundation and Atlas Network. More than 1,000 representatives of enterprises were surveyed from micro to large enterprises, engaged in export and/or import. Most of the respondents are micro and small enterprises, representatives of industry and trade.
