Ukraine expects to receive the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines under the COVAX initiative in the first half of 2021, Ukrainian Health Minister Maxym Stepanov has said.
“The first tranche will include 1.2 million doses and is expected to reach Ukraine in the first half of 2021,” Stepanov said during an online briefing on Friday.
The necessary technical documents are to be signed before December 7, he said.
“We plan primarily to vaccinate people from risk groups, such as medical workers, people aged 65 and older, and people having chronic diseases,” he said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ten pharmaceutical companies are currently completing Phase 3 of the clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines and are planning to have their vaccines certified soon, Stepanov said.
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
