Вefore the introduction of quarantine due to the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Ukrainian business improved its expectations regarding the slowdown in inflation in the next 12 months to 5.1% from 7% early this year and the strengthening of the hryvnia to UAH 26.01/$1 from UAH 27.43/$1.
According to the quarterly business outlook survey conducted by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) from February 4 through March 4, 2020, business was more restrained in expecting growth in production of goods and services in Ukraine in the next 12 months. Thus, almost 30.8% (37.6% a quarter earlier) of respondents expected an increase in this indicator, another 48.7% (45.5%) believed that they would remain at the same level.
According to the survey, business activity of Ukrainian enterprises decreased to a moderate level amid a reduction in the Business Outlook Index (BOI) for the next 12 months to 110.5% from 112% a quarter earlier.
The decrease in BOI was insignificant due to high business estimates for the total sales of own-produced products, investment costs for machinery, equipment and inventory, as well as the financial and economic condition of enterprises.
According to the survey, the share of companies expecting improvement in their financial and economic condition over the next 12 months fell to 27.6% from 28% the previous quarter, while those forecasting deterioration increased to 10.8% from about 10%. The regulator said that all surveyed enterprises, except for the water supply sector, had optimistic forecasts, and the mining industry had the most optimistic forecasts.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a telephone conversation agreed to start work on common investment projects, the Foreign Ministry reports.
“We should focus on the implementation of investment projects with Ukraine in priority areas. We will work on a synergy of opportunities between Ukraine and the UAE to strengthen global food security,” the Foreign Ministry press service said citing Kuleba.
Kuleba, according to the agreements of the leaders of Ukraine and the UAE, reached during the telephone conversation on April 13, noted his readiness to intensify cooperation in investment, trade and economic spheres between Ukraine and the UAE.
Kuleba thanked the UAE for the humanitarian aid provided, as well as for helping bring back more than 3,000 Ukrainian citizens from the UAE and in transit from other regions of the world.
“We are deeply grateful to the UAE for humanitarian assistance, which is extremely important for Ukrainian doctors in the context of the fight against coronavirus. The UAE demonstrates partnership and true friendship,” the minister emphasized.
The foreign minister invited his colleague to visit Ukraine.
Ukrainian pharmaceutical company Microkhim (Rubizhne, Luhansk region) is ready to start production of a generic antiviral drug to combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) by the end of the year, Microkhim Director General Ihor Pohromsky has said in an interview with the Uriadovy Kurier government’s newspaper. “Now the key point is that we are transporting the substance. In the near future we will expose it to comprehensive analytical control, develop a dosage form and establish and conduct bioequivalence clinical trials. There is a lot of work ahead. There is a lot of professional work that we can do, but it has terms and limitations. However, the situation is such that, despite quarantine, we are ready to work to provide the country with a domestic drug this year, and I am sure that we will be first among national manufacturers, who will develop it,” he said, adding that it comes to the production of generic Avigan.
According to Pohromsky, “the drug was developed in Japan against several influenza viruses in 2014, and in 2015 it passed the third phase of clinical trials in the United States. It happened so that it was tested during an epidemic in Wuhan, and later allowed for experimental use in Italy against COVID-19. By the way, it has already become known that more than 30 countries have asked Japan to provide them with this drug for combating COVID-19. Japan has provided it to Ukraine to continue clinical trials involving patients with COVID-19.”
The general director said that the price of the generic drug made in Ukraine will be much lower than the price of the original. In addition, in the context of global hype, it is difficult to talk about the wholesale supply of original drugs to Ukraine. Therefore, according to Pohromsky, it is necessary to start domestic production.
The Board of Directors of Myronivsky Hliboproduct agricultural holding on April 13, 2020 approved the distribution of interim dividend for 2019 in the amount of $0.2803 per share with total amount of the interim dividend being $30 million.
According to a company report on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the dividend will be paid to the company’s shareholders on April 28, 2020.
As reported, in 2019, MHP paid $80 million of the dividend to its shareholders ($0.7474 per share).
MHP is the largest producer of poultry in Ukraine. It is also engaged in production of cereals, sunflower oil and meat.
The metallurgical enterprises of Ukraine in January-March of this year maintained consumption of natural gas at the level of the same period last year, at 460 million cubic meters.
According to information from the Ukrmetalurgprom association, electricity consumption by metal enterprises over this period amounted to about 2.75 billion kWh (94% from January-March 2019).
As reported, the metallurgical enterprises of Ukraine in 2019 reduced consumption of natural gas by 2% compared to 2018, to 1.8 billion cubic meters. Electricity consumption by metal enterprises in 2019 amounted to about 11.2 billion kWh (95% compared to 2018).
PJSC Interpipe Nyzhniodniprovsky Pipe Rolling Plant (Dnipro) has built and commissioned a new warehouse at the export site of the company’s wheel-rolling shop, investing $271,000 in the project.
According to the quarterly report of the company, at the beginning of 2020, Interpipe plant provided itself with an additional warehouse for finished products, and a collection point was established for packing additional volumes of wheels in pallets.
“The new storage was organized to reduce the cost of packaging for sending railway wheels for export,” it said.
In addition, the company began using wooden pallets instead of metal cassettes for products that are shipped to Europe by truck, transported by road.
The report also states that in March steel indices in the global markets declined due to a sharp drop in demand. At the same time, the cost of scrap metal HMS 80/20 CFR Turkey fell by $20.7/tonne, or 7.6% compared to the previous month, the cost of square billets FOB Black Sea by $18.1/tonne or 4.7%.
“Most of the traditional trade outlets for steel billets of CIS production were inactive due to blocking and restrictive measures introduced by the governments during the pandemic. The demand was seen mainly in China,” the report said.
The Ukrainian market has also suffered due to protective measures in the fight against coronavirus, in particular, the hryvnia has depreciated by 14.3% since the beginning of March, construction volumes were down. The output of railway wagons also decreased.
EXPORT, INTERPIPE, PLANT, RAILWAY PRODUCTS, SHIPMENT, WAREHOUSE
