The Ukrainian Business Council has proposed that business activities are resumed from April 3, the introduction of additional measures should not be quitted and gradually cancel the restrictions imposed, the Council has said on its website. “We must save the economy. Business must work and pay taxes – everyone. We must support healthcare as a whole and doctors… Therefore, we propose to partially resume business activity from April 3, by no means introducing new measures and gradually canceling the current restrictions,” the Council said in the statement.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Business Council offers the following steps to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease COVID-19: extensive testing and isolation of infected people, enhanced control of infected people in self-isolation using electronic means, specific restrictions on public transport for risk groups – cancellation of benefits for risk groups, equipment of medical facilities and protection of doctors.
According to the Council, the state should move from banning the operation of a wide business segment to banning only certain segments, which involve large crowds.
“The introduction of a state of emergency at this time does not seem appropriate, it is enough to introduce a state of emergency in some regions,” the Ukrainian Business Council said.
“Representatives of the Ukrainian Business Council coalition, which includes 84 Ukrainian associations, urge the president, parliament and government to immediately consider the proposed measures, initiate a joint meeting and create a Crisis Response Center with the participation of experts from the Cabinet of Ministers, the Office of the President, the Verkhovna Rada, business and independent experts to discuss and work on the actions that will ensure effective response to the epidemic and do not harm the economy,” the Council said.
Britain’s oil and gas company Regal Petroleum Plc with assets in Ukraine has acquired the acquisition of Arkona Gas-Energy LLC, which holds the Svystunivsko-Chervonolutskyi exploration license in Poltava region for $8.63 million, the company has reported on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
The acquisition was completed on Tuesday pursuant to an acquisition agreement made between the company and Igor Mychko, Oleksandr Neschchotnyy, Dmitro Volonets and Oleg Olkhovoy to acquire a 100% shareholding interest in Arkona.
A first tranche is $4.315 million (less certain adjustments for debt liabilities) paid on completion.
A second tranche is $2.158 million payable on satisfaction of certain conditions including the favourable resolution of a third party claim against Arkona relating to the licence, the absence of any contractual, warranty or indemnity claims, and the delivery of certain documentation by the sellers.
A third tranche is $2.158 million payable in 12 months from the date of payment of the second tranche, provided that if the conditions for payment of the second tranche are not satisfied, then neither the second tranche nor the third tranche shall become payable.
According to Geoinform Ukraine, the license of Arkona is in effect until May 18, 2037.
Regal said that the license is prospective for gas and condensate, and has been the subject of exploration since the 1980s, with five wells having been drilled on the license since then, although none of these wells are currently on production. According to the recorded information on the Ukrainian State Balance of Natural Resources as at January 1, 2020, the license has hydrocarbon reserves of approximately 38.0 MMboe (4.9 billion m3 of gas and 0.86 Mtonnes of condensate). Whilst the company has undertaken a detailed review of the available technical data relating to the license, which is considered supportive of such assessment of hydrocarbon reserves, it should be noted that such hydrocarbon reserves have not been verified by an independent reserves assessor, Regal said.
The company now intends to undertake development planning for the license, and envisages that this will include the commencement of a new well within the next 12 months, with drilling and completion operations expected to take up to a further 12 months.
Double liability company Interchem, a pharmaceutical company based in Odesa, has bought equipment for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for the virus laboratory of the Odesa Regional Laboratory Center of the Health Ministry of Ukraine.
Interchem Director General Anatoliy Reder told Interfax-Ukraine that this equipment was the first system in the regional laboratory, which makes it possible to perform PCR testing of the COVID-19 infection.
“Until today, in Odesa region there was not a single device on which it was possible to perform such a PCR test. Odesa region was not able to perform such tests on its own, the virus laboratory of the state-owned institution Odesa Regional Laboratory Center of the Health Ministry of Ukraine was forced to act as a logistician: to collect biomaterial from the centers where it was taken, and then send it to Kyiv. Thus, the results were only on the fifth day. This is what we must avoid, as if we are forced to wait five days for a response from the laboratory, all other methods of fighting the virus are becoming meaningless,” he said.
Reder said that the system for PCR testing has already been installed and began to work.
In addition, Interchem purchased the first batch of tests for this system.
“We hope that the PCR tests, which are procured centrally, will also come to Odesa region. As world experience shows, those countries in which it was possible to achieve a high level of coverage of population with testing and diagnostics demonstrate the lowest results in mortality and the spread of infection,” Reder said.
He also said that the purchased PCR testing system will be in demand after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interchem is one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country.
The volume of retail sales of oil products decreased by 20% over the week, March 14-21, a fall against the background of quarantine measures may reach 40-50% in April, Director of A-95 Consulting Group (Kyiv) Serhiy Kuyun has said.
“Over the weekend, I talked with the top managers and owners of several large fuel station chains. Everyone reported a fall in sales by 15% from the middle of the week, and by 20% or more over the weekend compared to the previous Saturday,” he wrote on his Facebook page on Monday, March 23.
According to him, the largest decline in retail sales is 40% in the western regions, primarily in Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi. At the same time, sales fell by 90% at fuel stations located close to border points.
Kuyun also said that expectations are also the same, namely sales decrease by 40-50% in April. This is very optimistic, given that in Italy fuel stations lost 70-80%.
Predicting the situation with fuel supplies to the Ukrainian market, Kuyun said that there would be no shortage of resources.
According to him, purchase prices have the potential to decrease in April by UAH 3 per liter for petrol, by UAH 2.5 per liter for diesel fuel at a rate of UAH 30/$1, and by UAH 4.2 per liter and UAH 3.7 per liter, respectively, at a rate of UAH 28/$1. At the same time, in the absence of hryvnia devaluation, a fall in the world prices for oil and oil products would lead to a decrease in purchase prices by UAH 6 per liter for petrol and UAH 5.5 per liter for diesel fuel in April, the expert said.
Due to the fall in the volume of sales of oil products against the background of quarantine, the decrease in revenue in cafes and shops, as well as the increase in the cost of operating a fuel station, namely employees’ transportation, provision of protective equipment, and disinfection of premises, a decrease in purchase prices will not lead to a change in retail prices, Kuyun said.
Hungary’s low-cost airline Wizz Air has suspended its flights from/to its hub in the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport due to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers on the temporarily closure of most Ukrainian airports. The airline said in a statement on Tuesday that flights from/to the Kyiv airport are annulled for the period from March 24 through April 14, 2020.
“Passengers with bookings affected by flight suspensions will be automatically informed via e-mail, in case the customers booked directly on wizzair.com or via the airline’s mobile app. 120% of the original fare will automatically be uploaded to the customer’s WIZZ account, with the amount to be used in the next 24 months for the purchase of Wizz Air products and services,” the airline said.
Passengers can also opt for a cash refund – which will take longer to complete – and will be informed about the necessary steps for a bank transfer or transfer to a bank card in a separate e-mail. In this case, customers will be eligible for only 100% of the original fare.
Passengers who made their bookings via travel agencies – including online travel agencies – should get in touch with the company from which they purchased their tickets, the airline said.
“Wizz Air sincerely apologizes for the disruptions the travel ban could bring to the customers and assures that safety and well-being of its passengers and crew remains the airline’s top priority,” the airline said.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) plans to provide Ukraine with a loan of EUR40 million to fight coronavirus, the press service of the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine reports.
“Last week, Ukrainian Minister for Communities and Territories Development Oleksiy Chernyshov held an online meeting with the European Investment Bank. The parties discussed raising a loan of EUR40 million for a quick response and necessary measures to overcome the coronavirus in Ukraine,” the report says.
This loan will be provided within the framework of the ongoing Ukraine Municipal Infrastructure Program opened in 2014.
“On March 23, the ministry received an action plan from the EIB to provide the agreed loan. Now the parties are agreeing on the details and terms of cooperation,” according to the report.
It is noted that EIB representatives said they supported the strategy of the Ukrainian government and confirmed that for the whole world, and for Ukraine, it is also currently extremely important to use enough modern medical equipment to combat COVID-19.
