President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said that by the end of this year the ambulance fleet in the country would be replenished with 500 new ones, and the goal is to ensure that from 2020 there is no such vehicles older than six years.
“Until the end of this year, we will buy 500 ambulances. The task for the next year is not to have a single ambulance vehicle that is older than six years,” he said in a video message to Ukrainians about the success, victories, plans and failures of the authorities over the week recorded during the president’s walk through the streets of Kyiv.
The transaction on the sale by MTS (Russia) to the Azerbaijani telecommunications company Bakcell of Vodafone Ukraine, the second largest mobile operator in the country, can be considered profitable, since MTS during 2010-2019 received $2.087 billion from this company, which is 5.5 times more than it invested.
This opinion was expressed by the head of the analytical department of Concorde Capital investment company, Oleksandr Paraschiy.
“MTS is one of the most successful investors in Ukraine. During 2003-2004 MTS bought a 100% stake in UMC (MTS-Ukraine, Vodafone Ukraine) for $378 million in cash. MTS has just sold the company for $734 million in cash (94% more than it bought it 15 years ago). During 2010-2017 the Ukrainian subsidiary of MTS paid (it is clear to whom) dividends totaling $1.353 billion (according to my estimates). So, we have: $378 million was invested in the company, $2.087 billion was received from the company during 2010-2019, or 5.5 times more than invested,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
According to Paraschiy, the average annual profit of MTS from investments in Ukraine during 2004-2019 amounted to 20%.
“The cost of the Ukrainian division of MTS under the agreement with Bakcell amounted to $848 million (according to MTS), which is 38% less than the conditional value of the Ukrainian division in the structure of MTS, ceteris paribus. The market will show whether it is a good deal for MTS or not. So far, the market is “inclined to believe” that the deal is good: MTS shares have risen slightly in price today. Perhaps one of the reasons for the growth is MTS’ promise to pay dividends to the shareholders from part of the money received from Bakcell,” he said.
The Norwegian company Scatec Solar has signed an agreement with the Dutch development bank FMO to sell it 40% in a project to build a solar power station with a capacity of 55 MW in Chyhyryn (Cherkasy region), Scatec Solar has reported. “We are pleased to announce this second equity co-investment with our long-term partner FMO. We are working with FMO as a debt and equity partner on a range of projects in Ukraine and internationally and we expect more cooperation in the years to come,” Raymond Carlsen, the CEO of Scatec Solar, said.
“After our first co-investment in the Kamianka solar plant, we are pleased to partner again with Scatec Solar. This second co-investment demonstrates to us the potential of renewable energy in Ukraine. Supporting Ukraine in transitioning to a low-carbon system, is aligned with our strategy to increase our green investments and mitigate climate change,” Linda Broekhuizen, Chief Investment Officer FMO, stated.
“The total investment for the project is estimated at EUR 54 million and is funded by non-recourse debt financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) and Swedfund. FMO’s equity stake is financed by the Access to Energy Fund, which FMO manages on behalf of the Dutch government,” Scatec Solar said.
The construction of the solar power station in Chyhyryn began in mid-2019. Commercial operation is expected in mid-2020. It is estimated that the station will annually produce about 65 GWh of electricity.
Prices for construction and assembly work in Ukraine in January-September 2019 increased by 7.8% compared with January-September 2018. According to the State Statistics Service, the indicators are given without taking into account the annexed territory of Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as part of the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
According to statistics, since the beginning of the year, prices have risen in all segments of construction. So, in residential construction the growth was 9.8%, in non-residential some 6.6%, and in engineering 7%.
In September 2019 from September 2018, the cost of construction work in residential construction rose by 6.4%, in non-residential by 1.9%, and in engineering by 3.1%.
In addition, the State Statistics Service said that in September compared with August, the cost of construction of residential buildings increased slightly by 0.3%, engineering structures by 3.1%, while non-residential decreased by 0.3%.
According to the report, in 2018 prices for construction work in Ukraine increased by 23% compared to the previous year, while in 2017 by 13.4%.
Ukraine and France have signed an intergovernmental agreement on the manufacture and technical maintenance of a batch of patrol boats, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said.
“On behalf of the Ukrainian government the agreement was signed with French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner (EUR 136.5 million) on the production and technical maintenance of 20 patrol boats. Five of them and all RIB-boats [rigid inflatable boats] will be built in Ukraine. We thanked France for the support in building up the maritime security and protection system,” Avakov wrote on Twitter.
France’s OCEA will manufacture the 32-meter-long patrol boats.
“Every fourth boat will be produced in Ukraine. We will thus protect the basins of our seas and owing to the production localization in Ukraine – provisionally, this will be one of the Mykolaiv-based plants – we will be able to restart the manufacture of boats with aluminum hulls. We hope that following this deal we will produce boats at the Mykolaiv plant on a permanent basis,” the press center of the Ukrainian State Border Service quoted the minister as saying.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 26/11/19
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
