Ukraine would finish cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2023, and the program being negotiated now should become the last one, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oksana Markarova has said. “My ambitious plan is to be able to complete it [the program with the IMF]. So that in 2023 we should not have a question when we will receive a new tranche, and we could support ourselves,” Markarova said in an interview with Hromadske.
According to the minister, the government continues negotiations with the IMF mission, which is visiting Kyiv.
“The program we are working on is good. It will give us the opportunity of conducting many reforms, privatization, concessions and other things. But it should also allow us to leave it at the end, as Poland could do at the time,” Markarova said.
As reported, on November 14, the IMF mission led by Ron van Rooden arrived in Kyiv to continue the discussion about the possibility of opening a new Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Ukraine.
Ukraine imported 9.183 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas for $1.801 billion in January-September 2019, including 1.481 bcm for $264.725 million in September, the State Statistics Service has said. The average price of gas imported by the country in September 2019 was $178.8 per 1,000 cubic meters, up 12.8% from $158.5 in August.
The main suppliers in January-September 2019 were companies from Switzerland with 4.05 bcm for $769.631 million, Germany – 2.827 bcm for $546.666 million, Czech Republic – 478.645 mcm for $91.23 million, Hungary – 462.888 mcm for $88.617 million, Poland – 342.778 mcm for $71.695 million, France – 356.617 mcm for $69.983 million, Austria – 267.171 mcm for $72.437 million, the U.K. – 154,599 mcm for $38.112 million, Luxembourg – 133.663 mcm for $32.256 million, Slovakia – 92.011 mcm for $16.215 million, Italy – 16.893 mcm for $3.487 million and Bulgaria – 1.4 mcm for $0.255 million.
Gas was not imported from Russia for the indicated period.
Ukraine imported 10.39 bcm for $3.12 billion in 2018.
Brokbusiness insurance company (Kyiv) in January-September 2019 collected UAH 159.4 million in gross premiums, which is 9.59% less than in the same period a year earlier, according to Expert-Rating agency that confirmed the company’s financial stability rating at “uaAA-“according to the national scale.
According to the agency, at the same time, part of insurance premiums owned by reinsurers almost doubled, to UAH 16.5 million, which accounted for 10.35% of gross premiums.
For the three quarters of 2019, the company made insurance claim fee payments in the amount of UAH 70.170 million. The insurer’s payment level increased by 6.12 percentage points, to 44.02%.
By September 30, 2019 the assets of Brokbusiness decreased by 0.37%, to UAH 222.7 million, net worth by 4.82%, to UAH 94.840 million, gross liabilities decreased by 3.91%, to UAH 127.850 million. As a result, the coverage of the insurer’s liabilities by net worth for this period increased by 6.18 percentage points, to 74.18%.
Cash and cash equivalents on the company’s accounts amounted to UAH 70.840 million, which is 16.85% less than at the end of the third quarter of the year before.
In the nine months, Brokbusiness posted a net loss of UAH 10.4 million, while in the nine months of 2018 the figure was UAH 16.7 million.
Myronivsky Hliboproduct (MHP) in July-September 2019 received a net profit of $104.1 million, while in the same period in 2018 it saw a net loss of $48.8 million.
According to the holding’s quarterly financial statements posted on the London Stock Exchange, its revenue in the third quarter increased by 26.8%, to $559.8 million, and EBITDA by 10.1%, to $109 million.
MHP’s gross profit increased by 2.2%, to $93.9 million, while operating profit fell by 43.8%, to $39.8 million.
The agricultural holding explains the net profit figures with positive exchange rate differences in the reporting period in the amount of $109 million compared to a foreign exchange loss of $88 million in the third quarter of 2018.
MHP notes that over the indicated period, export revenue reached $317 million, which is 57% of total revenue (in the third quarter of 2018 some $223 million, 57% of total revenue).
Ukraine has accumulated significant reserves of natural gas in its underground gas storage facilities and coal in the warehouses of thermal power plants, which will allow passing this winter even in case of interruption in gas transit from January 1, 2020, Minister of Energy and Environment Protection of Ukraine Oleksiy Orzhel has said.
“This means that Ukraine this winter, even without transit, will not be cold,” he said on the air of ICTV Channel.
According to him, traditionally the greatest risks may arise in February-March, when stocks in underground gas storages become smaller. At the same time, stress tests conducted by the GTS operator indicate that even on the peak days of maximum consumption, the country will be able to satisfy the gas demand of Ukrainian consumers.
Orzhel also said that the government is developing mechanisms to prevent a sharp increase in gas prices in winter for consumers in the country.
As reported, as of November 16, 2019 Ukraine has 21.530 billion cubic meters in underground gas storage facilities, which exceeds the November 16, 2018 reserves by 27.1%, those on November 16, 2017 by 29.3%, and November 16, 2016 by 52.5%.
Coal reserves in the warehouses of thermal power plants of energy generating companies of Ukraine amount to 2.243 million tonnes, which is 33.6% more than last year’s reserves.
Farmak pharmaceutical company (Kyiv) is conducting pharmaceutical studies of medicines, which were manufactured by the company, in the United States and EU member states, chief scientific consultant at JSC Farmak (Ukraine) Viktor Marhitych said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine. “We are conducting a series of bioequivalence studies in the EU. We have very good generics. Their conformity is confirmed by bioequivalence studies in good clinics and laboratories. This is an important area of work that Farmak is doing,” he said.
According to the expert, soon a full research program will be soon completed for the Amizon preparation.
“This is so far our only original molecule, which we are developing according to the full program for original medicines. Over time, the drug research program should be fully implemented, the third phase of research should be completed, after which it will be possible to submit the drug for registration,” Marhitych said.
He said that huge investments are needed for the third phase of drug research.
“The third phase is hundreds of millions of dollars. We will consider how to attract such investments. Our founder, Filia Zhebrovska, said that the drug [Amizon], which is the best seller on the market, should be safe and effective. And we can confirm that the drug is safe and effective, and provide evidence, some of which are published, and another will be published,” the expert said.
In turn, the experts who conducted the research on the drug, in particular, Senior Researcher, Ph.D., at Research Institute of University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (Chicago, U.S.) David Boltz; Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Director of the Global Health & Emerging Pathogens Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York Adolfo Garcia-Sastre; group leader, Ph.D., University of Cambridge (Cambridge, UK) Aartyan te Veltuis and Regents Distinguished Professor & KBA Eminent Scholar, Ph.D., Diagnostic Medicine Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS Jürgen A. Richt said that cooperation with Farmak started back in the 1990s. According to them, the drug itself is tested “for effectiveness on dozens of strains of viruses, it is proved that it is a powerful antiviral agent.”
