Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič has said that it was managed to establish positive, constructive working atmosphere during the EU-Ukraine-Russia trilateral gas talks in Brussels between the Russian and Ukraine economy ministers. “We have agreed that there will be an inter-ministerial consultation with the two companies [NY and Russia’s Gazprom] participating to hammer out the remaining interlinked issues. We would resume our meeting at political level by the end of October when, I hope, we will have more progress achieved on the remaining issues,” he said at a press conference in Brussels after the third round of the trilateral gas talks on Thursday.
According to him, it is necessary that the case be organized with a good chronology, and it is necessary that the Ukrainians do a good job of transmitting European rules and unbundling of the gas transportation system.
The EU also explained to the Russian side that, from a legal point of view, the extension of the current contract will not be possible, because there will be other counterparties, and Naftogaz will no longer exist from January 1. The current contract does not comply with the rules of the EU, he said. New solutions should be found, Šefčovič said.
He said that the duration of a future contract is important for investment into the Ukrainian transit system.
“To conclude, there was good atmosphere and constructive spirit today that, I believe, creates a necessary precondition for the next round of trilateral gas talks and for having everything settled before the end of this year,” he said.
UFuture investment group of Ukrainian entrepreneur Vasyl Khmelnytsky has no plan to expand its portfolio of investments in the pharmaceutical industry, while will develop the Biopharma project.
“I do not plan to invest in other pharmaceutical projects, so far only Biopharma, need to be professional in one thing,” the founder of UFuture Investment Group, Vasyl Khmelnytsky, told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of the International Forum on Blood Components and Preparations in Kyiv.
At the same time, Khmelnytsky noted that he will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of investments in Biopharma after the start of the fractionator plant.
“How satisfied we are with the investments in Biopharma will be seen in a year, two or three, when the plant starts working. Now $75 million has been invested, a fractionator has been built,” he said.
Khmelnytsky stressed that this project of the Biopharma plant is “a plus for the country and a plus for the pharmaceutical industry.”
“We will pay taxes in the country, people will work in Ukraine, they will receive wages, the medicines that we produce will be of the same high quality as European ones, but cheaper by at least 30%,” he said.
The founder of UFuture noted that the country should create conditions for enterprises to be built in Ukraine, including pharmaceutical.
“We don’t need to buy drugs abroad so that they earn added value there. We’d better produce them here to get jobs, taxes and cheaper drugs, which can then be exported to different countries,” he said.
As reported, Biopharma opens a fractionator plant that will produce blood plasma derived medicines. The factory installed equipment from the world manufacturers in the industry: Stilmas, Olsa, GEA Westfalia, General Electric healthcare, Pall, and Steriline.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on September 19 extended the law on financial restructuring for three years. Some 300 MPs voted for the corresponding decision.
According to the website of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the bill supported by the MPs also provides for the clarification of legislation in order to more optimally conduct the relevant procedures by the banks. In particular, it is allowed to conduct a joint restructuring procedure for several debtors who are related parties but have different creditors, the document clarifies conditions for the assignment of claims in a financial restructuring procedure and the norms regarding concentration, which should facilitate the restructuring process in terms of coordination with the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine. In addition, the rules regarding the determination of the moment of reimbursement for creditors’ losses, providing for the satisfaction of claims through mortgage, were clarified.
According to the report, the National Bank believes that the next, no less important task, is creating a full-fledged secondary market for distressed debts and developing the corresponding infrastructure.
“It is necessary not only to solve the problems of working with existing bad debts, but also to think about the future. With the intensification of lending, new non-performing loans (NPL) will inevitably appear, so it is necessary to create civilized conditions and instruments for effective work with NPL in order to prevent their accumulation on the balance sheets of banks in the future,” the NBU press service said citing Kateryna Rozhkova, the first deputy governor of the NBU.
Vinnytsia authorities plan to launch the first phase of an innovation and technology park in the territory of Krystal (Crystal) plant in 2021, investment in the project is estimated at UAH 200 million, the director of the Vinnytsia City Council economy and investment department, Vitaliy Pohosian, has told Interfax-Ukraine.
“This is the former industrial territory of the giant plant Krystal. It is now operating, but to a lesser extent, so we took unused buildings into municipal ownership … The project [of an innovation and technological park] is fully funded by the city budget. The cost is estimated at approximately UAH 200 million. We’ve received permission from the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate. We don’t focus on getting the maximum rental income, it’s important for us to fill the park with high quality residents,” Pohosian said on the sidelines of the conference on industrial construction Industrial 2.0 in Kyiv.
According to him, the total area of the park will be 8,500 square meters, the height is three floors. It will include more than 100 offices for 1,000 people. It will host the Center for Enterprise Development, co-working space, an event zone, an office center, a startup accelerator, the first children’s technological park, etc.
“We are creating an eco-system for creative industries in the city. Donetsk National University is operating next to the facility, which moved to us from Donetsk. Therefore, it will be a win-win system – employers will be able to get qualified workers, and students will get job,” he noted.
As expected, the park will be commissioned in stages starting in 2021.
Arsenal Insurance (Kyiv) for the six months of 2019 increased the volume of KASKO premiums by 33.6%, to UAH 383 million, according to a press release from the company.
“According to data of the Insurance TOP rating of insurers, the company showed the highest dynamics of growth in insurance premiums among the top five players (33.6%), as well as a high level of insurance payments (48.9%),” the press release said.
The company also reports that its share in the KASKO market exceeded 10% (the entire market collected UAH 3.77 billion).
The company insured more than 25,000 cars under KASKO contracts (7.33% of all cars insured under KASKO in Ukraine), including private car owners and corporate clients. OSAGO premiums grew by 7.4% and amounted to UAH 80.5 million.
It is also noted that for the first half of 2019, the insurer reimbursed for losses under KASKO insurance contracts to its customers in the amount of UAH 187.5 million, while OSAGO claim fee payments amounted to UAH 41.9 million.
