KYIV. Dec 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The most important industrial sectors for the Ukrainian economy are metal, engineering and light industry, Derzhzovnishinform state enterprise said in a press release based on the study of strategic raw material resources for Ukraine’s development until 2020 conducted by Derzhzovnishinform and the Association for Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency.
The leader is the metal sector, as the country is among top ten largest steel smelters in the world.
Engineering is second thanks to the potential of engineering enterprises and light industry is third.
Coal and gas are among strategically important exhaustible resources in Ukraine (82% of experts polled).
According to the document, before the hostilities Ukraine was among largest anthracite producers in the world. In January-September 2015 Ukraine produced 23.62 million tonnes of steam coal, which is 40% down year-over-year, and exports fell to almost a zero.
Some 86% of respondents said that among exhaustible resources scrap metal is the main strategic resource.
Exports of scrap metal are permanently growing: almost 1.175 million tonnes of scrap metal was exported in January-November 2015, while in 2014 – 1.03 million tonnes was exported. Imports of scrap metals are falling: in 2013 232,700 tonnes was exported, while in January-October 2015 – around 2,000 tonnes.
KYIV. Dec 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Bookmakers, to obtain a license to operate in the Internet, in addition to a license for betting rights, will need to obtain at least 100 licenses for opening betting offices.
Such a provision is contained in bill No. 3632 on withdrawing the gambling market from the “shadow” and providing the budget with revenues to fulfill social obligations, the text of which has been posted on the website of the parliament.
According to the document, for licensing their activities betting companies must obtain two types of licenses: one for betting activities, the second one for opening betting offices. The annual fee for the first license will be EUR1 million, its duration is five years. The license for each betting office will cost EUR1,500 to EUR3,000 depending on the number of inhabitants in the settlement, while its validity is limited to the duration of the license for betting activities.
KYIV. Dec 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Weidmann Malyn paper factory (MPF, Zhytomyr region), the only producer of electrical insulating board for power engineering machines in Ukraine, increased production by 84% in January-November 2015 year-over-year, to UAH 374 million.
According to statistics of the Ukrpapir association, cardboard output in natural terms rose by 65.2%, to 4,900 tonnes, while paper production fell by 30%, to 3,800 tonnes.
The mill produces electrical insulating board, filter paper, stained base paper and cardboard, as well as a wide range of packaging and special types of paper. Raw materials are supplied from Russia, Austria and Sweden.
In 2014, electrical insulating board exports accounted for almost 70% to Ukraine and 25% to the CIS countries.
Transformer boards produced by the plant are sold in Ukraine (20%), the CIS states (30%) and non-CIS states (50%).
As reported, in 2014 Malyn paper factory increased production by 7.1% against 2013, to UAH 217.51 million, while paper production fell almost by 11%, to 6,040 tonnes, transformer board production dropped by 24.4%, to 3,140 tonnes.
Wicor Holding AG (Switzerland) owns a 94.6% stake in Malyn factory.
KYIV. Dec 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade has proposed the Cabinet raise the threshold of payment transactions which may be carried out without using cash registers from UAH 75,000-200,000 to UAH 250,000-500,000.
The ministry posted the relevant draft resolution of the Cabinet on its website.
The ministry pointed out that the Cabinet by its resolution No. 1336 of August 20, 2000 set the maximum annual volume of payment transactions for the sale of goods and services without using cash registers at UAH 200,000 per business entity and UAH 75,000 per structural unit. Now the ministry proposes increasing them to UAH 500,000 and UAH 200,000 respectively.
The ministry said it is necessary to take into account inflation, which occurred over the period of validity of the decision, as well as the specifics of commercial activity and providing certain services.
KYIV. Dec 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided a $20 million working facility to Ukrainian Agrarian Investments (UAI) to replenish working capital under the bank’s EUR 150 million Ukrainian Corporate Support Facility designed to support existing EBRD clients in the country.
The bank said that the board made the decision on December 9, 2015.
The loan would allow the existing client of the bank to have enough working capital for processing 195,000 hectares in the 2016/2017 seasons, the bank said, pointing at the liquidity crisis at Ukrainian companies.
UAI unites over 70 farms located in northern and western Ukraine and it has been cooperating with the EBRD since 2010. Last year the bank provided a $13 million working facility to the company.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. As of September 1, 2015, the bank had a total cumulative commitment of EUR 11 billion in 346 projects in the country.
KYIV. Dec 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ukrainian government has proposed that in 2016 some UAH 3.39 billion is provided in the national budget to finance the space sector, and around 30% of the funds are sent to the special fund to finance defense programs.
According to the draft 2016 national budget posted on the parliament’s website, UAH 2.47 billion (74%) of the funds will be financed from the general fund of the national budget.
Some UAH 223.6 million is planned to provide for financing of the works under state targeted programs and state orders in the space sector, including the general state targeted research space program, which is 4.5 times more than in 2015 (UAH 49.4 million).
A total of UAH 110.6 million will be sent for testing spacecraft, including UAH 107.64 million from the general fund. UAH 269.4 million from the general fund is foreseen for disposal of solid rocket fuel of SS-24 at Pavlohrad chemical plant (Dnipropetrovsk region).
Some UAH 1.85 billion from the general fund or 55.9% of total financing will be sent to fulfill liabilities on credits raised to realize the Cyclone 4 and National Satellite Communications System projects.
The draft document foresees that UAH 925.8 million (27.2% of total financing) will be provided from the special fund to implement state targeted programs on reformation and development of defense and industrial complex, designing and introduction of new technologies, boosting the industrial capacity of the sector facilities to produce defense products.
