The Norwegian government will provide Ukraine with an additional 500 million Norwegian kroner through the World Bank’s multilateral donor fund for assistance, recovery, reconstruction and reforms in Ukraine URTF.
“Today, during the 2024 annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG), Norway’s Minister for International Development, Ann Beate Christiansen Twinneraim, met with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and pledged to provide an additional 500 million Norwegian kroner to the fund,” the Norwegian government website reported on October 24.
As reported, NPC Ukrenergo received the first large cross-regulation transformer for one of the 750 kV substations (SS) as part of the REPOWER project from the World Bank (WB), which is financed by a grant of $247 million from the URTF fund. In the coming months, after the completion of production, almost 20 more powerful transformers purchased with WB funds are expected to arrive.
“On the eve of winter, it is vital to provide the population of Ukraine with electricity and heat. That is why we recently announced the allocation of 3 billion Norwegian kroner, which, among other things, will be used to provide electricity to almost 1.5 million people and industry in Ukraine, as well as for other assistance so that the war-affected population can survive the winter,” Twinnerem said.
As reported, in October this year, the Norwegian government proposed to extend the Nansen program until 2030 and expand the funding from at least 75 to 135 billion Norwegian kroner during this period.
“My main message during our meeting was that Norway should support Ukraine for as long as necessary. This is in the interests of both Ukraine and Norway, and the long-term Nansen program reflects this commitment,” the Norwegian Minister for International Development emphasized.
The Nansen support program for Ukraine includes military support, humanitarian assistance, funding to support civilian infrastructure and critical societal functions, as well as funding to support the reconstruction of Ukrainian society when possible. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Norway has provided Ukraine with almost 52.6 billion Norwegian kroner, of which approximately 28 billion was allocated for military support and 24 billion for civilian support.
In 2024, the NOVA Group of Companies (NOVA) (Nova Poshta) doubled its investments to UAH 8.5 billion compared to 2021, said NOVA CFO Petro Fokov.
“NOVA Group’s investments this year (2024 – IF-U) amount to UAH 8.5 billion. This is twice as much as the amount of investments in 2021,” he said at the Ukrainian CFO Forum on Thursday.
According to the CFO, the group is investing in areas that provide an opportunity to increase the speed, ease and reliability of delivery.
Fokov identified four main components of the NOVA Group’s investment program: the development of a network of branches and post offices in Ukraine, including the opening of new ones, repair and upgrading of existing ones, and the construction of shelters and safety capsules, in particular in branches located in the frontline areas.
Another component is investments in the automation of sorting centers.
“In particular, these are new services, including fulfillment – logistics outsourcing, whereby an online store transfers goods for storage and order picking to a logistics operator,” said the NOVA Group CFO, adding that the service can significantly speed up the delivery of shipments to customers.
An important component of NOVA’s investments is energy independence. The group invests in solar panels and gas cogeneration to produce electricity for its own needs.
Mr. Fokov also emphasized investments in the international business: NOVA Group operates in 15 countries. “Even this year, our first foreign country has turned a profit, although most of them have not yet – they are still approaching the break-even point,” Fokov said.
In addition, NOVA allocated UAH 1.5 billion to help the Armed Forces.
The chief financial officer named the group’s own and borrowed funds as the main sources of investment financing. In particular, this is a UAH 3 billion loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which was received in 2024.
“This year we signed an agreement for UAH 3 billion with the EBRD. We received the first loan six years ago for a minimum amount of UAH 180 million. We built the facility and repaid the loan on time, and now we have a strong (credit – IF-U) history worth UAH 3 billion,” Fokov stated, adding that the EBRD lends to NOVA Group in hryvnia.
The group also attracts loans from commercial banks, working with 10 leading Ukrainian banks and following a strategy of unifying bank covenants.
“As I said, we have 10 partner banks and each of them has its own requirements that are important to fulfill. And it is quite difficult when you have 10 different covenant systems and need to ensure 100% compliance. Our strategy is to fully unify the covenants of all our business partners… We have taken the most developed system of financial covenants of the EBRD as a basis and offer our partner banks with which we start cooperation to join this system or choose requirements from this menu. So far, we have succeeded… I advise all CFOs to try to implement such a policy,” Fokov said.
According to him, the banks’ consent depends on the size and reputation of the company.
“If you have a strong reputation, it’s easier to do, because you have a certain negotiating power. Or it can be done when you have a partner like the EBRD or other international financial institutions,” said the NOVA CFO.
The third component of NOVA’s investment program financing is hryvnia bonds issued by the group, Fokov said. According to him, by issuing bonds in January 2023, the group became the first to resume raising funds through this type of debt financing after the full-scale invasion.
The net profit of state-owned PrivatBank (Kyiv), the largest Ukrainian bank, amounted to UAH 48.35 billion in January-September 2024, which is 11.5% higher than in the same period of the previous year.
“According to the results of the first nine months of 2024, the bank’s pre-tax profit reached UAH 64.01 billion, and net profit amounted to UAH 48.35 billion (+11.5% yoy),” the bank said in a statement on Thursday.
According to it, since the beginning of this year, the bank’s loan portfolio has increased by 18.4%, exceeding UAH 108.99 billion as of the end of September, while total assets increased by 5.4% to UAH 722.17 billion, and deposits and balances on customer accounts by 4% to UAH 572.04 billion.
It was specified that the number of active private clients decreased from 18.35 million to 18.3 million in the first nine months of this year, of which 13.51 million were Privat24 users, while the number of business clients increased from 875 thousand to 890 thousand.
In addition, in January-September, PrivatBank reduced the number of branches by 22 to 1173, ATMs by 20 to 6860, terminals by 62 to 10411, and the number of its POS terminals amounted to 311.17 thousand at the beginning of October.
Taking into account the previously published data, the bank’s net profit in the third quarter of 2024 amounted to UAH 17.75 billion, which is 30.3% higher than in the third quarter of 2023.
“During the third quarter, the bank maintained the achieved level of business activity, despite the pressure of electricity shortages on households and businesses,” the financial institution said in a press release.
It notes that the high quality of the loan portfolio results in almost zero expenses for the formation of additional provisions to cover credit risks. Operating expenses remain under management control: in the first nine months of 2024, they increased by only 4.8% compared to the same period last year, which is significantly lower than the inflation rate.
It was also clarified that since the beginning of the year, PrivatBank has donated UAH 167.06 million to charity, aimed at helping hospitals and medical institutions, strengthening the country’s defense capabilities, social projects, and helping employees.
Sukha Balka mine (Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro region), part of Aleksandr Yaroslavsky’s DCH Group, commissioned two new iron ore production blocks at Yubileynaya and Frunze mines in October with total reserves of 170 thousand tons.
According to information in DCH Steel’s corporate newspaper on Thursday, at the beginning of this month, the company’s miners prepared and commissioned new production facilities.
At Frunze Mine, the company commissioned block 39-45 with reserves of 55 thousand tons of high-quality raw materials – the block was prepared by section 6, and tunneling operations were carried out using high-performance self-propelled equipment. At the beginning of October, the team of the No. 6 section started mining ore in this block.
Also in October, Yubileynaya Mine commissioned block 34-36 (+10) of the second floor of the Gnezdo deposit with reserves of 115 thousand tons. The block was prepared by the miners of the slicing section No. 19, and deep wells were drilled in this block by the miners of the section No. 9. Production will be carried out by the employees of the No. 17 section.
“The commissioning of these blocks will ensure the stable operation of the mines over the next three months,” the company said in a statement.
It was specified that 9 blocks were put into operation at the mine this year: six at Yubileynaya mine with total reserves of 880 thousand tons and three blocks with reserves of 140 thousand tons at Frunze mine.
Sukha Balka mine is one of the leading mining companies in Ukraine. It produces iron ore by underground mining. It includes Yubileynaya and Frunze mines. DCH Group acquired the mine from Evraz Group in May 2017.
The State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” has approved a new Procedure for the use of timber, the CEO of the state enterprise Yuriy Bolokhovets said on his Facebook page.
He reminded that since its inception, the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” has been selling the entire volume of timber at transparent and competitive exchange auctions. The market itself forms prices, which both rise and fall depending on market conditions.
The CEO said that a dialog with business had been going on for two years. The mechanisms of pricing, lot formation, and bidding have been partially improved. Auctions were introduced using a mechanism of phased price formation (first an increase, then a decrease). Weighted average prices by region are publicly available on the company’s website.
“Our key goal was to create truly market-based flexible algorithms that would promote market openness for all segments (from small to large) and balance the interests of the state and private business. The timber use procedure developed by the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” is based on these principles,” explained Bolokhovets.
According to him, the innovations are aimed at creating even more stable working conditions for producers and minimizing price imbalances that sometimes arise as a result of uneven demand.
The revised timber sales procedure introduces six-month long-term fixed-price contracts that will allow businesses to plan their operations.
The auction will start in the first decade of November. More than 450 thousand cubic meters of timber will be offered for sale, including about 200 thousand cubic meters of roundwood and more than 250 thousand cubic meters of firewood. Lot sizes range from 3 to 12 thousand cubic meters.
In connection with the reorganization of the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”, the newly formed branches (current forest offices) will form lots for sale, and the specific lot will be linked to the superforestry, which will be formed instead of the currently operating branches.
The starting prices of auctions for unprocessed timber of the branch will be set on the basis of the approved price list for each individual assortment in terms of species (group of species), quality class, diameter group, length and delivery basis.
The price list will be based on the current market value of the basic assortment prevailing in the forest plantations of the branch. The price of all other assortments (by species (group of species), quality class, diameter group, length and delivery basis) will be determined through a single scale of price coefficients, taking into account the dimensional and quality characteristics of a particular assortment.
Clear criteria for the possibility and sequence of auctions using the mechanism of stepwise price formation (first for an increase, then for a decrease) will be established, as well as standards for the permissible percentage price reduction during auctions.
“Thanks to the changes, there will no longer be situations when lower-quality varieties are put up for auction at a higher price because there was a situationally high demand for it last quarter. Prices will remain market-based, but balanced and fair. The business will have a clear understanding of the conditions under which auctions are scheduled using a mechanism of phased price formation (first price increase, then price reduction),” explained the CEO of the State Enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’ and expressed confidence that the predictability of the market will contribute to the development of Ukrainian woodworking.
As reported, Ukraine launched a forestry reform in 2016. It has already introduced the sale of raw wood at electronic auctions. Since 2021, an interactive map of wood processing facilities has been operating in a test mode in a number of regions.
The industry has implemented the Forest in a Smartphone project, which contains a list of logging tickets for timber harvesting and allows you to check the legality of logging on the agency’s online map.
On June 1, 2023, Ukraine launched a pilot for the electronic issuance of logging tickets and certificates of origin of timber. In addition, the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” has launched a pilot project to procure timber harvesting services through the electronic platform Prozorro.
The Kyivmiskbud holding company has prepared and sent to the Kyiv City State Administration a detailed calculation of the amount of funds needed to resume construction of residential complexes, which amounts to UAH 4.84 billion, the company’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to Vasyl Oliynyk, Chairman of the Board and President of Kyivmiskbud, the financial forecasts are based on economic indicators provided by one of the Big Four audit companies and are based on the hryvnia/US dollar exchange rate. Kyivmiskbud specialists have been working on identifying and justifying the necessary funds for the past four months.
“The baseline scenario of financial forecasting provided by Ernst & Young envisages the need for funds in the amount of $107,569,366, which, according to the exchange rate of UAH to the US dollar, which is included in the draft state budget of Ukraine for 2025 ($1 = 45 UAH), amounts to UAH 4,840,621,470). If we subtract the funds required for the completion of Ukrbud’s facilities, which are to be provided by the Cabinet of Ministers, from the baseline scenario of E&Y’s financial forecast (UAH 4.84 billion), the required amount of additional capitalization from the Kyiv City Council will be UAH 2.56 billion,” the head of Kyivmiskbud explains.
Earlier, the Kyiv City Council’s Standing Committee on Budget, Socio-Economic Development and Investment Activity instructed Kyivmiskbud to calculate the amount of funds the company needs to stabilize its operations.
As reported, in March 2024, the KCSA set up a temporary commission to resolve problematic issues related to the activities of PrJSC HC Kyivmiskbud.
An audit of Kyivmiskbud conducted in 2023 by state-owned Baker Tilly Ukraine Consulting, NHD-AUDIT LLC and Ernst & Young LLC found no signs of actions to drive the company into bankruptcy, concealment of financial insolvency or massive transactions by related parties. At the same time, the auditors found that Kyivmiskbud’s operations were disrupted by external factors: COVID-19, a full-scale war, and the Ukrbud factor.
On November 17, 2023, the Kyiv City Council Commission approved an interim report with recommendations and proposals for the developer’s further work, including the purchase of apartments in Kyivmiskbud’s facilities, consideration of a financial loan or additional capitalization of the company. The commission also recommended that the Kyiv City Council address the Cabinet of Ministers on the issue of compensating Kyivmiskbud for the total planned loss associated with the completion of Ukrbud’s projects in the amount of UAH 2.28 billion.
HC Kyivmiskbud was established on the basis of the property of the state municipal construction corporation Kyivmiskbud in 1994 by merging controlling stakes in 28 enterprises and other assets in its authorized capital. The holding company consists of 40 joint-stock companies in which the company owns shares, six subsidiaries and 51 companies as associate members.
According to the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), the main shareholder of PrJSC HC Kyivmiskbud is the Kyiv City Council (80%).
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/
