The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has granted a loan of up to EUR50 million to Nova Poshta LLC, part of the Nova Group, to finance part of its capital investment program for 2025-2026.
According to the bank’s press release on Friday, the loan will be multi-currency with the option of drawing funds in hryvnia and euros and will consist of two tranches: the first tranche of EUR35 million will be provided upon signing, and the second tranche of EUR15 million will be reserved by the bank at its sole discretion.
According to the release, Nova Poshta’s development strategy supported by the loan includes improving physical infrastructure, optimizing and expanding the network, modernizing IT systems, improving energy management and restoring human capital, as well as decarbonization and wider access for women.
The total cost of the project is EUR69.1 million, according to the announcement.
The EBRD financing is guaranteed by a first loss guarantee covering 15% of the EBRD loan amount provided by the European Union (EU) under the Ukraine Investment Framework for Municipal Infrastructure and Industrial Resilience (UIF MIIR).
An investment grant of up to EUR1.5 million is also expected to be provided to support decarbonization and human capital restoration programs supported by the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund and the Crisis Response Special Fund (CRSF).
According to the release, in 2024, Nova Poshta set a new record by delivering 429 million shipments, 16% more than in 2023, and the significant growth in demand, in turn, created a need for further expansion.
Nova Poshta is the main operating subsidiary of the Nova Group, which is owned by two Ukrainian businessmen, Vyacheslav Klimov and Volodymyr Poperechnyuk. It operates a network of over 39,000 service points and has around 33,000 employees in Ukraine, serving over 11 million customers every month.
The EBRD has been successfully cooperating with Nova Poshta since 2018, financing four of its projects during this time.
According to Nova Poshta’s financial report for the first quarter of 2025, its consolidated net income increased by 20.7% compared to the first quarter of last year, to UAH 14.3332 billion, while net profit decreased by 21.4%, to UAH 567.7 million. The ultimate beneficial owners of the company are Volodymyr Poperechnyuk and Vyacheslav Klimov.
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Italy, Andriy Sybiga and Antonio Tajani, signed a Declaration of Intent within the framework of the Tallinn Mechanism on the sidelines of the URC2025 Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reports.
“The document confirms Italy’s continued support in strengthening Ukraine’s civilian cyber resilience and in facilitating the post-war recovery of our country. It also stipulates the intentions of the parties to deepen cooperation in the field of cybersecurity, digital transformation and the implementation of long-term initiatives and projects under the Tallinn Mechanism,” the telegram channel said.
It is noted that for this purpose, Italy has declared the allocation of 1 million euros to finance relevant projects.
In January-June this year, Ukrainian enterprises increased their consumption of rolled metal products by 11.65% year-on-year to 1 million 938.7 thousand tons.
According to a press release issued by Ukrmetallurgprom on Friday, 716.7 thousand tons, or 36.97% of the domestic rolled metal consumption market, were imported during this period.
According to Ukrmetallurgprom, in the first six months of 2025, steelmakers produced 3.070 million tonnes of rolled steel (97.8% compared to the same period in 2024), of which, according to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, about 1.848 million tonnes, or 60.2%, were exported. In January-June 2024, the share of exports amounted to 63.6% (1.996 million tons with a total production of 3.140 million tons of rolled metal products).
The share of semi-finished products in export deliveries in January-June 2025 was 30.90%, which is significantly lower than in January-June 2024 (45.39%). The share of flat products in export deliveries in January-June 2025 is significantly higher than in January-June 2024 (46.81% and 41.73%, respectively). The share of long products is also significantly higher than in January-May 2024 (22.29% in 2025 vs. 12.88% in 2024).
The structure of imports in January-June 2025 is still characterized by a significant dominance of flat products over long products (77.31% and 20.96%, respectively); in January-June 2024, the dominance of flat products over long products was also significant (80.06% and 18.30%, respectively).
“In the first six months of 2025, the domestic market capacity amounted to 1938.7 thousand tons of rolled steel, of which 716.7 thousand tons, or 36.97%, were imported. In January-June 2024, the domestic market capacity was 1736.4 thousand tons, of which 592.4 thousand tons, or 34.12%, were imported. Thus, in January-June 2025, there was an 11.65% increase in the domestic market capacity compared to January-June 2024, with a simultaneous increase in the share of the import component by 2.85%,” the press release states.
According to the State Customs Service, the main export markets for Ukrainian rolled metal products in the first six months of 2025 are the European Union (83.1%), the rest of Europe (7.5%) and the CIS (6.7%).
In January-May 2025, the first place among metallurgical importers was taken by other European countries (57.4%), followed by the EU-27 (23.3%), and the third place by Asian countries (18.7%).
As reported, Ukraine’s rolled steel market in 2024 decreased by 6.26% year-on-year to 3 million 288.4 thousand tons, while in 2023 it increased 2.19 times compared to 2022 to 3 million 505.6 thousand tons.
Imports of tractors to Ukraine in January-June 2025 amounted to $421.05 million, which is slightly less than in the same period in 2024 ($425 million), according to statistics from the State Customs Service.
According to the published statistics, tractors were mainly imported from the United States (18.9% of total imports of this equipment, or $79.7 million), China (17.5% or $73.8 million) and Germany (17.4% or $73.1 million), while a year ago it was Germany ($68.6 million), the Netherlands ($60.6 million) and China ($55.6 million).
In June of this year, imports of tractors increased by 21% compared to June 2024 to $63.6 million, which is also 3.6% more than the volume of imports in May of this year.
According to statistics, in January-June this year, tractors worth almost $3 million were exported, mainly to Romania (38%), Germany and Zambia.
As reported, imports of tractors to Ukraine in 2024 amounted to almost $784 million, which is 5.6% less than a year earlier, while exports amounted to $5.44 million against $5.74 million.
Development company White Star Real Estate is investing EUR 200 million in the creation of the Bucha Techno Garden industrial and logistics hub, according to Bucha Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk.
“The first results from Rome. The American company White Star Real Estate has announced the launch of a large-scale investment project in the Bucha community. The total cost of the project, which will be implemented within the Bucha Techno Garden industrial park, is EUR200 million,” Fedoruk said on Telegram.
The corresponding memorandum was signed on July 10 in Rome between White Star Real Estate, the government agency UkraineInvest, and the Bucha City Council. The document confirms the parties’ intentions to implement an industrial and logistics hub in the Bucha community. The company plans to build it on its own 41-hectare plot of land. According to the mayor, this project opens up new opportunities for economic growth in the Bucha community: the creation of hundreds of jobs, the attraction of high-tech businesses, the development of infrastructure, and increased confidence from international investors.
White Star Real Estate is an international real estate company whose main activities are real estate acquisition and development, as well as asset and property management services. The company has been present in Central and Eastern Europe since 1997, completing more than 2.5 million square meters in over 50 development projects and currently managing more than 1.8 million square meters of commercial real estate. White Star Real Estate is currently active in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. White Star Real Estate (Ukraine) LLC was established in September 2023 with a registered capital of UAH 3.5 million and Brian Dale Patterson (USA) as its ultimate beneficiary.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide two loans of EUR 50 million and EUR 70 million to state-owned Ukrgasbank (Kyiv) to finance energy independence projects for municipalities and support green growth of small and medium-sized businesses, as well as a new EU portfolio guarantee.
“Within the framework of the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Rome, UGB (Ukrgasbank) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced the signing of a multi-component financial package,” the bank said on Thursday.
It is noted that this will allow attracting additional financing for small and medium-sized businesses worth tens of millions of euros and has become one of the first significant results of the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 in Rome.
As part of the package, Ukrgasbank will allocate EUR 50 million to strengthen the energy independence of Ukrainian municipalities. The funds will be used to modernize the district heating infrastructure, develop decentralized heat generation, integrate renewable energy sources and improve energy efficiency of public buildings. The EU grant component will make this funding available to frontline communities.
Another EUR 70 million will be allocated to support the sustainability and green growth of small and medium-sized businesses. These funds will help businesses maintain operations, modernize and implement environmental solutions.
“This financing is further strengthened by a portfolio guarantee from the EU provided by the EIB, which will significantly increase Ukrgasbank’s ability to lend and raise critical capital for the private sector in the amount of more than EUR 31.25 million, even in wartime,” the bank added.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, in April 2025, Ukrgasbank ranked fifth in terms of total assets (UAH 220.0 billion or 5.9%) among 60 banks operating in the country.
As reported, the European Investment Bank Group and the European Commission announced a new EU financing package of EUR 600 million at the Ukraine Recovery Conference.
