Auchan Retail Ukraine expects to reclaim ownership of the land plot in Odesa, however, in the event of a negative result in the Ukrainian courts, the company will consider applying to international arbitration, since the price set by the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) for this site is not fair and market-oriented, Head of Legal and Compliance of Auchan Retail Ukraine Ruslan Dubas told Interfax-Ukraine.
“On February 16, the first session of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court took place. We hope that the court will ultimately uphold the decision of the Pivnichny [Northern] Economic Court of Appeals and will defend property rights. Namely, it will confirm the invalidity of the results of electronic auctions, which alienated the land plot at a deliberately low price,” he said.
The companies Auchan Retail Ukraine and Ceetrus Ukraine, part of the Auchan holding, defend in the courts the rights to land plots in the village of Lymanka (formerly the village of Mizikevycha, Ovidiopolsky district, Odesa region) with a total area of about 27 hectares, previously seized as material evidence and sold at an auction at a reduced price.
“We cannot now assess the damage that the company experienced by the raiding. But the state of Ukraine has already suffered losses: at least UAH 1.6 million of court fees, which were collected by the executive service from ARMA, but in fact from the state budget,” Dubas said.
As reported, the Prymorsky District Court of Odesa in April 2019 seized land plots with a total area of about 27 hectares and transferred them to the management of ARMA. Subsequently, according to a court decision in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, ARMA sold the plots transferred to its management at an auction at a reduced price for UAH 8.765 million.
Ceetrus Ukraine LLC (before June 2018 – Immoshan Ukraine) is an international developer of shopping centers and retail parks in the country.
Auchan Retail is an international retail company. Its first store was opened in France in 1961.
Auchan Retail Ukraine has been operating in Ukraine since 2008
The first ten days of February did not bring any changes in the cost of billets in the domestic market of China, prices remain in the range of $603-624 per tonne ton exw with 13% VAT, at the same time, export quotations grew slightly to $550-560 per tonne fob versus $550 per tonne fob a week earlier.
As noted in the press release of the Ukrainian Industry Expertise, the decline in trading activity on the import markets of Southeast Asia led to a drop in prices at the lower level by $5, to $540-560 per tonne cfr. By the end of the second week of February, incoming supplies began to increase in price again due to the rise in prices for scrap in Turkey.
Weak demand for finished products was a consequence of low business activity on the billet markets in MENA. Billet import prices range from $560-575 per tonne fob versus $585-615 per tonne cfr at the end of January. Proposals for billets from Iran for the sale of large batches decreased to $ 520-525 per tonne fob. At the same time, suppliers no longer make concessions in anticipation of the emerging tendencies to improve the situation in connection with the rise in scrap prices.
Together with the rise in scrap prices and the rise in domestic prices for rebar, supply of semi-finished products on the Turkish market shifted to the upper part of the range of $550-565 per tonne exw. The target level of Turkish importers, as a rule, does not exceed $540-550 pet tonne cfr, while supplies from the CIS countries come in the range of $550-565 per tonne cfr.
According to the forecasts of analysts, CIS producers in the coming weeks will seek to raise quotations by $10-15, using the rise of scrap prices in Turkey and the expected recovery in demand in China and Southeast Asia after the holidays.
On the rebar and wire rod market in China, demand is expected to recover after the holidays, as evidenced by the growth of quotations on the futures market in the first ten days of February. Domestic prices for rebar and wire rod strengthened by $3 over the week due to exchange rate fluctuations to $678 per tonne exw and $699 per tonne exw with 13% VAT, respectively.
On export routes, supplies of Chinese companies increased by $5-10 to $615-630 per tonne fob for rebar and $625-660 per tonne fob for wire rod. Import prices in Southeast Asia over the past two weeks have been $620-640 per tonne cfr for rebar and $635-670 per tonne cfr for wire rod. Moreover, further price increases are expected.
On the Turkish market, the rise in scrap prices and the rise in the cost of billets provoked a jump in domestic prices for rebar by $22, to $600-610 per tonne exw. Export deals last week were in the range of $590-610 per tonne fob, and the last supplies at the end of the second week of February did not fall below $600-610 per tonne fob.
Ukrainian Industry Expertise analyst Oleh Hnytetsky predicts that according to the rise in scrap prices, suppliers of rebar and wire rod in the coming weeks will test the market for increasing export quotations of products at the Black Sea ports by $10-15.
Low domestic demand and a rollback of export quotations since mid-January determine the downward price trend in the Ukrainian rebar market. In conditions of low final demand, excess stocks of rolled products in warehouses and a significant rollback of export quotations, traders were forced to make concessions and reduce domestic prices by an average of UAH 895 for rebar and UAH 740 for wire rod.
Traders’ expectations remain pessimistic as of late February – early March.
The Ukrainian government intends to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) agreement on the coordination of interstate relations in postal and electric communications services, which was signed in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on October 9, 1992.
This issue has been included on the agenda of the government’s meeting on February 17.
In this document, the parties agreed to coordinate steps to provide communications services, harmonize the development of communications networks and systems, draw up a concept for research and technology policy and tariff policy, train personnel and coordinate the operations of educational establishments in the field of communications, and protect the common interests of the states within international communications organizations and their bodies.
However, as Kyiv believes, the agreement has not been implemented with regard to Ukraine since it was signed. Furthermore, the Ukrainian government has said, withdrawal from the accord will not impact the interests of Ukrainian citizens.
It was reported in August 2020 that the Ukrainian government had decided to pull out of seven international treaties signed within the CIS between 1993 and 2001.
Specifically, the Ukrainian government asked the country’s Foreign Ministry to notify the CIS Executive Committee of Kyiv’s withdrawal from the decision to establish the Radio Navigation interstate consultative council (January 22, 1993, Minsk), the agreement on long-range radio navigation support in the CIS (March 12, 1993, Moscow), the agreement on the practical use of the provisions of Article 83 bis of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (December 9, 1994, Moscow), the agreement on cooperation in organizing and providing search and rescue support during flights of civil aircraft (December 9, 1994, Moscow), and the agreement on cooperation and protection of civil aviation from acts of illegal interference (May 26, 1995, Moscow).
Interpipe, a Ukrainian industrial company, and Mubadala, the state investment fund of the government of Abu Dhabi, signed a memorandum of understanding on February 14, 2021.
Interpipe reported on Facebook the memorandum was signed during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the United Arab Emirates. On behalf of the company, the document was signed by First Deputy CEO Denys Morozov.
At the same time, it is noted that Interpipe has long been present in the Middle East markets.
“Every second building in Abu Dhabi was built with our pipes. Moreover, during the global crisis last year, this particular region showed growth, and the demand for steel pipes was maintained at a high level. This allowed us to start cooperation and ship the first pipe products to the address of one of the flagships of the world oil and gas business – National Oil Company of Abu Dhabi ADNOC,” the group said.
Interpipe is a Ukrainian industrial company, a manufacturer of seamless pipes and railway wheels. Products are supplied to more than 80 countries around the world through a network of sales offices located in the key markets of the CIS, the Middle East, North America and Europe.
Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19) has been submitted for registration in Ukraine under the obligation for emergency medical use.
According to the Center for Public Health website, an application for registration was submitted to the State Expert Center of the Health Ministry on Monday, February 15.
On the same day, WHO approved the AstraZeneca emergency vaccine and gave the green light for use of this vaccine worldwide through the COVAX initiative. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has previously been approved for emergency use in the UK, European Union and India.
The vaccine will be purchased for public funds directly from manufacturers. It is expected that at least 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be supplied to Ukraine in February 2021.
As reported, Ukraine received information from COVAX on the supply of vaccines from the manufacturer Oxford/AstraZeneca in the amount of 2.2 to 3.7 million doses in the first or second quarter of 2021.
Mubadala, the investment fund of the United Arab Emirates, has signed memorandums of understanding with 18 Ukrainian companies, in particular with EastOne represented by Rodion Kukhaev, Interpipe represented by Denys Morozov, UFuture represented by Mykola Tymoschuk, Unit.City represented by Kostiantyn Yevtushenko, Dragon Capital represented by Andriy Nosok, Fortior represented by Mykola Nesterenko and UMG represented by Andriy Horokhov.
“Mubadala has also signed a number of other memorandums of understanding with private companies that aim to explore investment opportunities in the private sector in Ukraine,” the investment fund said in a release.
According to its data, earlier Mubadala fund also signed memorandums of understanding with other Ukrainian companies, including TAS Group, BGV, Horizon, OdesaGaz, Epicenter, Oschadbank, Mais and Metinvest, which together with DTEK and UMG are part of the assets of SCM Group.
Adviser to the head of the President’s Office Tymofiy Mylovanov said that Mubadala expects to close the first investment by the end of 2021.
“The average ticket (investment amount) of Mubadala is $ 50-100 million,” he wrote on Facebook, pointing out that the estimated investment amount could thus reach $ 1.8 billion.
“The creation of a sovereign fund of Ukraine for joint investments with this and other funds of the UAE and other countries was discussed,” he added.
According to him, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy also signed a memorandum on the creation of a trading company and an agricultural hub.
“Meetings and consultations on specific agreements with other state funds of the UAE are underway,” Mylovanov said.
