Business can cope with the problem of staff shortage in Ukraine by investing in technological products and process automation, says Ruslan Shostak, owner of Eva and Varus chains and president of TERWIN Corporation.
“I don’t see a big problem (with staff shortage). Yes, it exists, you can’t turn a blind eye to it, but according to statistics, not so many people left Ukraine. Our whole business was inefficient in terms of human resource utilization, which made us uncompetitive with similar businesses in Europe and the world. But there is one solution for this: money. We don’t have money to reconstruct our production facilities and enterprises. If we have money, software products, new robotic equipment, we will be able to solve this issue,” Shostak told Business Wisdom Summit in Kyiv on Wednesday.
According to Shostak, despite a slight outflow of customers, his business is showing growth: last year’s growth was almost 100% in online and 30% in retail. In addition, new logistics hubs are being built in Kyiv, Lviv, and Dnipro.
Shostak noted, while in Ukraine business development is slowed down due to the war and difficult economic situation, global business is undergoing changes and using new opportunities, including artificial intelligence.
“Now we are focusing on geopolitics, but in the next 20 years we will face global economic problems, change of specialties, professions. It is artificial intelligence that is driving the most powerful changes right now,” Shostak believes.
As reported, in October 2023, 17 companies managed by Shostak, which collectively employ 30 thousand people, merged into TERWIN (TERWIN). We are talking about Omega LLC, Rush, Tervin Group, Tixid, Tavria Hub, Instant, Formsite, Digamma, Milton Group, Saltora Plus, Firma Ariant, New Construction 2017, Altair D, Apex N, Aspect D, Lattero, Charitable Foundation Ruslan Shostak BU. The total assets of the corporation are estimated at $1.6 billion. The combined revenue of the companies reached $2 billion in the pre-war period and was expected to reach $1.7 billion in 2023.
In November 2023, Shostak and UkraineInvest CEO Serhiy Tsivkach signed a memorandum on further support of the project for the construction of logistics hubs in four regions of Ukraine (Odessa, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv) with a total investment of more than $500 million.
BUSINESS, INVESTMENTS, staff shortage, TECHNOLOGIES, TERWIN Corporation, UKRAINE
German industry may not fully recover to levels seen before the energy crisis due to high prices for imported liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to Markus Krebber, chief executive of German energy company RWE.
“Gas prices in continental Europe, and especially in Germany, are structurally higher now because we are ultimately dependent on LNG imports,” he told the Financial Times. – German industry is at a disadvantage.”
Gas prices in Europe have fallen about 90 percent from peak levels seen in 2022, but remain about two-thirds higher than in 2019, the FT wrote, citing data from Argus.
Krebber criticized Angela Merkel’s government’s decision in 2011 to abandon nuclear power without finding an alternative to Russian gas.
“When you know exactly what you want to give up, you should immediately start thinking about introducing new technologies,” he said.
Analysts are pessimistic about the prospects for Germany’s economy, Europe’s largest. According to the assessment of the five leading research institutes of Germany, the country’s GDP in 2024 will grow by only 0.1% due to the decline in exports and weak domestic demand. In 2023, the German economy contracted by 0.3%.
According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, demand for natural gas in the industrial sector in Europe fell by 24% in 2023 compared to 2019. The company’s experts believe that about 6-10% of European demand will be lost irretrievably due to demand destruction.
At the same time, the U.S. has a consistent and comprehensive policy to encourage the return of production capacity to the country, Krebber said. “Europe has the same intentions, but so far there are no proper measures in place,” he added.
A survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry last September showed that 43% of large industrial companies plan to move their business outside Germany, with the US a priority. Last year, German companies announced investments of $15.7 billion in projects in the U.S., compared with $8.2 billion a year earlier, according to fDi Markets.
The number of insurance companies in Ukraine in March 2024 has not changed and as of the end of the month there are 86 risk insurers, 12 specializing in life insurance, one insurer with a special status (“Export Credit Agency”), according to the NBU website. At the same time, two insurance brokers are included in the register.
In general, the number of non-banking financial market participants in March decreased from 1,060 (as of February 29, 2024) to 1,056 (as of March 31, 2024).
The Energy Support Fund has managed to raise over EUR410m from 13 partner countries and international organizations as of April 9.
“The remaining amount is the announced contributions, which will soon be transferred by the sponsors,” the Ukrainian Energy Ministry said on Tuesday.
As the ministry noted, the special trust of partners has been secured thanks to the system of transparent distribution of funds. In particular, the Ministry of Energy has a working group on humanitarian aid, which considers requests from Ukrainian energy companies to purchase the necessary aid with the Fund’s resources.
The Fund financed the most urgent needs of Ukrainian energy companies, in particular, the purchase of generators, power transformers, circuit breakers, spare parts, technical means, materials, special equipment, fuel, means of physical protection of energy facilities.
“Most of all funds are distributed to meet the urgent needs of energy companies from frontline regions – Kharkiv, Mykolayiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, Odessa,” the Ministry of Energy said.
State-owned Ukreximbank (Kiev) is selling a complex of buildings and structures, as well as a land plot in Kiev region through the OpenMarket electronic bidding system (SE “SETAM” of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine), according to a press release of SETAM.
The starting price of the lot is 108 million 412 thousand 224 UAH. The auction is scheduled for April 17. The guarantee fee for participation in the auction is UAH 10.841 mln.
The press release notes that Ukreximbank is selling the car plant, but does not specify the name, but judging by the address of location in Boryspil and the attached photos, it is PJSC “Boryspil Automobile Plant” (“BAZ”) of the corporation “Etalon”.
The total area of the sold lot is 18.67 thousand square meters, including the main production building (7679.9 square meters) and production building (644.8 square meters); administrative and utility building with canteen (3 213.6 square meters); spare parts warehouse (4016.6 square meters) and other buildings.
The land plot has an area of 7.5205 hectares. Target purpose: for placement and operation of main auxiliary and auxiliary buildings and structures of processing, machine-building and other industries.
In the press release it is noted that the buildings and structures are in exploitable technical condition. The facility is fully operational as a production and warehouse complex with an administrative part. Its territory is fenced and guarded.
Borispol Motor Plant was established in 2002, where the corporation “Etalon” organized the production of small class buses. Currently, buses of various classes and trolleybuses are produced at the corporation’s Chernihiv auto plant.
According to the register of court decisions, in January 2023 PJSC BAZ was recognized bankrupt and liquidation procedure was opened.
According to the data of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market for the third quarter of 2023, Bodmin AG (registered in Switzerland) owns 74.37% of BAZ shares, another 22.81% belongs to Kirayn LLC (Kiev).
The National Bank of Ukraine has revoked the licenses of Ardian Leasing Company LLC and FC Aktiv+ LLC on the basis of submitted applications, the regulator’s website has reported.
In addition, these companies are excluded from the State Register of Financial Institutions due to the revocation of licenses.
Another two non-banking financial institutions (NFIs) on the basis of their own applications, the regulator has agreed to change the scope of licenses for the activities of financial companies: LLC FC “Percent” – to exclude from the license such services as financial leasing and provision of guarantees, LLC “Siroko Finance” – to exclude the service of financial leasing from the license.
At the same time, the NBU notes that after the change in the scope of licenses for the activities of the financial company LLC “FC “Percent”, LLC “Siroko Finance” have the right to provide funds and bank metals on credit, as well as factoring service.
The corresponding decisions of the NBU Committee on supervision and regulation of non-banking financial services markets adopted at a meeting on April 5, 2024.
