On September 15, Viktor Ivanchik, CEO of the Astarta agricultural holding, purchased 244,679 thousand shares, or 0.9787% of their total number, over the counter through Albacon Ventures Limited at a price of PLN55.5 per share, which is significantly higher than the price quoted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE).
The corresponding announcement on the stock exchange on the evening of Thursday, September 18, led to a 6.58% increase in the share price on Friday, to PLN47.00.
The last time Ivanchik bought shares in significantly smaller volumes on the exchange was at the end of June, but then the deals were concluded at a price ranging from PLN57.6 to PLN60.0 per share. However, after that, the shares of Astarta and other Ukrainian companies fell in price due to another loss of optimism about the possibility of a ceasefire. However, in early March, the CEO of the agricultural holding bought shares at PLN48.9, at the end of December at PLN39.6, and at the end of October at PLN30.9 per share.
According to the latest stock exchange report, Ivanchik’s total expenditure on the purchase of a stake of almost 1% can be estimated at PLN13.58 million, or about $3.7 million.
It is noted that after this transaction, the CEO of Astarta owns 10,678,610 shares of the agricultural holding, or 42.7144% of their total number.
According to the latest report, as of mid-year, Ivanchik’s family owned a total of 42.23% of shares, compared to 41.48% at the beginning of this year and 41.17% in the middle of last year. Fairfax Financial Holdings has also been a major shareholder all this time, with 29.91%, while another 2.1184% of shares are owned by the company itself and were previously repurchased as part of a buyback. As of May this year, minority shareholders also included Kopernik Global Investors with 2.64% and Heptagon Capital with 1.8%.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine and is the largest sugar producer in Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220,000 hectares, dairy farms with 22,000 head of cattle, an oil extraction plant in Hlobyn (Poltava region), seven elevators, and a biogas complex.
In the first half of 2025, Astarta reduced its net profit by 10.3% to EUR47.11 million, and its consolidated revenue decreased by 29.3% to EUR320.71 million.
On June 12 this year, the shareholders’ meeting approved the payment of dividends for 2024 in the amount of EUR0.5 per share for a total of EUR12.5 million, which is in line with the figures for the previous two years.
China has unveiled a new action plan for the steel industry, which includes a set of measures to address the chronic problem of oversupply. This comes amid Beijing’s intensified efforts to end a series of price wars raging in the economy, writes the South China Morning Post.
The plan, which includes a strict ban on the commissioning of additional capacity and measures to accelerate the decommissioning of obsolete equipment, could serve as an example for other industries suffering from overproduction and excessive competition.
The document, published on Monday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in conjunction with a number of other agencies, calls for strict control over steel production capacity and volumes. It stresses that “coordinated efforts on both the supply and demand sides” are needed to stabilize the industry.
The plan aims to “accelerate the transition from old to new growth drivers, develop new productive forces, and further enhance the resilience and security of industrial and supply chains.” The steel industry should strive to increase added value by approximately 4% annually over the next two years and complete the modernization of more than 80% of steel production capacity to achieve ultra-low emissions by the end of this year.
Although Chinese steel companies account for more than half of global production, the average profitability of listed companies in 2024 was minus 0.26% due to structural problems in the industry, the report said.
According to CINDA Securities, 7.44 million tons of five major types of steel products were produced in the country in the first half of September, approximately 5.8% more than in the same period a year earlier. Steel inventories increased by 12.1% to 11.01 million tons, while consumption fell by approximately 4.6% to 8.5 million tons.
The composite steel price index is currently at 3,507 yuan ($493) per ton, which is approximately 2.6% higher than last year’s figure, but approximately 14% lower than in 2023.
In 2024, China reduced steel production by 1.7% to 1.005 billion tons.
According to the results of a study conducted by Active Group in collaboration with Experts Club in August 2025, Ukrainians’ attitude towards Australia is predominantly positive. 63.0% of respondents expressed a positive attitude towards this country, while only 2.2% of respondents had a negative attitude. At the same time, 32.3% took a neutral position, and 2.4% admitted that they found it difficult to answer this question.
The largest share of positive responses fell into the “mostly positive” category – 40.0%, while 23.0% of respondents expressed a “completely positive” attitude. On the other hand, 1.9% of respondents had a “mostly negative” attitude, and only 0.4% had a “completely negative” attitude.
In 2024, trade turnover between Ukraine and Australia amounted to US$157.4 million. At the same time, exports of Ukrainian goods to Australia amounted to only US$6.4 million, while imports of Australian products amounted to US$151.0 million. The negative balance for Ukraine was recorded at US$144.6 million.
“The main areas of Australian exports to Ukraine traditionally include mineral raw materials, industrial goods, and agricultural products. In contrast, Ukrainian exports to Australia have a limited range and are mainly concentrated in the agricultural and metallurgical sectors,” notes economist and founder of Experts Club Maksim Urakin.
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ACTIVE GROUP, AUSTRALIA, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, TRADE, UKRAINE, URAKIN
One of Ukraine’s largest grain market operators, Nibulon, has begun harvesting late grain crops in the Cherkasy and Khmelnytsky regions, according to a Facebook post by the grain trader’s press service.
According to the report, the Chyhyryn branch in the Cherkasy region, where corn is harvested on an area of 9,500 hectares, was the first to start harvesting late grain crops in the 2025 season.
“Despite the difficult weather conditions during the growing season, corn in this region yielded 7 tons per hectare. The total planned gross corn harvest for the holding is 180,000 tons. The total area under this crop this year is 22,577 hectares. As of today, the first 2,000 hectares have been threshed. Eight combines and 70 grain trucks are involved in the corn harvest,” the agricultural holding said.
In addition, the soybean harvest has begun in the Khmilnytskyi and Kamianets-Podilskyi clusters. The first 500 hectares have been threshed with a yield of 3.2 tons. In total, they have 9,600 hectares to harvest. Twelve combines and 40 grain trucks are working on threshing this crop.
Immediately after harvesting, Nibulon will cultivate the soil for sowing in 2026. The priority is strip-till and deep loosening.
“Overall, 2025 has been a difficult year for agriculture. This year’s weather, in particular the lack of productive rainfall in the central and especially southern regions of Ukraine, did not contribute to record harvests. Since the beginning of the year, only 220 mm of precipitation has been recorded in the Chyhyryn area, and it should be noted that a significant part of it was not productive and was not effective in fully meeting the moisture needs of corn, especially at critical stages of plant development,” the agricultural holding noted.
Nibulon was able to achieve a stable harvest despite the moisture deficit by implementing a set of resource-saving agricultural technologies, including economical soil cultivation, adherence to early sowing dates, and the competent selection of corn hybrids with FAO 220–250, which are highly drought-resistant and release moisture quickly during ripening.
Nibulon LLC was established in 1991. Before the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and complexes for receiving agricultural crops, a capacity for one-time storage of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugboats), and owned the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82,000 hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries around the world. In 2021, the grain trader exported a record 5.64 million tons of agricultural products and supplied record volumes to foreign markets in August (0.7 million tons), in the fourth quarter (1.88 million tons), and in the second half of the year (3.71 million tons).
The grain trader is currently operating at 32% of its capacity, has created a special unit for demining agricultural land, and has been forced to move its central office from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
Most Ukrainians have a positive opinion of Georgia, according to the results of a survey conducted by Active Group in collaboration with the analytical center Experts Club.
According to the study, 56.3% of Ukrainians expressed a positive attitude towards Georgia: among them, 14.3% are completely positive, and 42.0% are mostly positive.
At the same time, 10.7% of respondents have a negative attitude (1.7% completely negative and 9.0% mostly negative). A third of respondents (32.3%) remain neutral, while another 0.7% admitted that they are not sufficiently knowledgeable about the country.
At the end of 2024, Ukraine’s trade turnover with Georgia amounted to $1,828.2 million. Exports of Ukrainian goods to Georgia reached $1,360.8 million, while imports amounted to $467.4 million. Thus, Ukraine had a positive bilateral trade balance of $893.4 million.
According to economist and founder of Experts Club Maksim Urakin, the positive balance with Georgia reflects a sustained interest in mutual cooperation:
“Georgia traditionally remains an important trading partner for Ukraine in the Caucasus. The high level of positive attitudes among Ukrainians toward this country is a favorable foundation for the further development of economic and cultural relations,” the expert emphasized.
Thus, Georgia is among the group of countries that Ukrainians view mostly positively, and strong economic ties and shared historical proximity create the basis for further deepening the partnership.
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ACTIVE GROUP, EXPERTS CLUB, GEORGIA, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, TRADE, UKRAINE, URAKIN
On September 16, the leasing company ULF-Finance LLC, part of Sergey Tigipko’s TAS Group, began a public offering of five-year bonds of series F1 and E1 with a total nominal value of UAH 150 million and UAH 250 million, respectively, on the PFTS stock exchange.
“The financial resources raised from the placement of bonds are planned to be used in full (100%) to finance an increase in the volume of financial leasing services,” the prospectuses note.
According to the prospectuses, coupon income on F1 series bonds is paid upon redemption at a rate of 20% per annum, while E1 series bonds provide for an annual offer and quarterly interest payments, with a nominal yield of 19% per annum in the first year of circulation.
The nominal value of each issue is UAH 1,000, and the placement period is until August 23 of the following year. There is no information about transactions concluded on the exchange yet.
According to the prospectuses, before entering the market with new issues, the company placed 611,917 thousand bonds of series A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, A1, B1, C1, D1.
The ULF-Finance website states that the company has been operating since 2011 and has been part of the TAS Group since 2017, whose members also include TAScombank and Universal Bank. ULF-Finance provides financial, operational, and reverse leasing services for transport, special equipment, and machinery. Among its clients, the company, which is represented in 17 cities, mentions Ukrzaliznytsia and Nova Poshta.
ULF-Finance’s revenue in the first half of 2025 grew by 46.9% to UAH 260.40 million, while net profit decreased by 33.6% to UAH 37.62 million.
In its prospectus, the company forecasts an increase in revenue this year to UAH 838.84 million and next year to UAH 1,095.11 million, with net profit growing to UAH 113.76 million and UAH 186.70 million, respectively.
