In January-November of this year, Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works increased its rolled steel output by 47.9% year-on-year to 1 million 847.9 thousand tons.
According to the company’s information on Friday, steel production during this period increased by 57.6% to 2 million 238.3 thousand tons, and pig iron production by 31.3% to 2 million 453.2 thousand tons.
In November 2023, Zaporizhstal produced 262.7 thousand tons of iron, 240.8 thousand tons of steel, and shipped 195.6 thousand tons of rolled products, compared to 267.3 thousand tons of iron, 251.7 thousand tons of steel, and 208.6 thousand tons of rolled products in the previous month, and 143.9 thousand tons of iron, 85.8 thousand tons of steel, and 74.8 thousand tons of rolled products in November 2022.
“The increase in production in November 2023 compared to the same period last year is due to the removal of blast furnace No. 2 from hot mothballing and the establishment of three blast furnaces,” the press release explains.
As a reminder, due to the escalation of hostilities in the region, Metinvest Group put some of Zaporizhstal’s equipment into hot mothballing mode in early March 2022. At the end of March of the same year, the plant partially resumed the operation of its cold rolling mill to produce and ship cold-rolled coils to European customers. A month after the forced shutdown, the plant brought its equipment out of mothballing and partially resumed production. The plant is currently operating at an average of 70% of its capacity.
As reported, in 2022, Zaporizhstal reduced its rolled steel output by 60.4% compared to 2021, to 1 million 304.3 thousand tons, steel by 61.7%, to 1 million 491.3 thousand tons, and pig iron by 54.3%, to 2 million 9.9 thousand tons.
“Zaporizhstal is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Ukraine, whose products are in great demand among consumers both in the domestic market and in many countries around the world. The plant specializes in high-quality steel hot-rolled coils, hot-rolled sheets, cold-rolled sheets, cold-rolled coils made of carbon and low-alloy steels, as well as steel strips, ferrous tin, and bent sections.
The main consumers of the products are producers of welded pipes, automotive, transport and agricultural machinery companies, and manufacturers of household appliances.
“Zaporizhstal is in the process of integration into Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%).
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
NEC Ukrenergo has resumed operation of a high-voltage power transmission line necessary to supply power to the needs of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (NPP).
“At present, the plant has already switched from a backup to a normal power supply scheme,” the NEC said on Facebook on Saturday.
Ukrenergo recalled that ZNPP lost contact with the power grid overnight during another Russian attack. Two lines were damaged – 750 and 330 kV, which transmit electricity to meet the plant’s own needs.
Ukrenergo dispatchers were able to put ZNPP’s main 750 kV main power supply line back into operation. At present, the plant receives the electricity necessary for its safe operation from the unified energy system of Ukraine.
At the same time, power supply to consumers in Zaporizhzhya and Dnipropetrovsk region has not stopped, reserve lines have been activated to meet their needs.
“Ukrenergo repair crews will start restoring damaged high-voltage lines as soon as the security situation permits. Thanks to the PVO for the flawless work, without which the damage in the power system could have been much larger,” – summarized in the NEC.
As reported, at 02:31 during the air alarm was de-energized line “Zaporizhzhya NPP – Dniprovska”. Due to the complete blackout ZNPP switched to supply its needs from diesel generators. The greatest safety threat in such a state exists at Unit 4.
high-voltage power transmission line, UKRENERGO, Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant
The Ministries of Justice and Finance have postponed until April 1, 2024 the introduction of the order of notification by the subject of primary financial monitoring (SPFM) of the holder of the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individuals (USREOU) on the detection of discrepancies on the results of the inspection of the ultimate beneficial owners and/or ownership structure of legal entities with the information in the register.
“In order for all subjects of primary financial monitoring to take organizational measures necessary for the implementation of the mechanism of notification of the holder of the USREOU …”, – this reason for the postponement was given by the Ministry of Justice in a message on its website.
The introduction of the procedure for notification of such discrepancies and the SPFM, which identified them, to the specially authorized body was also postponed for the same period of time.
As reported, it was assumed that these procedures will be effective from December 1, 2023.
Import changes in % to previous period in 2022-2023
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Export changes in % to previous period in 2022-2023
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Demand for ready-to-move-in apartments in Ukraine’s primary real estate market is gradually growing, with their share in the sales structure of some developers reaching 50%, according to a survey of developers conducted by Interfax-Ukraine.
“Before the full-scale war, the share of renovated apartments from the developer was about a third of total sales. Now it is up to half of the transactions. The demand for owner-occupied apartments is growing. Firstly, it is cheaper than finishing the apartment yourself. Secondly, it is much faster. You can move into a new home immediately after the building is completed, while renovation work done by yourself takes at least several months to six months. For many people, this factor is critical,” said Anna Laevska, commercial director of Intergal-Bud.
According to her, Intergal-Bud offers buyers a finishing of the apartment (flooring, wallpaper for painting, interior doors, electrical wiring and electrical fittings, plumbing) with designer renovation in three styles, as well as installation of furniture and kitchen.
Ms. Laevskaya noted that over the past year and a half, the company has revised the prices for the renovation service several times. Today, the cost of designer renovation is $300 per square meter, which is $100 lower than before the full-scale war. A furnished repair from the developer will cost $600/sq. m.
“We understand that renovating an apartment in a new building is a big expense. In the context of exchange rate fluctuations, when everything around us is getting more expensive, a democratic price offer from the developer is a step towards Ukrainians who want to improve their living conditions. We have no plans to revise the cost of repairs, but we understand that further developments will depend on the prices of materials,” the expert said.
According to DIM Group, the share of ready-made renovated apartments in the structure of demand in the primary market is 45%.
“The advantages of a renovated apartment from a developer include maximum transparency and accountability. The buyer delegates to the developer the supervision of the order fulfillment and already accepts a fully finished product at the stage of receiving the keys,” said Daria Bedia, DIM’s Marketing Director.
The developer offers four types of finishes in its projects: basic renovation at a cost of $650/sq. m, kitchen with appliances – an additional $50/sq. m to the cost of basic renovation, cabinet furniture – “plus” $30/sq. m, upholstered and separate furniture – “plus” $20/sq. m. DIM engaged Anthracite design bureau to develop the renovation projects.
“We set ourselves an ambitious task: to overcome the prejudice that a renovated apartment in a new building is always about a typical renovation with budget materials, the same colors and style. Our partner has developed a whole line of adaptive design projects that differ in style, color scheme, content, and price,” Bedia explained.
Meanwhile, apartments with ready-made repairs are not in demand in business-class residential projects and are more relevant in comfort and economy class, according to City One Development.
“Based on many years of experience and analyzing customer requests, we can say that it is impractical for a developer to make ready-to-move-in apartments in the business segment. The vast majority of our clients choose apartments for themselves and want to choose and develop the design themselves. Renovated apartments are relevant in the economy and comfort classes. But this is no more than 5% of the total demand,” says Dmytro Novikov, Marketing Director of City One Development.
Among the disadvantages of finished apartments, Novikov mentioned the higher cost, longer terms of obtaining housing and mostly standard design solutions that do not take into account the individual request of the buyer.
According to him, the experience of sales of the first and second phases of Novopecherski Lypky showed that the most popular renovated apartments were one-bedroom apartments, while two- and three-bedroom apartments were sold less actively.
“So far, we have not received any requests for ready-made renovated apartments from the developer. Customers continue to be interested in finished apartments even at the final stage of construction, which means that the trends that emerged with the outbreak of the war continue to exist,” he summarized.
