Mining and Metallurgical Group Metinvest has managed to balance the number of employees and production productivity, which allowed it to approach the pre-war level of salaries, the company’s CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov said, commenting on delo.ua inclusion in the list of five best employers in Ukraine according to the magazine “TOP-100. Ratings of the biggest”.
According to him, the rate of movement of salaries at the enterprises of the group is different, but the company finds opportunities to implement effective motivational systems, so that the income of employees is growing, and the situation in the company is stabilizing.
The top manager stated that the war has crushed Metinvest’s business. The company lost control over metallurgical enterprises in temporarily occupied Mariupol. It also had to suspend operations at its coke plant in frontline Avdeevka. The Group was forced to radically restructure its production activities, create completely new logistics and find alternative ways to export its products.
Another challenge for the company since the beginning of the war has been the mass migration of personnel and tangible loss of their qualifications. A significant part of Metinvest’s employees left for other regions or countries, changed their profession or specialization, or simply cannot work under such conditions. Besides, already more than 10% of Metinvest employees (more than 8 thousand employees) serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to the CEO, all this significantly reduces not only the potential of the Ukrainian mining and metallurgical complex in general, but also of Metinvest Group in particular. He emphasized that the outflow of human capital makes it too difficult to maintain current production volumes and restore it in the future, so the company pays great attention to the reintegration of employees returning to work from war.
“The company is deploying maximum resources to support employees. We have to make sure that our people are as safe as possible now, receive decent pay and have conditions for professional development,” Ryzhenkov said.
At the same time, it is noted that the company is interested in ensuring that military and civilians, who gave their health in the fight against the aggressor, return to full life as soon as possible and with the slightest discomfort. “Exactly such opportunities for the victims are provided by the equipment for early verticalization, which is now available in Ukraine thanks to the initiative “Saving Life”, – specified Tetyana Petruk, Director for Sustainable Development and Human Resources of Metinvest Group.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. The group’s enterprises are located mainly in Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhya and Dnepropetrovsk regions.
The main shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), jointly managing the holding.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
Romanian and Ukrainian Agriculture Ministers Florin Barbu and Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food Nikolai Solsky have agreed on a new strict mechanism that will allow four types of grain to be imported to Romania again. The new system will require Ukrainian and Romanian farmers to obtain licenses, the Romanian newspaper Europa Libera Romania reported.
“Export licenses for Ukrainian companies will start in 30 days. During this time, Romania will also create a clear import licensing procedure for Romanian farmers and processors,” the publication quoted a Romanian minister as saying.
Another agreed rule is that imports are carried out only by farmers and processors, not by intermediaries, the sources say.
“A farmer who wants to import, for example, 1,000 tons of sunflower seeds from Ukraine must prove that he does not have that amount and that his animals cannot live without it,” a source close to the talks between the ministers explained to the newspaper.
Romanian authorities will check the stocks of farmers who ask to import grain from Ukraine.
Another condition is obtaining a quality certificate. The farmer will have to take a sample of the imported goods to the National Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA), where he will receive a certificate stating that the goods are of high quality and do not contain banned pesticides.
The licensing system for grain exporters/importers will be introduced within 30 days.
Barbu said that Kyiv will coordinate Ukraine’s proposal to license exporters with each of the five European countries that have banned imports of Ukrainian wheat, corn, sunflower and rapeseed since May.
As reported, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine held talks with the relevant ministries of Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria, which are studying the Ukrainian action plan and preparing comments on it. Next week, the next stage of Ukraine’s negotiations with neighboring countries will take place.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) published on Thursday Ukraine’s request for dispute settlement proceedings after Poland, Hungary and the Slovak Republic banned imports of a number of Ukrainian agricultural products, Bloomberg reported.
“Ukraine’s request for consultations is the first formal step in the long dispute settlement process at the WTO and could develop into the first case in the organization, with Ukraine as a plaintiff against EU members,” the agency wrote and recalled that Ukraine is simultaneously working to join the 27-nation bloc.
According to a copy of the complaints published on the WTO website, Ukraine claims the bans violate various provisions of the WTO agreement on agriculture and the general agreement on tariffs and trade.
The three countries have 60 days to begin consultations with Ukraine. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, Kiev could request a WTO panel.
It could take several years before the case goes through the WTO dispute settlement system. Even if Ukraine wins the dispute, the other three countries could theoretically veto the outcome by appealing the ruling to the WTO’s appellate body.
https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news23_e/ds619_620_621rfc_21sep23_e.htm
Spain’s economy grew by 0.5% in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter, according to revised data from the INE statistics agency.
Earlier, an increase of 0.4% was announced. At the same time, analysts did not expect a revision, Trading Economics reports.
Business investment increased by 1.9%, including 3.6% in the construction sector. Consumer spending increased by 0.9%, government spending by 1.6%.
Meanwhile, exports declined by 3.1%, while imports fell by 2%.
Data for the first quarter were also improved: GDP growth was 0.6%, not 0.5%.
The Spanish economy grew by 2.2% in April-June compared to the same period last year, not 1.8% as previously reported. In the first quarter, the growth was 4.2%.
The Bank of Spain predicts a further slowdown in the country’s economic growth in the third quarter to 0.3%. By the end of 2023, GDP is expected to increase by 2.3%.
The Experts Club research project and Maksym Urakin have recently released an analytical video on the economies of Ukraine and the world
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Ukraine has received the eighth tranche of macro-financial assistance in the amount of EUR 1.5 billion from the European Union, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
“Today, Ukraine has received the eighth tranche of macro-financial assistance in the amount of €1.5 billion from the European Union. In total, the EU’s budget support for Ukraine in 2023 already amounts to €13.5 billion,” Shmyhal wrote in X on Friday.
According to the prime minister, the EU’s total support for Ukraine has reached approximately €70 billion since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
On October 12, 2023, the ninth Kyiv International Economic Forum, an annual event that brings together representatives of the Ukrainian government, business, and society for open dialogue, exchange of experience, creation of a space of trust, and effective strategies for economic development, will take place.
For the second time, the forum will be held in Kyiv under martial law. The theme of this year’s KIEF is “People. Business. Economy. The Price of Freedom”.
Key topics of KIEF 2023:
and others.
“In times of the most difficult historical test for the country, its economy, business, society, and for each of us personally, we must unite, combine our efforts and experience to make difficult, bold, and pragmatic decisions. The goal is to become co-authors not only of the Victory, but also of the future of an independent, innovative, and prosperous Ukraine that our descendants will be proud of. It all depends on us,” commented Vasyl Khmelnytsky, initiator of the forum and founder of UFuture holding.
They will share their experience and vision:
“Last year, we discussed the topic of restoring the Ukrainian economy after the victory. But life turned out to be much more complicated and the challenges much more serious. KIEF 2023 is dedicated to finding solutions to the most pressing ones that need to be addressed here and now. The high price of Ukraine’s freedom and independence must be justified. This is a task for each of us,” said Yuriy Pyvovarov, CEO of the Kyiv International Economic Forum.
“Despite the war, Ukrainian business continues to operate, supporting the army and humanitarian initiatives. This year’s KIEF is an opportunity to discuss the problems, solutions and tools for integrating veterans into civilian life. It is an opportunity to share experience of doing business during the war and join forces on the way to victory. An opportunity to record our achievements and plan the next steps. This is a crucial event where Superhumans Center has a platform for a joint discussion on how to build a new social contract between people returning from war and business,” said Olga Rudneva, CEO of Superhumans Center.
As part of the event, each participant will be able to contribute to the support of the Superhumans Center for Rehabilitation, Prosthetics and Reconstructive Surgery. The proceeds from the registration fees will be used to rehabilitate Ukrainians affected by the war.
On the day of the event, the KIEF YouTube channel will broadcast the event via the link.
The innovative partner of the event and the exclusive partner of the online broadcast is Mastercard.
General media partner: ICTV.
Title media partner: 1+1 Media.
Title partners: UFuture, Mastercard, Nova Poshta, AJAX, Biopharma.
Partners: Kyivstar, Aequo, Dynasty Investment Group, Interpipe, Epicenter, Superhumans Center, All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program “How are you?”, NGO “Bezbariernist”.
We believe that our victory, our recovery and economic development are our choice and our business.
Join the change on October 12.
For more information about the event and conditions of participation, please follow the link.
Kyiv International Economic Forum 2023
People. Business. Economy
The price of freedom
