The World Bank Group’s IFC plans to mobilize about $345 million to build a new 350 MW wind power capacity in Ukraine, the corporation said on its website on Wednesday.
The report said the initiative was presented among other initiatives aimed at supporting Ukraine at the URC-2024 recovery conference in Berlin.
Now these projects, which are planned to be implemented in order to improve energy security and support further development of renewable energy in Ukraine, are undergoing due diligence and awaiting approval by the IFC management and Board of Directors, the corporation specified.
As reported, at URC-2024, Knud Rissel, commercial director of the German company Notus Energy, said that it is engaged in the implementation of a 300 MW WPP project in the Odessa region, the first phase of which will be 120 MW.
“We already have all the permits, in particular those related to land. Banks are supporting us, although they are taking a risk by supporting us. But we are all ready to work even under martial law,” he said.
According to Rissel, the company also signed some agreements on the project realization at this conference.
German company GOLDBECK SOLAR Investment and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are setting up a joint venture, GOLDBECK SOLAR Investment Ukraine, to implement 500MW solar power plant projects in Ukraine over the next three to five years.
“The aim of the new company is to develop, finance, construct and operate solar power projects to thereby support Ukraine’s energy independence and sustainability,” the company said in a press release on its website on Wednesday at the end of URC-2024 in Berlin.
GOLDBECK SOLAR Investment will receive a EUR5 million loan from DEG (Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft) for its commitment in Ukraine through the ImpactConnect program initiated and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Planning for the construction of the first solar park is due to start in the fall of 2024.
As noted, this is the EBRD’s first equity agreement in Ukraine’s energy sector since the full-scale Russian invasion. The document emphasizes the economic viability of the investment scenario and the continued role of GOLDBECK SOLAR as a reliable partner of the bank after previous debt financing transactions in Poland and Kazakhstan.
The EBRD, for its part, notes in a press release that the JV agreement will strengthen its relationship with GOLDBECK SOLAR Group, which it characterizes as an experienced German solar company with more than 20 years of experience. According to him, GOLDBECK SOLAR Group currently employs more than 550 people and has built more than 3 GW of solar capacity in 20 countries.
“This will be the group’s first investment and activity in Ukraine, which is also an important benchmark to stimulate foreign direct investment in its energy sector, especially with a focus on refurbishment and green transition,” the EBRD notes.
According to Joachim Goldbeck, CEO of GOLDBECK SOLAR Group, quoted on the company’s website, the group is aware of the risks posed by the current political situation, but recognizes: the future of Europe is linked to the future of Ukraine, “so we need to set an example today.”
“With our expertise and EBRD resources, we can make significant progress in the renewable energy sector. We see great potential in Ukraine and are confident that our actions will make a sustainable contribution to the country’s energy supply and encourage other companies to follow our path,” emphasized Olga Kovalchuk, Managing Director of the newly established GOLDBECK SOLAR Investment Ukraine.
According to Arvid Turkner, EBRD Managing Director for Ukraine and Moldova, the Bank welcomes this project, which has made it possible to attract key cross-border investments in Ukraine.
Grzegorz Zielinski, Director for Energy in Europe at the EBRD, in turn, expressed hope that the bank’s comprehensive approach to Ukraine’s energy sector at both public and private levels will catalyze further investment in the sector.
It is reported that in the framework of the URC Joachim Goldbeck and Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine Svetlana Grinchuk signed a memorandum of understanding with a joint commitment to cooperate in several areas and activities to promote private investment in the renewable energy sector of Ukraine.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine tentatively in early July this year may approve the Strategy for Recovery of Small and Medium Entrepreneurship (SME) until 2027, Deputy Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev said.
“About three weeks are left before it (the Strategy – IF-U) will be approved. Consultations are going on now. We have implemented a lot of wishes (of international partners – IF-U) into the Strategy, and SME recovery is not just a government effort – it is a joint effort. We can create one document for everyone with a list of priorities, ideas for coordination, and the next phase is to create an alliance of SMEs from different countries to implement the strategy. And one of the tools is the EDF (Entrepreneurship Development Fund),” he said on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2024) in Berlin on Wednesday.
The Deputy Minister of Economy noted that about 100 measures are planned within the framework of the Strategy implementation, which include tools such as business grants, tools of training programs, search for partners for enterprises, risk insurance.
“EUR8 billion of financing is planned for the next years, and this is realistic – if you look at the programs of partners in the SME Alliance, it is almost the same level,” Sobolev said.
He reminded that as a result of the Strategy’s implementation, the share of SMEs in total value added will increase to 75% by 2027 (from 70% in 2020), and “many new microbusinesses (with more than two employees) will be created.”
When asked what international assistance Ukraine needs first of all to implement the Strategy, Sobolev said that first of all access to financing is needed, as well as technical assistance.
“Some of the measures are innovative for us, some require additional resources and, of course, we need coordination with partners,” the Deputy Minister emphasized.
As reported, the SME Recovery Strategy until 2027 provides for the improvement of state policy in the field of SME development and support by creating conditions for sustainable development and digital transformation, facilitating access to finance, supporting the growth of SMEs in domestic and foreign markets.
The draft Strategy includes three strategic directions – recovery, ease of doing business and access to markets; digital transformation and entrepreneurial ecosystem; and access to resources, integration and competitiveness.
The challenges of the Ukrainian economy are related to the lack of insurance and it is already obvious that this hinders the attraction of investors, who first of all think about the protection of their capital.
This opinion was expressed by the US Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery Penny Pritzker at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2024) in Berlin on Wednesday.
“We all understand: in order for private investors to come in, insurance is needed. This is the first thing an investor thinks about,” she said.
According to Pritzker, she and her team took this as a call to action It was seconded by the US-based Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and global reinsurance broker Aon, which found practical innovative solutions to the issue. DFC already provides an insurance product designed for SMEs.
“We have purposely built an insurance model that is scalable. However, for this sector to flourish in Ukraine, many players are needed. I will encourage other insurance organizations, international institutions to think how they can join this model. I am confident: this mechanism will bring to Ukraine the necessary capital for its economic growth both when there is a war and when there is peace and reconstruction begins,” she emphasized.
According to DFC Executive Director Scott Nathan, before the war the corporation had a large portfolio in Ukraine, including risk insurance. Currently, to support the private sector and the country’s economy, one of the important toolkits in its portfolio is political risk insurance, which has closed $350 million worth of arrangements for three contracts in agriculture, manufacturing and education over the past year.
“Together with our partner ARCS, we as DFC can provide $50 million in war risk insurance, air raid risk, etc. to different clients. These can be small policies that can go to larger policies,” he noted.
At the same time, Nathan said that projects are being developed with Aon that can be scaled. One such project will be announced soon.
“Practically, we are helping local insurance companies build capacity for the country. Insurance is a mechanism to mobilize capital in the country and we hope to offer such an innovative tool. This is just the beginning, just part of our joint efforts to invest in Ukraine’s future, to lay the foundation for future investments when its recovery and reconstruction begins. It is important for the economy to work every day already now, during the war, and for this we need to build capacity in the insurance market. This is the key to success,” he said.
According to Aon President Erik Andersen, it is very important to provide protection by Ukrainian insurance companies, as well as to have a mechanism of pooled resources to provide insurance in the health care system, for small businesses, etc.,” he said.
“What we are saying is that we wanted to participate and invest our capital through the DFC, through local insurers. We have been working in Ukraine for a long time, it’s a big insurance program, and we want this capital to go to companies that operate in the country,” he said.
The volume of cargo transportation in containers in Ukraine in January-May 2024 reached the highest value for the last seven years and exceeded the pre-war indicators, follows from the analytical note of “Ukrzaliznytsya” (UZ), prepared for the meeting on the topic of intermodal transportation.
“In the first five months of 2024, the volume of cargo transportation in containers increased by 60% compared to the same period of 2023 and amounted to 116.129 thousand TEU (20-foot containers). The indicator is the highest for the last seven years and exceeds the volume of transportation for the same period in 2021 by 10%,” the document says.
It is indicated that in 2021, about 16% of the volume transported in containers accounted for transit, which is now virtually absent.
The main nomenclature in containers remains grain cargoes – 39%, as well as ferrous metals – 15%; cakes – 7%; oil – 6%; synthetic resins – 4%; sugar – 3%, chemicals – 2%.
During the period, about 25% of cargo in containers was transported in the import direction, 61% – in the export direction, 14% – in the domestic direction.
Since March 2023, UZ has been offering users of transportation services a new intermodal service that combines the transportation of container trains, contrailer trains and combined transport trains.
As of June 12, 2024, UZ transported 412 intermodal trains: 72 intermodal trains in the direction of Polish and Romanian ports and 340 such trains in the direction of Ukrainian ports.
It is also reported about changes in the terms of service provision. According to them, operators of intermodal train can postpone the date of its departure in one day, and operators staying outside Ukraine will be able to use UZ fitting platforms at domestic rates.
PJSC “Yuriya” (Cherkassy), producer of dairy products under TM “Voloshkove Pole”, has invested EUR1.6 mln in modernization of production facilities of its enterprises and put into operation a new line for production of glazed cheesecakes, said the general director of the enterprise Andrey Tabalov.
“This is one of the largest investments of the enterprise in 2024 in the amount of EUR 1.6 mln. Lithuanian automated line “PAKMA” will allow to produce additional 4 thousand cheesecakes hourly. It will increase the production capacity of glazed cheesecakes by 40%. This large-scale investment was planned within the framework of modernization of PJSC “Yuria” for 2024 and is a conscious decision in such a difficult time for the country, – he wrote in Facebook.
As reported, the producer of dairy products under TM “Voloshkove Pole” in 2023 invested EUR1.5 million in the installation of the line “Tetrapak” to double the production of ultra-pasteurized milk, which intends to sell on the domestic market and export.
The company posted a UAH 46.773 million net loss in 2023, compared with a net profit of UAH 85.34 million a year earlier. The company’s revenue decreased by 1.35% to UAH 1.6 billion, assets by 1.5 times to UAH 1.048 billion, and debt obligations by 24.7% to UAH 1.279 billion. At the same time the number of personnel increased by 14 people to 913 employees.
Yuriya PJSC is the successor of Cherkassy Municipal Dairy Plant with a design capacity of 25 tons of raw material processing per day.
The company has subsidiaries “Yuriya-2” – a network of branded stores and kiosks in Cherkassy and “Yuriya-trans” – a trucking company, which delivers raw materials and materials for processing, products to retail outlets, as well as provides other transportation services.
The raw material area of the company is Cherkassy, Kirovograd, Poltava, Kyiv and Vinnitsa regions. Milk is collected in more than 200 settlements.
The beneficiaries of the enterprise are Alexander and Andrey Tabalovs.