The presentation of the Olena Zelenska Foundation, wife of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, took place at a charity evening in New York at the venue presented by the Metropolitan Opera.
As reported on the website of the head of the Ukrainian state on Friday, the Foundation’s primary goal is to restore Ukraine’s human capital “so that every Ukrainian feels physically and mentally healthy, protected, and able to exercise their right to education, work, and build a future in Ukraine.”
“Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, we have managed to do a lot. We have organised 20 convoys of life, which made it possible to evacuate more than 550 children with cancer to hospitals in Europe, the USA and Canada. We hosted the First Ladies and Gentlemen Summit to raise money and purchase more than 80 ambulances. We evacuated children from orphanages for their temporary stay abroad. We provided humanitarian aid to family-type orphanages. But every day brings more and more requests and needs. More funding is needed. That is why I am creating the Foundation. The Foundation will make it possible to significantly scale assistance to people and provide proper treatment and decent education to everyone who needs it,” Olena Zelenska said.
The Foundation has three key directions: medicine, education and humanitarian aid. Within these areas, it will provide targeted assistance, invest in reconstructing preschool and school education institutions, polyclinics and outpatient clinics, and provide grants for training and scientific developments. For anyone interested in learning more about the Foundation, please visit zelenskafoundation.org for more information.
“The war goes on, but so does life. It paves its way to recovery even during the war. The task of the Foundation is to help life win. And for this, we need hospitals, schools, and education,” Olena Zelenska said.
The First Lady noted that global political and business leaders gathered this week for the 77th UN General Assembly in New York. They also became the guests of the charity evening on the occasion of the Foundation presentation. In particular, the event was attended by: former US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom James Cleverly, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York Peter Gelb, American TV host and actor Jimmy Fallon, actor Matt Damon, actress Brooke Shields, as well as a wide circle of diplomats and businessmen. All guests of the charity evening on the occasion of the Foundation presentation could contribute to the reconstruction projects in Ukraine.
The President of Ukraine joined the charity evening remotely from Kyiv. “We are fighting for freedom and protecting our people. We are doing everything possible to engage our friends – friends of freedom – worldwide who are willing to contribute to our struggle,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The euro and the pound sterling fell to multi-year lows against the US dollar in trading on Friday.
The ICE-calculated index showing the dynamics of the dollar against six currencies (the euro, the Swiss franc, the yen, the Canadian dollar, the pound sterling and the Swedish krona) soared to a record level, exceeding 112 points.
As of 15:10 Moscow time, it adds 0.78%, the broader WSJ Dollar Index – 0.74%.
The euro/dollar pair is trading at $0.9754 compared to $0.9838 at the close of the previous session. During the session, the euro exchange rate updated the minimum since 2002, dropping to $0.9737.
The pound sterling, meanwhile, hit a new low since 1985 against the dollar, dropping to $1.1020. By 15:10 Moscow time, the pound exchange rate is $1.1062.
The US currency is supported both by expectations of further tightening of the Federal Reserve System (Fed) policy, and by a general increase in demand for “safe haven” assets in the face of growing geopolitical tensions and forecasts of a global recession.
The euro remains under serious pressure due to growing fears of a protracted war on the territory of Ukraine after the announcement of partial mobilization in Russia, Market Watch notes.
The Eurozone Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 48.2 in September from 48.9 in August, according to preliminary data from S&P Global. The index value indicates a decline in activity in the region for the third month in a row.
The Fed’s hawkish statements have prepared investors for a long cycle of rate hikes in the US, said Thomas Flury, an economist at UBS Global Wealth Management. “Given forecasts of a recession in Europe as a result of the intensifying energy crisis, the euro against the dollar will continue to decline.”
Meanwhile, Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwazi Kwarteng, presented the government’s new plan to the House of Commons on Friday, which would see massive tax cuts to support the ailing economy. The British Debt Management Office (DBO) raised its estimate of the state budget’s borrowing needs for the current fiscal year by almost 1.5 times after the tax cut announced on Friday.
The dollar rose to 142.73 yen against the yen from 142.37 yen at market close on Thursday.
The US dollar against the yuan rose 0.6% to 7.1193 yuan. During the session, it rose to the level of 7.1173 yuan, which is 1.8% higher than the reference rate set by the Chinese Central Bank on Friday. The People’s Bank of China allows exchange rate fluctuations of 2% from the reference in one direction or another. A deviation of more than 1.9% was last recorded in August 2015.
Cyprus has issued a temporary certificate of continuation of activity to the parent company of Astarta agro-industrial holding Astarta Holding N.V, certifying its registration as a company temporarily operating in the Republic of Cyprus under the name Astarta Holding PLC.
As the holding reported on the Warsaw Stock Exchange on Thursday evening, the corresponding certificate was issued to the company on September 16 by the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry of the Republic of Cyprus.
It is specified that Astarta received a temporary certificate of registration in Cyprus as part of the ongoing process of its cross-border migration to the jurisdiction of Cyprus from the Dutch jurisdiction.
“The migration has taken effect, which means that the company was temporarily registered in Cyprus under the name Astarta Holding PLC, the seat of the Company was transferred from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Nicosia (Cyprus). The company lost its legal address in the Netherlands and began its activities under the name Astarta Holding PLC,” the holding said in an exchange message.
At the same time, the formal completion of the legal migration will occur after Astarta receives the final certificate of continuation of its activities, for which it needs to provide evidence of the official transfer of registration from the Dutch Commercial Register (Handelsregister) to the Companies Registry in Cyprus within 6 months after receiving the temporary certificate of registration .
According to the report, the change of jurisdiction of Astarta took place without dissolution of the company, termination of its existence or reincorporation, its shares were not replaced by new shares and remain listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Also, migration does not affect the voting rights and the right to profit of the company’s shareholders.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It includes six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand heads of cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globino (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.
In 2021, the agricultural holding increased its net profit by 14 times compared to 2020 – up to EUR122.5 million, EBITDA – by 1.8 times, up to EUR201.5 million. Its revenue increased by 18.2% – up to EUR491.35 million, a third of which (EUR170 million) was generated by the production and sale of sugar.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) from the World Bank Group will enter the capital of a new fund managed by Horizon Capital – Horizon Capital Growth Fund IV (HCGF IV) with a contribution of $30 million, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) – with a contribution of $50 million.
According to the information on the corporation’s website, the project has been approved and the relevant documents are awaiting signing, this will be the first IFC investment in Ukraine since the start of a full-scale war that began in February 2022.
The EBRD clarified that its board of directors approved entry into HCGF IV on 6 September.
The target size of the new fund is $250 million. IFC specifies that the fund will invest primarily in fast-growing technology and export-oriented mid-cap companies operating in Ukraine and Moldova and competitive in the global market.
The fund is expected to invest $10-30 million to acquire minority stakes in 10-15 mid-cap companies worth $50-150 million.
According to the materials, HCGF IV is the successor to Emerging Europe Growth Fund III (EEGF III, 2017) and will follow a similar investment strategy focused on IT services and products, as well as e-commerce, innovative consumer products and fintech.
IFC recalls that it invested in EEGF III and EEGF II (2008), while the EBRD was an investor in EEGF III and EEGF II, as well as HCGF II.
IFC’s participation in the fund with equity capital, in an environment where the fund will not be able to raise this money in the market after the start of the war, will be critical to achieving the minimum first close of $100 million, and IFC’s continued participation will allow it to reach the final size of $250 million, the report says.
“This is a landmark event – despite the war, IFC decides to allocate money for investments in Ukraine. This should be a positive signal for other potential investors: you can and should start investing in the Ukrainian economy now,” the First Vice President commented on the IFC decision. Prime Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko.
According to the Ministry of Economy, the German Investment and Development Corporation (DEG), the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM), the Dutch Financial Company for Emerging Markets (FMO), the Western NIS Enterprise Fund, the Rockefeller Foundation are also planning to join the HCGF IV fund. and others.
Horizon Capital is a large investment company that manages five private equity funds (more than 40 institutional investors) with assets of $1.1 billion, including WNISEF (with a capital of $150 million), Emerging Europe Growth Fund (EEGF, $132 million), EEGF II ($370 million) and EEGF III ($200 million), as well as HCGF II ($258.3 million). The resources of these funds are invested in projects in Ukraine and Moldova.
The company currently has two founding partners, CEO Lenna Koszarna and head of investment committee Jeffrey Neal. The company’s offices are located in Kyiv and Chicago.
New York again took first place in the list of the world’s largest financial centers, according to a review by the financial consulting company Z/Yen Group Ltd., which calculates the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI).
New York overtook London in the rankings four years ago and has not given up the lead since. Compared to the previous version of the rankings released in March, New York has gained 1 point to lead with 760, while London has added five points to 731.
Singapore closes the top three, moving Hong Kong to fourth place and approaching London by five points. San Francisco is fifth, Shanghai is sixth, Los Angeles is seventh, Beijing is eighth, and Shenzhen is ninth. Closes the top ten Paris.
Sydney soared 10 places at once and took 13th place, Berlin won back 16 positions and is now in 26th place.
The sharpest drop in the index was demonstrated by Jakarta, which rolled back 26 positions at once, to 95th place. Among the leaders, Tokyo disappointed, dropping seven lines to 16th place.
Moscow moved from 51st position to 73rd, St. Petersburg lost 17 places and dropped to 114th line due to the sanctions imposed against Russia. Moscow has given way ahead to such financial centers of Eastern Europe and Central Asia as Prague, Warsaw and Nur-Sultan.
In response to the question of which financial centers will increase their influence in the next two or three years, the respondents mentioned Seoul, Singapore and Gujrat most often.
The World Financial Centers Index was first published in 2007 and is updated every six months (the current issue is the 32nd in a row). The latest rating was compiled on the basis of a survey of more than 11.9 thousand respondents.
Prometey Group has bought 5 new DAF grain trucks with Wielton semi-trailers, thanks to which its truck fleet has expanded to 45 units, follows from a press release from the grain trader on Friday.
It is specified that the next delivery of 10 tractors with semi-trailers will take place in the first ten days of October. In total, by the end of the year, the group of companies plans to increase the fleet of grain carriers to 100 units.
“An appropriate strategy for the development of transport logistics will become a competitive advantage and will reduce the group’s logistics costs. In addition, in connection with the war, the issue of mobility of any company is more than relevant. The Grain Corridor partially reoriented logistics routes leading to the western border of Ukraine to the south , but it cannot be said that this change will lead to a significant reduction in the need for trucks,” the grain trader specified in a press release.
As reported, in June Prometey announced its intention to expand its fleet of cargo grain carriers to 100 units by the end of 2022. Also in June, the grain trader signed an agreement with the state-owned Ukrgasbank to receive UAH 450 million in financing for a sowing campaign and trading activities in agricultural products.
In August, the group of companies received the first batch of 19 new MAN TGX tractors coupled with Wielton semi-trailers.
GC “Prometey” provides services for the storage, processing and logistics of grain and leguminous crops on the basis of 29 elevators in Mykolaiv, Kirovograd, Kyiv, Khmelnytsky, Zaporozhye, Sumy, Odessa, Kherson and Dnepropetrovsk regions.
At the end of 2021, the group of companies planned to receive $45 million in EBITDA, while in 2020 this figure reached $32.6 million, and in 2019 – $30.5 million.
