In 2024, IMC Agro Holding will invest $12 million in grain carriers, Chairman of the Board of Directors Alex Lissitsa said in an interview with German radio deutschlandfunk.de.
“Things are much better now, especially because we have finally returned (to the de-occupied territories where the agricultural holding operates – IF-U). We are able to export. It is a huge advantage for us to export across the western border by rail. It used to be very difficult and expensive for us. Now everything is going well,” he said.
According to Lissitsa, the normalization of IMC’s operations after the de-occupation of the territories and the resumption of exports allowed the agricultural holding to resume investments in 2024.
“Now we have $12 million in investments in grain carriers (Pfeidewagen). We also have a number of other investments planned. Therefore, things are much better now than two years ago,” said the Chairman of the Board of Directors of IMC.
Commenting on the publication of his book “My Wild Nation. Ukraine on the Road to Freedom”, Mr. Lissitsa explained that the agricultural holding is currently working with the government to identify priorities for the economic recovery of Ukraine in the next few years.
He noted that only half of the decisions made under the Ukraine Facility program have been implemented. The issue is the need to take advantage of the opportunities in the agricultural sector during Ukraine’s integration into the European Union.
“There are many things that are a bit painful for us. For example, the use of all kinds of pesticides, the use of drones, and so on, where Ukrainian agriculture has already had a significant advantage. I think that for many people in Ukraine, this (integration – IF-U) will be painful, but nothing more. It is feasible. After all, we want it,” Lissitsa assured.
According to him, Ukraine’s “savagery” is not chaos or uncontrollability.
It is the unwavering will of the Ukrainian people to freedom and self-determination on the path to EU membership.
Speaking about the upcoming Independence Day, which will be celebrated for the third time during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lissitsa clarified that there will be no celebrations in the country. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already initiated a meeting with farmers next week to discuss the current situation in the agricultural sector.
Vacancy of shopping and entertainment centers in Kiev decreased from 16.3% in 2023 to 15.2% at the end of the first half of 2024, said the head of legal consulting department of UTG Konstantin Oleynik.
“At the end of last year, about 21.4% of space was de facto vacant, due to the closure of foreign department stores (IKEA, Inditex, H&M and others). The actual vacancy rate was 16.3%. Thanks to the opening of most foreign operators, the vacancy gap with actually closed stores has narrowed,” he said.
According to UTG research, the vacancy rate is higher in regional (18.4%) and district (17%) shopping centers, lower in specialized (9.8%) and district (7%) shopping centers.
The expert noted the trend of decreasing effective demand of the population. The growth of household expenditures on housing and utilities services and CP payment continues (at the end of 2023 this category was 18.8% and with the growth of electricity tariffs there is further growth), health care (4.7%), transportation (4.8%), communication (4.3%), education (3.6%). Cumulatively, these categories drain 36.1% from the family budget. Food and alcohol accumulate 43.4% of expenditures. The share of retail network (clothing and footwear, electronics, household goods, cafes and restaurants, entertainment, other goods) in the structure of expenditures is only 16.0% per family ($73.4 or 2,684.5 UAH per month). Inflation and rapid price growth lead to a reduction in individual savings (about 4.4% in 2023).
In general, general savings and cost rationalization are recorded, for the mall market this entails a decrease in attendance and adjustment of rental rates. Compared to pre-war rates, rates for some product groups have halved or more.
“Food supermarkets have become one of the few operators able to generate sustainable footfall and pay moderately high rental rates ($10-20/sq. m in August 2024), while most department stores, entertainment (cinemas, DDCs), fitness centers are aiming for a minimum fixed payment (around $1/sqm) with an additional RTO (fixed payments of $2 to $12/sqm prevailed before the war), shifting the risk to the developer,” Oleynik reported.
According to UTG research, taking into account the current income level of the population, solvent demand is able to ensure successful functioning for 2 million 313 thousand sq. m. in the capital, and in the second quarter of 2024 there were already 2 million 457 thousand sq. m. in operation.
Competition continues to intensify: large shopping centers with a total area of 250 thousand square meters are declared for opening in 2024-2025. Among them are Ocean Mall (GLA 110 thousand sq. m), Lukiyanivka (47 thousand sq. m), White Lines shopping mall (28 thousand sq. m), New Ray (34.5 thousand sq. m), April Mall (36.5 thousand sq. m), BalticSky (20 thousand sq. m). There is a possibility that most of the announced openings may be postponed to a later period.
According to Oleinik’s estimation, the commissioning of the declared projects will bring about a surplus of retail space and gradual redistribution of consumer flows between objects, vacancy growth and downward correction of rental rates. At the existing level of incomes and expenditures of the population, the vacancy rate may reach 17% in 2025.
UTG was established in 2001. It has developed more than 1300 real estate concepts. During the years of work with the company’s participation 4.7 million square meters of commercial space in Ukraine have been leased out.
KYIV, REAL ESTATE, UTG, Vacancy Shopping and Entertainment Center
The USAID Business Sustainability Investment Project has awarded a second grant of $2.76 million to OTP Bank (Kyiv) to expand access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), the bank’s website reports.
“More than 100 companies have already been financed under the first tranche. The new tranche of $2.76 million will bring the total grant amount to $4 million. The funds will be used to compensate for part of the interest rate for borrowing companies,” the website says.
It is noted that the grant program provides for business lending at an interest rate of 9.9% per annum in the first year of the loan agreement, and the difference with the market rate will be compensated by grant funds.
In the second year and thereafter, clients are obliged to pay interest on the use of credit funds at the rate of UIRD3m+5% per annum.
Under the terms of the program, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises with annual revenues of up to EUR 50 million and up to 250 employees belonging to one of the following target groups: relocated or affected by hostilities, companies in critical industries, and companies with female co-owners can receive financing on such terms.
The maximum loan amount that a company or a united group of companies can apply for is UAH 20 million, and the minimum is UAH 1 million.
“The grant program also applies to factoring agreements, under which the bank’s clients can receive up to 90% of the cost of supplies in the amount of UAH 2 million to UAH 20 million. Special conditions will apply to agricultural producers if they use the funds received under the grant program to purchase products from OTP Agro Factory’s partners,” the press release said.
The press service reminded that during the first stage of the program, which started in 2023, more than 100 Ukrainian enterprises were provided with financing.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), as of July 1, 2024, OTP Bank ranked 11th (UAH 114.55 billion) in terms of total assets among 62 banks in the country. The financial institution’s net profit for 2023 amounted to UAH 3.71 billion.
Germany, together with the G7 countries, will provide Ukraine with a 50 billion euro loan, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday.
“Germany is and remains the strongest supporter of Ukraine in Europe. And we are continuing our support with a €50 billion loan that we are launching with the G7. This will allow Ukraine to buy weapons on a massive scale. It can build on this,” the Federal Chancellor wrote on the social network X.
As reported earlier, G7 leaders approved an agreement to transfer $50 billion of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.
Dynamics of reserves of Ukraine from 2012 to 2024, mln USD
Source: Open4Business.com.ua
Ukraine will strengthen its diplomatic presence in the Asian space, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
“The entire Asian space and the Pacific Ocean region is now one of the centers of events where it is decided what the next decades will be like. Ukraine has its own view of global development, and it should be exclusively peaceful development within the framework of a rules-based world order,” Zelensky said at a meeting of heads of Ukraine’s foreign diplomatic missions entitled ‘Military Diplomacy: Resilience, Weapons, Victory’ on Monday.
He noted that Ukraine is ready to join the relevant processes as a security donor and defender of the international order. “We will strengthen our diplomatic presence in the Asian space,” the Ukrainian president said.
Zelenskyy also emphasized the importance of strengthening ties with Japan. “Japan. We have achieved a true strategic partnership and we must make this model of relations exemplary,” the president said.
Zelenskyy also outlined other areas of Ukraine’s international diplomatic efforts. “The Euro-Atlantic – every representative of Ukraine must work to strengthen understanding: NATO will be complete only with Ukraine as a member,” he said.
According to Zelenskyy, the negotiation process with the European Union “should be exactly as dynamic as Ukraine needs it to be.”
As for the Black Sea region: “We have to work with all partners so that it is a region free from the Russian military threat. You must strengthen our initiatives such as Grain from Ukraine, the Crimean Platform, and bilateral cooperation in the region.”
The Head of State also emphasized the importance of a strong partnership with African countries, with those who respect international law. “Ukraine needs economic cooperation with Africa, security cooperation, as well as direct diplomatic work, in particular in the format of the Ukraine-Africa forum to be held.”
The President also noted good results in cooperation with such countries as Chile and Argentina, as well as with the Caribbean states. “We have to increase cooperation, and the task of the relevant ambassadors and employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is to implement our initiative to hold the Ukraine-Latin America summit,” the President said.
