On November 13, 2025, the first meeting of the Council of Ministers of Trade and Investment of Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan was held in Tashkent.
The event was aimed at strengthening practical cooperation between the countries of the region in the areas of trade, investment, and industrial cooperation, as well as implementing joint initiatives to increase mutual trade and create cooperative production facilities.
Particular attention was paid to the creation of working tools to increase trade turnover between the countries of the region to $20 billion, the formation of joint production sites under the “Made in Central Asia” brand, as well as the involvement of international financial institutions and large investors in the implementation of joint infrastructure and industrial projects.
It was noted that mutual trade between Uzbekistan and the countries of Central Asia is showing steady positive dynamics. While trade turnover amounted to $3.2 billion in 2017, by 2024 it had more than doubled, reaching $6.9 billion. In particular, trade turnover with Kazakhstan is approaching $4 billion, with Kyrgyzstan — $700 million, with Tajikistan — exceeding $570 million, and with Turkmenistan — more than doubling over the past five years to $1.15 billion. Trade with Azerbaijan has also shown significant growth, up 13% since the beginning of the year.
During the meeting, the need for further optimization of customs and border procedures, synchronization of transport and logistics infrastructure, and the creation of industrial hubs capable of uniting the production chains of the countries in the region was also emphasized. Particular attention was paid to issues of industrial cooperation, joint development of raw material and technological potential, and the development of exports of finished products with high added value.
Following the meeting, a joint communiqué was signed, setting out key agreements on deepening economic cooperation, developing cooperation and joint production, and creating new mechanisms for investment interaction.
The Cabinet of Ministers has announced a competition for candidates for the positions of independent members of the supervisory board of NAEK Energoatom, according to the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
“The competition for candidates for the supervisory board of Energoatom announced today is unscheduled. On November 11, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers terminated the powers of the supervisory board ahead of schedule. At the time of this decision, there were two independent members on the board, and the competitive selection of independent candidates for two more vacant positions was ongoing. The new competition will allow the positions that became vacant due to the early termination of the supervisory board to be filled,” the ministry said in a statement on its website.
The relevant order was adopted at a government meeting on Tuesday.
In addition, by protocol decision, the government instructed the Ministry of Economy to submit to the Committee for the Appointment of Heads of Enterprises of Particular Importance to the Economy proposals for candidates for state representatives to the Supervisory Board of Energoatom.
As noted on his Facebook page by the head of the Ministry of Economy, Alexei Sobolev, the ministry will soon submit to this Committee the candidacies of state representatives to form the full composition of the supervisory board of Energoatom.
Earlier, with reference to Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko, it was reported that on Tuesday, November 18, the government decided to announce a competition for positions on the supervisory board of Naftogaz of Ukraine (four independent members – ER).
“The contracts of the current members expire in January. Accordingly, we are launching the competition now in order to approve the new composition of the supervisory body in a timely manner and ensure the continuity of its work. We expect the new composition of the Naftogaz supervisory board to be formed by January 20, 2026,” Sviridenko wrote on Telegram.
On August 15, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers amended the charter of Energoatom, increasing the number of members of the supervisory board from five to seven. Before its dissolution on November 11, following the publicity surrounding the Midas case, the company’s supervisory board consisted of four people: its chairman, Jarek Niewierowicz, and deputy chairman, Michael Elliott Kirst, as well as state representatives Timofey Milovanov and Vitaly Petruk. The third independent member of the supervisory board, Timothy Stone, refused to sign the contract.
On September 15, the government announced a competition to select two independent members of the Energoatom supervisory board by order No. 983-r.
Ukrainian boxer Alexander Usyk has lost his undisputed world champion status after voluntarily relinquishing his WBO belt, the World Boxing Organization said in an official statement.
“The World Boxing Organization (WBO) has announced that it has received official notification from Alexander Usyk’s team regarding the future of the WBO heavyweight championship title. After careful consideration, Usyk has decided to relinquish the title,” the statement on social media platform X said.
WBO President Gustavo Olivieri called Usyk “the champion of champions” in his comment.
“The WBO expresses its deep respect, admiration, and gratitude to Alexander Usyk, the undefeated WBO world champion in two weight classes, who has earned and demonstrated all the rights, privileges, and honors associated with the title of WBO super champion. His career is one of the most outstanding and historic in the modern era of boxing,“ he said.
The WBO emphasized in its statement that the organization’s doors ”will always remain open.“
”We accept and respect his decision to relinquish the WBO heavyweight super champion title. This is not a farewell, but, as his team put it, a respectful pause. The doors of the WBO will always remain open to Alexander Usyk and his team,” the organization said.
Usyk still remains the champion in the WBA, WBC, and IBF categories.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) last week increased the sale of dollars on the interbank market by $124.5m, or 21.6%, to $700.9m, according to statistics on the regulator’s website. According to the NBU, for the first four days of last week, the average daily negative balance of purchase and sale of foreign currency by legal entities increased to $71.3 million from $58.2 million for the same period a week earlier and totaled $285.3 million.
On the market of foreign exchange transactions of households, the negative balance, on the contrary, decreased to $33.4 million on Saturday-Thursday from $43.4 million the week before last, and all days the sale of non-cash currency exceeded its purchase.
The official hryvnia/dollar exchange rate, which started last week at UAH 41.9782/$1, weakened to UAH 42.0641/$1 in three days, but ended the week at UAH 42.0423/$1.
In the cash market, the dollar exchange rate over the past week changed over the trajectory of the official one, and in general, the dollar rose by about 12 kopecks during the week: buying – to UAH 41.86/$1, and selling – to UAH 42.23/$1.
Analysts of the multi-service FinTech platform KYT Group, which is a major player in the cash FX market, noted a gradual depreciation of the hryvnia, but under full control of the National Bank, which is helped by record international reserves and last week’s receipt of another EUR5.9 bln from the EU.
According to their forecast, short-term (1-2 weeks) the hryvnia will be in the base range of 41.8-42.5 UAH/$1 with likely gravitating towards the upper boundary of the forecast.
“Medium-term (2-3 months) – 42.0-42.9 UAH/$1. Now there is every reason to strengthen the dollar in the international market, where positive sentiment reigns because of the understandable easing policy from the Fed. But for Ukraine the main role will be played by such factors as the situation in the energy sector, further possible advances of the RF Armed Forces troops on the territory of the country and stability of financial aid receipts from partners”, – KYT Group believes.
Long-term (6+ months), the company maintains the forecast scenario of hryvnia devaluation. Subject to timely and rhythmic receipt of international aid, they cite as a benchmark range of 43.40-44.60 UAH/$1 until mid-2026, taking into account the current context of the military and political situation in Ukraine.
Source: https://bank.gov.ua/ua/markets
https://interfax.com.ua/news/projects/1120665.html
According to its 2024 results, Dnipropetrovsk Metallurgical Plant (DMZ) named after Comintern (DMZ Kominmet) reduced its net profit by 2.97 times compared to the previous year — to UAH 18.913 million from UAH 56.197 million.
According to the annual financial report available to the Interfax-Ukraine agency, net income for this period decreased by 13.1% to UAH 2 billion 896.250 million.
Undistributed profit at the end of 2024 amounted to UAH 115.316 million.
It is also noted that in the first quarter of 2025, the volume of production and sales amounted to 8-10 thousand tons per month.
DMZ Kominmet LLC was established on the basis of a plant built in 1899 as a Belgian joint-stock company by the Shoduar brothers for the production of roofing, corrugated steel, tableware, and blade steel. The company specializes in the production of steel pipes, metal coating, and consumer goods.
The average number of employees was 559.
According to the plant’s data at the end of 2024, Voskym Dom-2014 LLC (Dnipro) owns a 31.556% stake in the company, Grominal Ltd owns 21.11%, DW Holding Ltd – 23.77%, and Genersys Group Ltd (all three are based in Cyprus) – 23.564%.
According to the annual report, the ultimate beneficial owner (controller) of DMZ Kominmet LLC is Semen Tokarev, a natural person with a 31.556% stake.
The authorized capital of the LLC is UAH 25.5 million.
For the third time, the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” held an exchange auction with the possibility of concluding forward contracts for the first half of 2026 for a period of six months at a fixed price for the purchase of forest products, as a result of which 100% of the volume put up for auction was contracted, the press service of the state-owned enterprise reported.
“Forests of Ukraine” recalled that it put up for auction 465 lots with a volume of 1.4 million cubic meters of forest products (35% of the planned volume of half-yearly timber harvesting for commercial sale) and informed market participants in advance about the volume and structure of the lots.
“Both firewood and roundwood were sold at 100% of the volumes put up for auction,” the statement said.
The company set the starting prices at the auction at the level of the starting prices for the fourth quarter of 2025, which turned out to be significantly lower than the current sales prices. The average selling price for commercial pine in the fourth quarter was UAH 5,900/cubic meter, while the starting price for forward trading was UAH 3,900/cubic meter. Industrial firewood (PV) from coniferous species was sold for UAH 2.3 thousand/cubic meter, while the starting price was UAH 1.3 thousand/cubic meter.
During the auction, commercial pine rose in price to UAH 6.2 thousand/cubic meter, and PV firewood from coniferous species rose to UAH 2.4 thousand/cubic meter. Compared to the general auction in the fourth quarter, beech rose the most in price, to almost UAH 7 thousand/cubic meter (+52%).
The State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” assured that it would ensure the delivery of all timber sold under forward contracts. As of November 17, the fulfillment of forward contracts for the second half of 2025 is 75% and corresponds to the planned indicator.
As for supplying firewood to energy companies, the state-owned enterprise is a regular participant in tender procedures for the purchase of wood for state customers in accordance with the Law “On Public Procurement.”
Lesy Ukrainy has attracted the attention of energy-generating enterprises, as foresters are ready to supply more than 1 million cubic meters of logging residues for their needs.
The state-owned enterprise added that more than 40% of the firewood has already been sold to the population and social facilities at fixed prices for the heating period.
