Velta US Inc (the United States), the parent company of Production and Commercial Company Velta LLC with assets for the extraction of titanium containing ores in Novomyrhorod, Kirovohrad region, from January 31 this year began a series of multi-round negotiations with American partners to develop a roadmap for interaction between the Ukrainian supplier of titanium raw materials and U.S. companies and institutions that are consumers of titanium.
In 2022, supplies to the North American market will account for 65% of Velta’s total production, according to a company press release. Such growth is dictated by the shortage of high-quality titanium raw materials in the United States, as well as the high level of American interest in Ukrainian titanium, which is fixed in the law on the budget for national defense.
It is especially important for Velta to start negotiations with American partners right now, Matthew Murray, a member of the advisory board of Velta US inc. and moderator of the talks, believes.
National Defense Authorization Act No. 6505 for Fiscal Year 2022 requires the U.S. Department of State within 180 days to draw up a report on reducing America’s dependence on titanium supplies from China and Russia, including by increasing supplies from Ukraine, the press release says.
“We are firmly convinced that the new stage of negotiations will help find new points of intersection between Velta and our American partners in the titanium industry,” Andriy Brodsky, the CEO of Velta, stated.
As reported, Velta US Inc intends to increase supplies of ilmenite concentrate to the U.S. by 15-23% in 2022. At the same time, in January, Velta held a meeting of the advisory board, formed in October 2021, to discuss further expanding the company’s presence in the U.S. market, taking into account the analysis of signed contracts for 2022.
Ukraine and Turkey will reach an agreement on signing an agreement on a free trade area (FTA) in the next two days, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“We are getting ready to give a powerful economic signal, to sign an FTA agreement with Turkey already within these two days. Our groups are working. I am sure that we will agree,” he said, speaking at the Verkhovna Rada on Tuesday.
JSC Ukrzaliznytsia transported 26.118 million tonnes of cargo in January 2022, which is 18% more than in January 2021 (22.093 million tonnes).
Oleksandr Kamyshin, the head of the company board, said on Telegram this indicator of cargo transportation is also higher than in January 2020 (23.915 million tonnes) and January 2019 (24.553 million tonnes).
According to him, the average daily cargo load in January 2022 increased by 15% compared to January 2021 (604,000 tonnes) – up to 694,000 tonnes, which is also higher than the figures for the same period in 2020 (662,000 tonnes), 2019 (656,000 tonnes) and 2018 (691,000 tonnes).
Cargo turnover in January of this year increased by 32% compared to January 2021 (11.994 billion tonne-kilometers) – up to 15.813 billion tonne-kilometers, which is also higher than in January 2020 (12.997 billion tonne-kilometers) and January 2019 (14.906 billion tonne-kilometers).
Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of the international vertically integrated mining and metallurgical group Metinvest, in 2021 increased payment of taxes by 2.4 times compared to the previous year, to UAH 52.7 billion.
According to preliminary data for 2021 released by the company, Metinvest Group, taking into account associated companies and joint ventures, transferred UAH 52.7 billion in taxes and fees to the budgets of all levels in Ukraine in 2021, which is 2.4 times more than in 2020.
At the same time, it is clarified that traditionally the largest payment is income tax. Last year, the Ukrainian enterprises of Metinvest, together with associates and joint ventures, replenished the state and local budgets by almost UAH 33 billion, which is more than six times higher than the year before last.
The second largest amount of payments is the social security tax, the payments of which in 2021 increased by 10% compared to 2020, to UAH 5.7 billion.
The third largest payment is personal income tax. Last year, Metinvest Group, together with associated and joint ventures, paid UAH 5.2 billion to the treasury of Ukraine, which is 11% more than similar payments in 2020.
At the same time, payment for the use of subsoil increased by a third compared to the year before last, to UAH 2.9 billion.
Significant sources of filling the state and local budgets in Ukraine in 2021 were also the environmental tax – UAH 894 million and land fees – UAH 857 million.
“The amount of taxes paid by Metinvest hit a record high last year. This was facilitated by a favorable market situation and improvement in the company’s operating efficiency. As one of the country’s largest taxpayers, we are pleased to do our part to support the country’s economy and the health and well-being of Ukrainians during the coronavirus pandemic,” Yuriy Ryzhenkov, Chief Executive Officer of Metinvest Group, said.
The volume of investments in real estate in Kyiv amounted to the equivalent of $33 million in January 2022, which is 35% less than in December 2021, but 25% higher than in January 2021, First Realty Group told Interfax-Ukraine.
“The level of capitalization was affected by the long New Year holidays. At the same time, we are seeing a trend of changing the portrait of the buyer – today the greatest demand is for objects in the medium and high price segments,” Olena Biberova, the CEO of Blagovist, said.
According to Blagovist, in January 2022, the segment up to $50,000 took a share of 9% of the total number of transactions. In this category, mainly one- and two-room apartments were purchased, most of all in Dniprovsky and Desniansky districts of the capital. Transactions with apartments accounted for the bulk of the share.
In the segment from $50,000 to $100,000, some 37% of operations in January were completed, mostly apartments in residential areas of Kyiv.
The price category from $100,000 to $250,000d became the most massive in January, it gave 41% of transactions. Here two- and three-room apartments in Solomiansky, Darnytsky, Pechersky districts of Kyiv prevail.
The price category from $250,000 in January was represented by 13% of the total volume of transactions.
Blagovist real estate agency, founded in 1993, is part of First Realty Group corporation. Currently, there are eight offices of the agency in Kyiv, with which about 500 professional real estate consultants cooperate.
Since Sunday, January 30, Ukraine has been included in the list of high-risk countries for Germany, the Ukrainian Embassy in Germany said. “This means that Ukrainian citizens are required to comply with the requirements for electronic registration and quarantine. For example, travelers from Ukraine must register at www.einreiseanmeldung.de and have a confirmation of registration before arriving in Germany,” the Ukrainian embassy said in a Facebook statement on Sunday.
If you enter Germany with a previous stay in a high-risk area or in an area with different strains of coronavirus during the last ten days, you must go directly to the destination immediately after entering Germany, to carry out home isolation (quarantine).
The embassy explained that after staying in the high-risk zone, visitors must carry out home isolation for ten days, after staying in the zone with different strains of coronavirus – 14 days. During the quarantine it is not allowed to leave the house or apartment and receive guests.
“Fully vaccinated citizens of Ukraine can enter Germany without urgent need. The above general rules of entry apply to this category of persons. Vaccination must be performed with one of the vaccines listed on the website of the Paul Ehrlich Institute. Vaccination with the last required dose must be at least 14 days before entry,” the embassy said.
More information can be found on the website of the Federal Interior Ministry.
Unvaccinated citizens of Ukraine can enter Germany, if necessary, by providing either a negative test result or a certificate of recovery. The list of relevant conditions is posted on the website of the Federal Minister of the Interior.
This requirement applies to persons over six years of age.
“The COVID-19 test (antigen test or PCR test) must be completed a maximum of 48 hours before the (scheduled) time of entry. In case of arrival by transport of the carrier company (for example, airline), the PCR test is allowed to pass at least 48 hours before (planned) moment of the beginning of transportation (for example, time of departure); the antigen test is also allowed to take place a maximum of 48 hours before the (scheduled) start of transportation, if it is carried out by the carrier,” the statement said.
However, if the trip is planned by plane, it is recommended to follow the requirements of individual airlines.
