A large Ukrainian manufacturer of corrugated board – Poninka Cardboard and Paper Mill-Ukraine LLC – in 2021 produced goods worth UAH 2.308 billion, which is 79.3% more than in the same period of 2020.
According to the statistics of the Ukrpapir association provided to Interfax-Ukraine, the mill has thus accelerated the growth rate of this indicator over the same period last year – in January-September it was 75.2%.
In quantity terms, the mill increased production of containerboard (including corrugated paper) by 12.8%, to almost 93,000 tonnes, but reduced production of corrugated boxes from it by 6.5%, to 81.7 million square meters. In addition, paper production decreased by almost 44.5%, to 600 tonnes.
Poninka paper mill (formerly the Poninka Cardboard and Paper Mill), once the largest manufacturer of school exercise books, was founded in the village of Poninka more than 200 years ago. Currently, it has one main production – paper and cardboard, and produces mainly corrugated packaging, as well as wrapping, recycled paper.
In terms of production of corrugated packaging, the mill currently ranks third in Ukraine after the leading manufacturers – Rubizhne and Kyivsky cardboard mills.
The main pipe enterprises of Ukraine in 2021 increased the production of pipes made of ferrous metals, according to operational data, by 15.1% compared to the previous year, to 980,700 tonnes, including 78,800 tonnes produced in December tonnes.
As a source in the government told Interfax-Ukraine, in particular, enterprises of the Ukrtruboprom association last year increased pipe production by 32.6%, to 710,500 tonnes, including 65,800 tonnes produced in December.
At the same time, the source said that after the pipe-rolling production of Interpipe Nyzhniodniprovsky Pipe Rolling Plant formally became part of Interpipe Niko Tube from April 2021, the statistics of pipe production at these enterprises changed. In accordance with the updated statistics, there was no production of pipes at Interpipe Interpipe Nyzhniodniprovsky Pipe Rolling Plant in June-December 2021, while at Interpipe Niko Tube it amounted to 57,000 tonnes last month, and in 2021 it doubled to 592,500 tonnes.
The production of pipes at Interpipe Interpipe Novomoskovsk Pipe Plant over the past year decreased by 24.3%, to 59,400 tonnes (in December it was 6,700 tonnes).
The Dnipropetrovsk Pipe Plant was idle last year, while in 2020 it produced 300 tonnes. Centravis reduced production by 2.2%, to 18,000 tonnes of stainless steel pipes (1,900 tonnes in December).
The Trubostal plant increased its output by 17.6% – up to 2 thousand tonnes of pipes (0.2 thousand tonnes).
Mariupol Illich Iron and Steel Works, which is not part of the Ukrtruboprom association, reduced the production of pipes by 28.7%, to 108,600 tonnes (in December it was 100 tonnes), Kominmet cut output by 1.3%, up to 161,600 tonnes (12,900 tonnes in December).
The Austrian-based Head Group has received permission from the State Inspectorate for Architecture and Urban Planning of Ukraine to start the construction of the Head Vinnytsia plant on the territory of the Winter Sport industrial park, Andriy Ocheretny, the deputy mayor of Vinnytsia, said on Facebook.
“The completion of construction of the plant and commissioning of production facilities is scheduled for December 2022. The company plans to invest about EUR80 million in the creation of production, administrative and storage facilities,” he said.
The deputy mayor clarified that since May 12, 2021, preparatory work on the land plot continued at the site: more than 100,000 cubic meters of fertile soil layer were removed, reinforced concrete supports were installed for laying a cable power line, temporary connection networks from the substation were installed.
According to the project, the building of the plant will consist of production and storage facilities, an administrative building, a sewing workshop. The production building will house workshops for the manufacture of skis, boots and bindings, as well as warehouses for raw materials and finished products.
The total area of production premises after the commissioning of the enterprise in 2023 will be 43,000 square meters.
Ocheretny noted that, as expected, this plant will be one of the largest Head Group plants in the world and will provide jobs for more than 1,200 residents of Vinnytsia.
As reported, the total area of the Winter Sport industrial park is 25 hectares. The start of construction of the plant took place in May 2021.
Head International Holding GmbH manufactures sports equipment for winter sports, tennis and scuba diving. The company’s production facilities are located in Austria, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, China. The company is present in 85 countries around the world.
Since January 2022, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has been coordinating the positions of the chairman of the board (sole executive body), members of the board, chief accountant, chairman and members of the supervisory board of insurance companies from January 2022 in accordance with license terms, the regulator has told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Persons in these positions do not require the appropriate approval before the expiration of their tenure,” the NBU said in a statement.
In addition, the law on insurance from January 1, 2024 introduces separate requirements for the management of the insurer, namely the chairman of the supervisory board, his deputies and members of the supervisory board, the chairman of the board (director general), his deputies and members of the board (directorate), chief accountant. In relation to these persons, as well as the chief risk manager, chief compliance manager, chief internal auditor and responsible actuary of the insurer, qualification requirements for business reputation and professional suitability are established. In respect of the independent director of the insurer, independence requirements are also introduced. Qualification requirements will be determined at the level of the normative legal act of the NBU.
The chief risk manager, chief compliance manager, chief internal auditor, responsible actuary, as well as individual heads of the insurer – the chairman of the board (director general), chief accountant, chairman and members of the supervisory board – will take office after receiving the approval of the National Bank. With regard to other managers, insurers will be able to either obtain approval before they are appointed/elected to a position, or submit documents for approval to the NBU within one month after appointment/election to the position.
In addition, the law on insurance introduces requirements for the collective suitability of the supervisory board and collegiate executive body of the insurer, which will also be effective from January 1, 2024. Collective suitability means that the members of the supervisory board or executive body have the general/cumulative knowledge, skills, professional and managerial experience to the extent necessary to understand all aspects of the insurer’s activities, adequately assess risks, make informed decisions, etc.
The National Bank will establish the requirements and procedure for assessing the collective suitability of the supervisory board and the executive body. The NBU will carry out an appropriate assessment taking into account the size of the insurer, the volumes and types of operations carried out by it, the organizational structure, the risk profile, etc. The regulator also determines the existence of collective suitability when considering the package of documents for obtaining a license. Based on the results of such an assessment, the National Bank will have the right to demand changes in the personal composition of the supervisory board or the executive body.
Ukraine has sufficient resources and capabilities to launch the first hydrogen projects and start exporting hydrogen to Germany by 2024.
President of the Ukrainian Hydrogen Council Oleksandr Repkin said this in a comment to the Green Deal portal, sharing the details of a meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
“Annalena Baerbock is responsible for the entire German climate dialogue in the foreign arena, so the topic of hydrogen is very important for her. At the meeting, we told her that at this stage Ukraine has enough resources and opportunities to launch the first and start exporting hydrogen to Germany projects by 2024,” he said.
Repkin specified that hydrogen will be transported in a mixture with natural gas through the existing gas transmission system.
“We are already ready to transport 10% concentration of hydrogen mixed with natural gas via the GTS. By 2024, subject to modernization, the percentage may be higher. The main thing is to choose an entry point, a place where you can connect to the GTS, and then it will be possible to transport the mixture,” he said.
Earlier, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba also spoke about the plans to start exporting “green” hydrogen to Germany from 2024, but with a caveat “according to the optimistic scenario.”
At the meeting with the head of German diplomacy on January 17, Kuleba once again spoke about Ukraine’s plans to become a key supplier of “green” hydrogen to the EU.
“Ukraine is actively developing renewable energy, in particular, it plans to become a key supplier of “green” hydrogen to the EU. We are strengthening energy partnership with Germany and developing a number of major projects in the production and transportation of “green” hydrogen,” the foreign minister said.
