Ukraine will receive 50 Airbus helicopters in 2022, Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky has said.
“Next year there are very ambitious plans for high-quality equipment and a status of the largest aircraft fleet in Europe. So, we will receive 50 modern French-made Airbus Helicopters,” Monastyrsky wrote on his Facebook page.
He noted that they will build a Situation Monitoring Center, which will analyze satellite thermal images and help eliminate wildfires at an early stage.
According to the minister, all this equipment will ensure the implementation of two important projects – Single Aeromedical Space and European Fire Safety Hub.
Monastyrsky explained that Single Aeromedical Space will allow Ukraine to be covered with helicopter bases for air evacuation and transportation of donor biomaterials. The European Fire Safety Hub will help prevent up to 90% of wildfires through the use of fire-fighting aircraft manufactured by Antonov State Enterprise.
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The Verkhovna Rada has passed a law on amending some laws regarding transparency in the extractive industries (bill No. 3790 of July 3, 2020).
Some 344 MPs voted for the legislative initiative by a number of MPs from various factions, in particular Andriy Zhupanyn and Ostap Shypailo (the Servant of the People faction).
The law was passed without discussion.
During the meeting, Zhupanyn urged to vote for the document, since it must be adopted by the beginning of next year. “We have already delayed the adoption of this law for a year. It is critically important to pass it before January 1,” he said.
As reported, according to an explanatory note to the bill, its main goal is to improve the provisions of law No. 2545-VIII dated September 18, 2018 on ensuring transparency in the extractive industries and the introduction of new requirements of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which Ukraine joined in 2013.
It is noted that the need to adopt amendments is caused by the introduction by the EITI Board of new standards in June 2019, in particular regarding the display of a gender aspect in the activities of companies, the provision of information on the impact of such activities on the environment, as well as the full disclosure of contracts for the use of subsoil resources concluded with the state starting from January 1, 2021.
Thus, in particular, a procedure for disclosing information on subsoil use is being clarified, including disclosing reports (consolidated reports) on payments to the state and information on concluded contracts, as well as production sharing agreements are made public after their state registration.
In addition, reporting for the amount of payments for carbon dioxide emissions is being introduced, and statements on the number of employees will have to be submitted with the determination of the number of employees of each sex. In addition, gender quotas are determined when forming the composition of the multilateral team for the EITI implementation.
At the same time, the terminology is being improved, the range of business entities subject to reporting is being clarified, measures are being determined to accelerate the preparation of an electronic reporting system for the submission and analysis of reports in the extractive industries, and the issue of companies’ liability for false information is resolved.
If the government makes a final decision on privatization of PrivatBank, it can be sold in 2024 for a very large sum, the NV newspaper reports, citing Chairman of PrivatBank’s Board Gerhard Boesch.
“We plan to carry out privatization if the shareholder finally decides to do so in 2024. It is not far off. Time is running very fast. Regarding the price, I think it would be too early and unprofessional to give a public assessment right now,” Boesch said at the Ukraine and World 2022 gala event organized by the NV media holding on Thursday evening.
In his opinion, given the bank’s performance in recent years, as well as a plan for the next three years, “this is an asset that will have a very high selling price.”
Ukraine and Croatia have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Council of Exporters and Investors, Ukrainian Ambassador to Croatia Vasyl Kyrylych has said.
“Today we have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Council of Exporters and Investors under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Croatian Economic Chamber,” Kyrylych wrote on his Twitter on Thursday evening.
The next stage of the countries, he said, is expected to be a series of joint projects.
A rise in prices in the primary and secondary housing markets in Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv will not exceed 5-7% in the first half of 2022, if a controlled pandemic situation and relative economic stability are maintained.
This forecast was voiced to Interfax-Ukraine by President of the Association of Real Estate Specialists (Realtors) of Ukraine Yuriy Pita.
“In the first quarter of 2022, price stability will remain in the primary housing market in the largest Ukrainian cities, associated with a decrease in demand which is observed since the second half of September 2021. A slight price increase should be expected with the onset of the active season. In the period from April to June, inclusive, a price per square meter in the primary market of Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa may increase by an average of 7%, and in Kharkiv and Dnipro a price increase will be about 5%,” Pita said.
He noted that in the first half of 2022, more than 70% of existing demand will be concentrated on objects of a comfort class (new housing format), which will affect the pricing policy of developers.
According to him, the greatest rise in prices is expected in new buildings under construction up to one year in the most demanded segments, mainly a comfort class, new objects (comfort +) and residential complexes of a business category. At the same time, a cost of economy-class housing in 90% of objects under construction will hardly change – a price growth will not exceed 3%.
“In 2022, the process of reorientation of demand for higher quality properties, which by their characteristics can satisfy the most discerning buyer, will continue. Accordingly, this will affect the pricing policy,” he said.
According to Yuriy Pita, in the first half of next year, a price situation will develop in the secondary housing market in accordance with the demand conjuncture. However, according to the specialist, an average price increase in Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv is possible only within 5% for the most demanded apartments with an area of 35-50 square meters.
By early December, demand in the secondary housing market of Ukraine’s largest cities was 65% concentrated in the segment of small-sized apartments, predominantly Soviet-built. It is in this segment that a slight increase in prices is possible in the first half of 2022, the expert said.
In his opinion, in the first three months of 2022, given the epidemic situation in the country, price stability will be observed in the largest cities.
“Changes in a cost of apartments in the secondary market may be associated with an increase in demand. If the number of potential buyers increases by at least 10%, prices in the secondary market may increase within 5%,” Yuriy Pita said.
In the segment of rental housing in the first quarter of 2022, according to the expert, prices will remain at the level of October 2021.
“The revival in the rental segment is possible not earlier than March-April. However, a cost of renting apartments will be formed taking into account the level of demand,” Yuriy Pita said.
In his opinion, if the situation in Ukraine remains relatively stable from April to June, an increase in demand in the apartment rental segment is possible within 10-15%, which will affect the price environment.
According to him, a price situation in the segments of land plots for construction and private houses in the suburbs of Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv will be quite stable in the next six months.
In general, the expert believes that in the first half of 2022, the real estate market is not threatened by higher prices or any crisis phenomena that can “collapse” it. “In the next six months, a price situation in the real estate market will be predictable, and supply and demand will be in balance,” Yuriy Pita summed up.
