Ferrexpo mining group with assets in Ukraine has appointed Natalia Polischuk, a member of the advisory board of the Dobrobut network of private medical clinics in Ukraine, as independent non-executive director to the Group’s Board of Directors.
According to the company’s press release on Thursday, Polischuk is an economist based in Kyiv, Ukraine, with over 25 years of experience working in the finance sector in both Ukraine and more widely in Eastern Europe, with a number of senior roles at private equity funds in the region, as well as directorships.
Most recently, Polischuk spent seven years heading up the Ukraine office of Advent International, a global private equity firm, developing transactions for the firm’s $1 billion fund focused on Central and Eastern Europe.
Since 2018, Polischuk has served on the Advisory Board of Dobrobut (Ukraine), a private healthcare clinic network provider in Ukraine, and until 2020 she was also a board member and treasurer of Lycée Français Anne de Kyiv, a public co-educational international day school in Kyiv. In recent years, Polischuk has acted as an independent advisor on a number of M&A and due diligence projects in Ukraine.
Polischuk holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School, Boston, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Kyiv (Ukraine).
Chair of Ferrexpo Lucio Genovese pointed to Polischuk’s rich financial experience, as well as a strong understanding of the business landscape within Ukraine.
“Following the appointment of Polischuk, the Group’s Board will comprise eight directors, three of which are female, with this appointment also increasing the Group’s number of independent directors to five,” Genovese said.
Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine. According to the company’s presentation, as of October 31, 2020, Fevamotinico S.a.r.l., controlled by Kostiantyn Zhevaho, owns 50% of Ferrexpo, BlackRock holds 4%, Schroders – 4%, Acadian – 3% and M&G also 3%.
Ferrexpo owns 100% of shares in Poltava Mining, 100% in Yeristovo Mining and 99.9% in Belanovo Mining.
Ukraine has introduced a quota for the export of precious metal scrap and waste for 2022 in the amount of 2 tonnes (in terms of the mass of pure precious metal).
The corresponding resolution was adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers at a meeting on Wednesday.
As reported, since 2013, Ukraine has banned (introduced zero quotas) on the export of gold and silver in raw or semi-processed form or in powder form. In addition, a zero quota was set for the export of precious metal scrap and waste. For 2022, the ban on the export of gold and silver (except for bank metals) in the form of a zero quota has been retained.
At the same time, in 2012, the export quota for unprocessed silver was 1,000 kg, gold – 80 kg, waste and scrap of precious metals – 500 kg.
Prosecutors of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), based on the materials of the pretrial investigation of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), decided to complete the pretrial investigation and open case file on the seizure of the Mezhyhirya residence by former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych.
“In 2002-2013, the former president, together with his son, abusing his official position, illegally took possession of a land plot on the territory of the Vyshgorodsky district and a complex of structures located on this site, namely the Puscha-Vodytsia recreation complex of the Mezhyhirya tract and house No.123a on Mezhyhirska Street in the village of Novi Petrivtsi. The damage to the state exceeds UAH 540 million,” the SAPO press service said.
The actions of the former president, whose name is not named in the statement, are qualified under Part 5 of Article 191 (misappropriation, embezzlement of property or taking possession of it through abuse of office), Part 3 of Article 209 (legalization of property obtained by criminal means), Part 3 of Article 209 (legalization of property obtained by criminal means), Part 5 of Article 368 (bribery) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, his son under Part 5 of Article 191 and Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code.
The SAPO said the specified criminal proceedings were transferred from the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) to NABU in December 2019. On August 25, 2021, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) allowed an in absentia investigation into the former president and his son. This court decision made it possible to complete the pretrial investigation against the suspects who have been hiding for seven years on the territory of the state recognized by the Verkhovna Rada as the aggressor state. In October 2021, HACC chose a measure of restraint for the indicated suspects in the form of detention.
The Mezhyhirya property complex was seized and subsequently transferred by a court decision to the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA).
“As of today, the materials of the criminal proceedings are open to the suspects in the case and their defenders for familiarization. After familiarization, the indictment will be sent to the High Anti-Corruption Court for consideration on the merits,” the SAPO said.
The Kyivstar mobile operator at the end of December 2021 expanded its radio network coverage in seven regions of Ukraine by switching on 4G/LTE technology at another 26 base stations.
According to the press service of the company, as a result, residents of 49 settlements with a total population of 25,000 people will be able to use high-speed mobile Internet. These are the settlements of Lopatyntsi, Petrani, Malyshevka (Vinnytsia region), Budysche, Liubystok, Shampaniya (Cherkasy region), Krasny Kut, Toretske, Novoandriyivka (Donetsk), Yabluneve, Tuzhyliv, Dubove (Kyiv region), Zatyshne, Yakovlivka, Rzhavets (Kharkiv region).
Today the 4G Kyivstar network operates on the territory of 16,000 settlements of Ukraine.
“The company ends 2021 with high rates of 4G coverage in Ukraine. Already more than 90% of our compatriots can use access to new mobile technologies and get more benefits from high-quality communications,” director for regulatory support at Kyivstar Oleksandr Kohut said.
The telecoms operator plans to continue building new mobile networks and will focus on covering highways with 4G communications. In 2021, the company accelerated the construction of base stations along the key highways Kyiv-Kharkiv, Kyiv-Odesa, Kyiv-Lviv, Reshetylivka-Dnipro. To complete this project, the company invested in the construction of 33 new base stations and in the re-equipment of another 50 base stations. To date, the project for covering key roads with 4G communications is almost 90% completed.
“The digitalization of Ukraine requires the attraction of huge investments. It is for this purpose that a memorandum was signed between the government of Ukraine and mobile operators at the investment forum in the city of Mariupol in 2019, which provides for the establishment of transparent and predictable regulation and limitation of fiscal burden on mobile operators. In particular, a moratorium in increasing the key industry tax – rent for the use of radio frequency resources. We hope that in 2022 the relevant bill will be introduced by the government and supported by the parliament,” he added.
Kyivstar notes that from 2018 to today, the operator has invested more than UAH 20 billion in Ukraine – in the construction of LTE networks, the purchase of licenses, and the improvement of the quality of communication. Thanks to this, the number of subscribers using high-speed mobile Internet in 2021 increased by 32% – up to 12 million.
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) on Wednesday imposed a UAH 80.11 million fine on JSC Dniproazot, a monopolist in the liquid chlorine market, due to the suspension of its production and sale.
“The stopping of production of liquid chlorine by the enterprise during the period from June 18, 2018 to July 19, 2018 and the termination of its sale from July 1, 2018 to July 19, 2018 are recognized as abuse of a monopoly (dominant) position in the market for the primary sale of liquid chlorine,” the committee’s press release says.
According to it, the company argued that production was stopped due to a significant increase in a gas price and the lack of working capital, but the AMCU, following an investigation, claims that there were no significant changes in the weighted average prices for the purchase of natural gas by the company.
In addition, it was established that at the time of the stoppage of production, Dniproazot had circulating and credit funds available for current settlements with counterparties and conducting business activities.
The Committee believes that among the motives for stopping production was the company’s desire to resume legal relations with JSC Ukrnafta to obtain cheaper raw materials and the company’s intention to raise prices for liquid chlorine.
Following the case consideration, it was established that during 2017-2019, Dniproazot was the only enterprise that produced liquid chlorine in Ukraine, with market shares of 99%, 78% and 68%, respectively, the report says.
The AMCU also noted that since the maximum reserves of liquid chlorine at water utilities could not exceed 15-30% of the daily requirement, some of them found themselves in a crisis situation, since they had limited chlorine residues.
“During the period of Dniproazot’s downtime, meetings were held with the participation of government representatives, during which some water utilities warned about the threat of stopping the disinfection of drinking water… The technological process for purifying drinking water is continuous, so a delay in the reagent delivery could turn into an epidemiological catastrophe on a national scale,” the AMCU said.
The AMCU clarified that in July 2018, the price of goods sold by Dniproazot in tanks increased by 277%, in cylinders – by 133%.
The Committee noted that the issue of setting prices by the enterprise during 2017-2019 is being investigated in another antitrust case.
Dniproazot specializes in production of carbamide, ammonia, sodium hydroxide, liquid chlorine and hydrochloric acid and is controlled by the structures of Privat Group.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the list of goods for 2022, the export of which requires licensing, as well as the list of ozone-depleting substances, goods and equipment from them, the export of which also requires licensing.
The government made the corresponding decision on Wednesday.
According to the draft resolution, the government established zero quotas for silver and gold, the quota for precious metal scrap was 2 tonnes.
As for the list of goods and equipment, which include ozone-depleting and fluorinated greenhouse gases, a number of drugs, dyes, paints and varnishes, cosmetics, lubricants, mixtures, etc. have been introduced.
