U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has named five ways the Ukrainian government can develop the progress made and where the United States is ready to help Ukraine.
First. To adopt the draft law on reforming the High Council of Justice, followed by the law on the High Qualifications Commission of Judges. Together, these laws will ensure a transparent process for the selection of judges. Second. To ensure that the selection of the leadership of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office is transparent, credible and based on merit, Blinken said in a video message to participants of the Ukraine Reform Conference, which is taking place in Vilnius on Wednesday.
According to him, the third step is to pass a law on transparent corporate governance, which protects the independence of the supervisory board, CEOs and complies with the standards of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Blinken called the fourth step the adoption of legislation that demilitarizes, depoliticizes the Security Service of Ukraine, and leaves the work of combating corruption and combating organized crime to other government institutions created for this purpose.
And fifth. Bring corrupt officials to justice. A number of investigations have been carried out, but no senior official has been tried or convicted of corruption since 2014. People need to see that the system is working in order to believe in it, the Secretary of State said.
The manufacturer of upholstered furniture Morgan Furniture LLC (Kvasyliv, Rivne region) plans to launch a line for the production of foam rubber with a capacity of 24,000 tonnes per year in August 2021, investments in the creation of which amount to $4 million, said head of Rivne Regional State Administration Vitaliy Koval.
“Already in August, the international company Morgan Furniture is launching a foam rubber production line. Development and prospects were discussed today at a meeting with co-owner [of Morgan Furniture] Franklin McMahon and director Roman Basarab. They plan to increase production capacity and triple production volumes,” Koval wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
He recalled that the company has been operating for nine years, daily exporting 1,000 sofas, beds and other upholstered furniture and providing jobs for more than 1,000 employees.
“The launch of the foam rubber line will not only create new jobs, but also reduce the cost of production. After all, they had to buy this material from the monopolist and spend additional funds on logistics. Now the enterprise will have a closed furniture production cycle,” the head of the Regional State Administration said.
According to him, with McMahon they also discussed the formation of a furniture cluster – one of the main priorities for the development of Rivne region.
“And Morgan Furniture cannot only join the merger, but also take 1-1.5% of the European furniture market, creating a competitive environment,” said Koval.
“Our common task is to grow faster than the market. As a result, we will increase the region’s share in the national production of furniture products, which will allow us to attract additional resources, create jobs and attract new investors,” the head of the region said.
As reported, in June 2012, the McMahon spouses opened a furniture factory, Morgan Furniture LLC, on the basis of the Rivnesilmash plant, which they acquired. They invested EUR 10.5 million in this production facility. Initially, the company employed 120 people.
In 2020, Morgan Furniture LLC slightly reduced its net income compared to 2019 – to UAH 912.15 million and received a UAH 31.63 million loss against a net profit of UAH 45.03 million.
The company is part of Home Group SA, a large European manufacturer of household goods, which is registered in Luxembourg.
The holding has production facilities in Poland, the Baltic countries and Ukraine.
In June 2017, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine allowed the Chinese furniture group ManWah to acquire a 50% stake in Home Group.
Adonis medical group has launched its own ambulance service.
Adonis told Interfax-Ukraine that its ambulance service has four cars now, including one reanimobile of class C and three cars of class B.
The Adonis ambulance service will also respond to calls to arrive to children aged 0 to 18 years with acute conditions, as well as for transportation to the nearest clinic or a round-the-clock children’s hospital of the clinic.
The medical network clarified that the company does not exclude further expansion of the ambulance service.
The medical network did not specify the volume of investments in the organization of the ambulance service. Earlier it was reported that the Adonis medical group plans to open four branches in 2021.
Adonis is a network of private full-cycle medical centers for adults and children. The private clinic Adonis was founded over 20 years ago. The network includes ten branches in Kyiv and the region, including two of its own maternity hospitals and a stem cell laboratory. In the branches of the clinic, doctors conduct appointments in 60 medical directions.
The Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) estimates the export volumes of grains (wheat, corn and barley) by Ukraine in the 2021/2022 marketing year (MY, July-June) at 57.5 million tonnes, which is 28.8% higher than the results of 2020/2021 MY, the press service of the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
“According to our preliminary estimates, more optimistic than the ministry’s, the export of grains (wheat, corn and barley) this season may reach 57.5 million tonnes with a harvest of 74.5 million tonnes,” the press service of the UGA organization clarified, commenting on the forecast of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, according to which in 2021/2022MY the export of these crops can reach 56 million tonnes with a harvest of 75.8 million tonnes.
The Association also provided for comparison the data of the International Grains Council (IGC), in the latest report of which the export of grain from Ukraine in the current MY is projected at 55.4 million tonnes with a harvest of 76.2 million tonnes.
The press service of the organization of grain traders clarified that the total export of grain crops together with oilseeds in 2021/2022 MY may exceed 62 million tonnes with a gross harvest of more than 100 million tonnes.
UGA also commented on the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for 2021/2022 MY between the participants of the grain market and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food on July 5. According to its press service, an annex to the memorandum, which specifies the maximum export volumes of agricultural products, will be signed after the volumes of the harvested crop become known.
“The relevant ministry and the participants of the grain market traditionally sign a Memorandum with the beginning of a new grain season. The maximum export volumes are agreed upon later, when the indicators of the harvested crop of a particular crop are already known,” the press service of UGA noted.
The State Oschadbank (Kyiv) has issued a thousand mortgage loans in the amount of UAH 710 million since the beginning of 2021, which is three times more than in the corresponding period last year, the bank’s press service said on Tuesday.
According to the report, in June, 250 loans were issued in the amount of UAH 191 million.
It is indicated that under the “Affordable Mortgage 7%” program the bank has issued 90 loans in the amount of UAH 82 million since the beginning of the year.
According to the statistics of the National Bank, as of March 1, 2021, in terms of total assets, Oschadbank ranked second in the rating (UAH 279.702 billion) among 73 banks operating in the country.
MAP OF INTERNET COVERINGS OF UKRAINIAN BASIC MOBILE OPERATORS IN JAN 2021
