Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih to install generators at mine management

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Kryvyi Rih Iron and Steel Works, Dnipro region) plans to install electric generators at industrial site No. 1 of the Underground Mining Department of the Mining Department of Kryvyi Rih, according to materials obtained by Interfax-Ukraine.

According to them, it is planned to obtain a permit for emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere by stationary sources of this industrial site.

It is noted that new sources of emissions from the operation of generators that are planned to be used to provide electricity to consumers in the event of a power outage are not subject to environmental impact assessment.

“ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest producer of rolled steel in Ukraine. It specializes in long products, including rebar and wire rod. The company has a full production cycle and its production capacities are designed to produce over 6 million tons of steel, over 5 million tons of rolled products and over 5.5 million tons of pig iron annually.

ArcelorMittal owns the largest mining and metallurgical plant in Ukraine, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, and a number of small companies, including ArcelorMittal Berislav.

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“Ukrzaliznytsia” reduced transportation volume by 8.4% in January-February 2025

In January-February 2025, Ukrzaliznytsia JSC (UZ) reduced its cargo transportation by 8.4% compared to the same period last year, to 26.28 million tons, said Valery Tkachev, Deputy Director of the Commercial Department, at a meeting of the UZ Exporters Office on Wednesday.

The decrease in cargo transportation is recorded for all types of traffic. In particular, the volume of domestic rail freight transportation decreased by 5.4% to 10.85 million tons, and in the export direction – by 9.1% to 13.87 million tons. Imports decreased by 15.2% to 1.52 million tons. Transit traffic decreased by 70.4% to 0.04 million tons.

The share of cargo transported in the export direction amounted to 53% in the total volume of transportation, as in January-February 2024. At the same time, the share of domestic transportation increased slightly to 41% from 40%. Imports accounted for 6%, the same as last year in the same period.

Earlier it was reported that in January 2025, UZ reduced the volume of transportation by 0.9% compared to January 2024 and by 0.2% compared to December 2024 – to 14 million tons.

DTEK manufactured and repaired 505 units of equipment

In January and February this year, DTEK Energy’s machine builders manufactured and repaired almost 505 units of mining equipment, including two new shearers for mining operations.

The energy holding said in a press release on Tuesday that machine builders also supported the needs of miners with more than 330,000 spare parts and components.

“Power engineers are working non-stop to restore capacities after the shelling, while miners are supporting sufficient fuel needs of thermal generation. And machine builders are working hard to provide them with equipment, spare parts and everything they need for coal mining,” said DTEK Energy CEO Aleksandr Fomenko.

In January, DTEK Energy’s miners commissioned the first two new coal faces this year.

In 2024, the company’s investments in Ukrainian coal mining amounted to UAH 7.5 billion. These funds were spent on the construction and repair of capital mine workings, completion of coal longwalls, mine tunnelling equipment, underground mine transport and production capacity support projects.

“DTEK Energy provides a closed cycle of electricity generation from coal. The company’s installed capacity in thermal generation amounted to 13.3 GW as of January 2022. The company has established a full production cycle in coal mining: coal mining and enrichment, mechanical engineering, and maintenance of mine equipment.

Currently, most of DTEK Group’s thermal generation facilities have been destroyed as a result of Russian attacks.

Dividends of world’s largest companies break records

The total dividends paid by the world’s largest companies by the end of 2024 amounted to $1.747 trillion, according to a report by UK-based Janus Henderson Investors.

This is a record and 6.6% higher than the previous year.

In 17 of the 49 countries whose representatives were taken into account in the study, dividend payments reached historic highs. These include the US, Japan, France and China.

The leaders in the amount of payments were Microsoft Corp., Exxon Mobil, HSBC, Apple Inc., China Construction Bank Corp., PetroChina Co., China Mobile, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Chevron Corp. and Johnson & Johnson, whose dividends totaled $145.9 billion (or 8.4% of the total). Next came Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Verizon Communications, Abbvie, Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras), BHP, Broadcom, Pfizer Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., Home Depot Inc. and Toyota Motor – their payouts totaled $101.7 billion.

Companies such as Meta, Alphabet Inc. and Alibaba declared their first-ever dividends last year.

About 88% of companies increased their payouts or kept them the same.

American companies increased dividends by 8.7% (up to $651.6 billion), Japanese companies – by 15.5% (up to $86 billion), European companies excluding Great Britain – by 5.6% (up to $313 billion), representatives of the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan – by 2% (up to $163.5 billion).

In the fourth quarter, the world’s leading companies paid $371.7 billion in dividends, which is 7.3% higher than in the same period in 2023.

According to Janus Henderson’s forecast, by the end of 2025, the total amount of dividends paid globally will grow by 5.1% to $1.83 trillion, i.e. will once again renew the record.

Janus Henderson’s quarterly study, which analyzes global trends in dividend payments, takes into account data from 1.2 thousand of the world’s largest companies by market value. It has been conducted since 2009.

 

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Finland allocates 16 mln euros of humanitarian aid to Ukraine

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland has decided to allocate humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the amount of 16 million euros.

According to the Finnish Foreign Ministry, the aid will be provided through UN humanitarian agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“Finland has been supporting Ukraine’s humanitarian needs since the first day of Russia’s invasive war and will continue to do so. The need for humanitarian aid in Ukraine is enormous and our assistance is important,” said Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio.

Finland also provides assistance to address the serious refugee crises in Africa and the humanitarian situation in the Middle East. Finland is providing €2 million in support of the World Food Program (WFP) operation in Sudan, €2.5 million to the WFP operation in Gaza, and €2 million to the UNHCR regional refugee operation in Syria, among other operations. Support is also provided to Ethiopia, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes and Sahel regions. In Asia, Finland supports Afghanistan and Myanmar through the International Red Cross Movement.

Finland is also providing €2 million to fund the work of the World Food Program and UNHCR on the inclusion of people with disabilities. The assistance is targeted at people with disabilities, who are often in the most vulnerable situation. In addition, 2 million euros are being provided to develop WFP’s school feeding activities and support school feeding, especially in Africa.

In addition to these decisions, Finland provides core funding to multilateral humanitarian organizations. In addition, preparations are underway for humanitarian assistance to be channelled through Finnish civil society organizations. The rest of the humanitarian funding from the budget will be provided later this year.

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Ukrainian woman becomes bone marrow donor for foreigner for first time

For the first time, a Ukrainian woman became a bone marrow donor for a foreigner, and the bone marrow was transplanted to a patient of an Italian clinic, the Ministry of Health reported on its Telegram channel.

It is noted that the stem cells were taken at the National Children’s Specialized Hospital “Okhmatdyt”, and on the same day a special courier delivered them to a clinic in Italy, where the patient was waiting for them.

“This is the first time a Ukrainian donor has helped a foreign patient. Previously, Ukrainians have received help from donors from Germany, France, Turkey, Poland, India, and the United States,” the Health Ministry emphasizes.