The volume of mortgage lending in January-March 2021 amounted to UAH 1.4 billion, which is two times more than in the same period in 2020, according to the results of a survey of banks conducted by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
According to the report, in the first quarter of this year, 1,811 mortgage agreements were concluded, which is 51% more than in the same period last year.
According to the regulator, in March 2021 banks issued 750 loans for a total of UAH 577.4 million, which is 26% more compared to February 2021 and almost 2.5 times more than in March 2020. The number of new deals for the month increased by 22%, for the year – by 83%, the report says.
Almost 90% of mortgage agreements in the amount of UAH 506 million in March were drawn up with five banks, which indicates the concentration of the mortgage lending market.
The NBU noted that the growth of mortgage lending is mainly due to loans for the purchase of housing in the secondary real estate market. In particular, in March, the volume of loans issued for the purchase of housing in the secondary market compared to February 2021 increased by 28%, or by UAH 109.2 million, in the primary market – by 15%, or by UAH 10.3 million.
According to the survey results, the share of mortgage agreements for the purchase of housing in the secondary market in March amounted to 87% of all loans issued.
According to the banks’ information, the average size of a loan for the purchase of housing continues to grow, in particular, in February it amounted to about UAH 742,000, and in March – UAH 770,000. The average size of a new mortgage loan for the purchase of primary real estate in the reporting month amounted to UAH 837,000, and the secondary one – UAH 760,000.
It is indicated that in March the average effective rate of a mortgage loan remained almost unchanged: in the secondary market it was 14.0% (in February – 13.9%), in the primary market – 17.4% (in February – 17.1%).
As reported, the volume of mortgage lending in 2020 amounted to UAH 3.8 billion, which is 36% more than in 2019.
Farmak pharmaceutical company (Kyiv) in 2020 increased the share of exports to 29.6% in total sales.
According to the company’s press release, export deliveries increased by 40% by the end of the year.
Farmak exports its products to the EU, Central and South America, the CIS, the Middle East, Asia, and others – a total of 35 countries around the world.
As the company notes, with the onset of the pandemic, the demand for drugs used in the complex therapy of patients with COVID-19 has grown sharply around the world. In particular, the matter concerns corticosteroids, relaxants, analgesics, antibiotics, as well as drugs for anesthesia and sedation, which are necessary when connecting patients to ventilators.
“A number of such drugs by Farmak have been exported to Israel, Great Britain, Sweden, France, Germany, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Singapore, as well as shipped for the WHO use,” the company said.
Farmak production lines, besides national ones, have European GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certificates. This allows products to be sold in countries with particularly stringent regulatory requirements.
“Now we are preparing to undergo FDA inspection to enter the U.S. market. Our strategic goal is to increase the share of exports in total sales to 40%,” Volodymyr Kostiuk, the executive director of the company, said.
Farmak is the leader of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market, it produces medicines in all 14 therapeutic groups. Annually it introduces to the market about 20 new complex component modern drugs. Currently, there are about 100 drugs in development.
Farmak is a member of the Manufacturers of Medications of Ukraine association.
Retail turnover in Ukraine by regions in Jan-feb 2021 (UAH mln)
Metallurgical plant Azovstal (Mariupol, Donetsk region), part of Metinvest Group, in January-April of this year increased the production of general rolled goods, according to recent data, by 6.8% compared to the same period last year, to 1.37 million tonnes.
A representative of the enterprise informed Interfax-Ukraine that during this period steel production increased by 7.1%, to 1.45 million tonnes, output of pig iron – by 6.2%, to 1.28 million tonnes.
In April, Azovstal produced about 370,000 tonnes of general rolled products, 400,000 tonnes of steel, and 340,000 tonnes of pig iron.
In 2020, Azovstal increased output of general rolled products by 2.7% compared to the previous year, to 3.9 million tonnes, steel by 4.5% – to 4.2 million tonnes, pig iron by 9.4% – to 3.8 million tonnes.
The company is part of Metinvest Group, the main shareholders of which are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), jointly managing the company.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
Ukraine since the beginning of the 2020/2021 marketing year (MY, July-June) and as of May 7, 2021 had exported 39.24 million tonnes of grain and legumes, which is 23.6% less than on the same date of the previous MY.
According to the information and analytical portal of the agro-industrial complex of Ukraine, 15.14 million tonnes of wheat, 19.36 million tonnes of corn, 4.12 million tonnes of barley have been exported to date.
As of the indicated date, 107,000 tonnes of flour were also exported.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, Ukraine exported 56.72 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops in the 2019/2020 MY.
As reported, the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine in February predicted a decline in exports of grains and legumes in the 2020/2021 MY by 20.5% compared to the previous MY, to 45.4 million tonnes.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken believes that his talks in Kyiv with Ukrainian officials during his visit to Ukraine were productive.
“Productive time spent in Kyiv with President Zelensky and all those with whom I met,” he said on Twitter.
The Secretary of State noted that “the United States is resolute in the face of Russian aggression and in our support for the reform work needed to ensure a sovereign, democratic, and prosperous future for Ukraine.”
During a two-day visit to Kyiv, Blinken met and held talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
