Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of March 12
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
Ukraine’s gross domestic product (GDP) could grow by 4.3% in 2021, according to the economic forecast of the German Economic Team (GET) and the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting.
“In 2021, we expect a recovery of the economy thanks to the growth of private consumption in relation to demand and increased production in industry, transport, as well as in agriculture in relation to supply. This will be facilitated by the recovery of the economy in partner countries and an increase in trade flows,” the experts said.
At the same time, they note the uncertainty about the future situation with the pandemic, cooperation with the IMF and political risks as early elections.
At the same time, the experts said that quarantine restrictions could last until the end of spring, and cooperation with the IMF would be unblocked, and the funds could be received in April-June, as well as in the second half of 2021.
The analysts also expect inflation to slightly exceed the National Bank’s target range in the short term.
Motor Sich PJSC will soon be legally returned to the ownership of Ukraine, said Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine.
“… We are talking about the Motor Sich enterprise in Zaporozhia. To date, a decision has been made according to which the Motor Sich enterprise will be returned to the Ukrainian people. It will be returned to the ownership of the Ukrainian state in a legal, constitutional way in the near future,” Danilov said at a briefing on Thursday following the results of the NSDC meeting.
Every case of Ukrainian defense industry enterprises “miraculously ending up in private hands” will be considered separately, he said.
“People who have invested in these enterprises will certainly receive proper compensation. This is being done for our country’s national security,” Danilov said.
Motor Sich is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of aircraft engines and industrial gas turbine units. It exports its products to more than 100 countries. Motor Sich reported UAH 930.2 million in net profits in January-September 2020, while it saw net losses of UAH 532.7 million in the same period in 2019. The company’s net revenue has grown by 20.2% to UAH 7.6795 billion.
As reported earlier, Chinese shareholders of Motor Sich initiated arbitration proceedings worth $3.6 billion against the state of Ukraine in December 2020. They argued that the Ukrainian government expropriated their investments and violated their other rights guaranteed by the October 1992 intergovernmental agreement between Ukraine and China on the encouragement and mutual protection of investments. The international law firms WilmerHale, DLA Piper, and Bird&Bird are representing Chinese investors’ interests in the claim.
According to a government source, about 75% of Motor Sich’s stock already belongs to Chinese investors, while a portion of the disputed stake is being used as security for financing provided, among other investors, by China Development Bank.
Wang Jing’s Beijing Xinwei said in early August 2020 that it had abandoned attempts to obtain permission to buy Motor Sich jointly with Ukroboronprom and that Oleksandr Yaroslavsky’s company DCH was its new partner in the deal. The companies have filed four applications with Ukraine’s Antimonopoly Committee to approve the deal, the last time in December 2020, but none of them have been granted yet.
Another attempt to hold a shareholders meeting on January 31 also failed in view of the fact that a 41% stake in the company was frozen at the Ukrainian Security Service’s initiative in 2017, and the freeze was later expanded to the entire stock. On January 29, 2021, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky enforced a National Security and Defense Council decision to impose sanctions on Chinese citizen Wang and companies Beijing Xinwei Technology Group Co., Ltd; Beijing Skyrizon Aviation Industry Investment Co., Ltd (both Beijing-based); Skyrizon Aircraft Holdings Limited (the British Virgin Islands); and Hong Kong Skyrizon Holdings Limited (Hong Kong), which are associated with Wang and which have been trying over the past several years to exercise the Motor Sich shareholders’ rights in Ukraine. In the wake of this decision, China forwarded a note to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said at the end of August 2019 that the U.S. was concerned about Motor Sich’s possible sale to Chinese investors. U.S. Charge d’Affaires ad interim to Ukraine William Taylor said at the end of 2019 that the U.S. expected a new deal to be concluded to invite a U.S. or some other investor to Motor Sich to prevent its sale to Chinese buyers.
The Bureau of Industry and Security at the U.S. Department of Commerce put the Chinese company Skyrizon on its Military End User list in early January 2021, meaning that cooperation with it requires special authorization. “Skyrizon – a Chinese state-owned company – and its push to acquire and indigenize foreign military technologies pose a significant threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was quoted as saying.
DTEK Pavlohradvuhillia plans to invest almost UAH 30 billion in production by 2030, which will ensure the production of 141 million tonnes of coal, according to a press release from DTEK Energy, citing a press conference by DTEK Pavlohradvuhillia CEO Serhiy Voronin in Pavlohrad (Dnipropetrovsk region) on March 11.
“Despite the decline in the generation of TPPs, we see clear prospects for the development and full-fledged operation of our enterprises as part of DTEK Energy, at least for the next 10 years. Until 2030, manoeuvring generation will remain the most important link in the Ukrainian energy system, and it needs our coal,” Voronin said.
According to him, the company will allocate UAH 30 billion of investments for the purchase and overhaul of mining equipment and for the implementation of projects to improve the culture of production and the level of safety.
Coal will be mined at six mines of the association, the remaining four will be closed due to exhaustion of reserves.
“We are concentrating coal production at six mines. Four mines will be closed due to the end of effective coal reserves, two this year, two in a few years. The closure of mines due to the completion of reserves is a natural process, since the term of any mine is not infinite,” the CEO said.
One of the priority tasks of DTEK Pavlohradvuhillia is the development of digitalization projects.
In February 2021, Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) considered about 15,000 passenger requests for refunds for canceled flights in connection with COVID-19 and issued a refund in the amount of $2.5 million, the press service of the company said on Wednesday.
It is noted that in just 11 months during the pandemic from April 2020 to February 2021 inclusively, UIA returned more than $29 million to passengers.
In addition, the airline reminds that passengers of canceled flights also have options to choose from: free ticket reissuance; a promotional code for the amount of the cost of an unused ticket, valid for two years from the date of its issue.
“UIA once again emphasizes its readiness for dialogue with its passengers and sincerely hopes for understanding. The airline is doing everything possible to process every request as soon as possible,” the message says.
Ukraine in January-February of this year reduced exports of titanium-containing ores and concentrate in quantity terms by 39.5% compared to the same period last year, to 74,694 tonnes.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service on Tuesday, in monetary terms, exports of titanium-containing ores and concentrate decreased by 19.3%, to $22.109 million.
At the same time, main exports were carried out to China (35.97% of supplies in monetary terms), Turkey (23.48%) and the Czech Republic (12.07%).
During this period, Ukraine imported 100 tonnes of titanium-containing ores from Senegal in the amount of $89,000, while in January-February 2020 it imported from this country 146 tonnes of titanium-containing ores worth $102,000.
