Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE INVITES ELON MUSK TO VISIT SERHIY KOROLYOV MUSEUM OF COSMONAUTICS

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has invited American businessman, founder of the space company SpaceX Elon Musk to visit the Serhiy Korolyov Museum of Cosmonautics, located in Zhytomyr.
“Today is the birthday of the great Ukrainian scientist, rocket engineer and spacecraft designer – Serhiy Korolyov. Indeed, he was one of the very best. I’d like to invite his longtime fan Elon Musk to Ukraine, to see The Serhiy Korolyov Museum of Cosmonautics,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter, commenting on Musk’s message about communicating with Korolyov’s family.
Museum of Cosmonautics named after Korolyov was opened in Zhytomyr in 1970 in the house where the designer spent his childhood. The exhibition presents personal belongings and documents of the Korolyov family, including those provided to the museum by the designer’s mother, wife and daughter, as well as his friends and colleagues.
In 1991, the second part of the museum was opened – the “Cosmos” exposition moved to a special building, which presents a collection of samples of space technology, equipment for cosmonauts, the descent vehicle of the Soyuz-27 spacecraft, an exhibition sample of the Soyuz spacecraft, models of life-size spacecraft and nine milligrams of lunar soil.

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Dniprovsky Metallurgical Plant cuts rolled products output by 68% in 2020

PrJSC Dniprovsky Metallurgical Plant (DMZ, formerly Evraz-DMZ), part of DCH Steel from DCH Group of businessman Oleksandr Yaroslavsky, reduced the output of finished rolled products by 68.4% in 2020 compared to the previous year, to about 140,000 tonnes due to downtime as a consequence of repairs from the end of October 2019 to May 2020.

As the company told Interfax-Ukraine, in December the plant produced 20,000 tonnes of rolled metal, while in August-November it produced 22,000 tonnes per month.

Steel production in 2020 was reduced by 66%, to 175,000 tonnes (in December 28,000 tonnes), and cast iron by 67.3%, to 160,000 tonnes (25,000 tonnes).

The plant specializes in production of steel, cast iron, rolled products and products from them. Since 2016, investments in environmental programs amounted to UAH 350 million.

Ukraine and Moldova agree to move to new level of partnership

Ukraine is a strategic partner for the Republic of Moldova, and maintaining constant and pragmatic cooperation with Ukraine is an important task for Moldova, said Moldovan President Maia Sandu during her official visit to Ukraine.

“I am glad to be in Kyiv as President to restore friendship between our countries at the highest level. In recent years, the Moldovan-Ukrainian dialogue at the level of heads of state has been virtually suspended. I confirm that Ukraine is a strategic partner for the Republic of Moldova, and maintaining constant and pragmatic cooperation with Ukraine is an important task for the Republic of Moldova and for the President,” Maia Sandu said at a press conference following talks with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Tuesday.

She stressed that during today’s talks, the parties had agreed to bring relations between the two countries to another level – strategic partnership.

“Today we are taking an important step towards the establishment of these strategic relations. We decided to create the Council of Presidents of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine as a new permanent format of cooperation at a high level,” Sandu said.

According to the Moldovan President, this mechanism of constant interaction will help in the development of policies and strategies, and will contribute to solving problems on the bilateral agenda, as well as to monitor the implementation of the agreed agreements.

“During the meeting, we reaffirmed our joint desire to intensify the implementation of the European integration program by our countries. This path is a strategic option for the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, and a reliable way of developing a functional state with a modern market economy in the interests of citizens,” she stressed.

Sandu added that the heads of state also spoke in favor of strengthening the Moldovan-Ukrainian partnership with the Eastern Partnership, in particular within the framework of the summit of this initiative, which will be held this year.

“We paid special attention to the issues of Moldovan-Ukrainian relations, which for a long time remained unresolved. We agreed to intensify efforts and identify mutually beneficial solutions to existing problems. In this context, we agreed to resume dialogue through the specialized institutions of our countries, including the continuation of the activities of working groups and bilateral sectoral commissions on current issues,” she explained.

Sandu noted that the presidents discussed the need to find solutions in the interests of citizens of both countries in such key areas as ensuring security on the joint state border, ensuring environmental protection, cooperation in the energy sector, regulation in accordance with international law and in the interests of both countries related to the mutual recognition of property rights, the constant and balanced development of bilateral trade, the liberalization of international transport between countries and the problems associated with the operation of the Dniester hydropower complex.

“Taking into account that the waters of the Dniester River provide life to more than 7 million people who live in the basin of this river both in the Republic of Moldova and in Ukraine, it is very important to continue the dialogue between our countries to ensure the protection and sustainable use of the Dniester River, so that its water serve both our generation and future generations,” the head of state believes.

She and Zelensky also agreed to expedite the search for a sustainable solution to ensure mutual travel based on ID cards, which would benefit the citizens of both countries, she said.

Sandu noted that one of the projects discussed during the meeting concerns the development of road infrastructure on the Chisinau-Soroca-Yampil-Kyiv highway.

“This will create an automobile transport corridor that will reduce trip time between Chisinau and Kyiv, and may become the fastest route from the central region of Ukraine to the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe,” she said.

The President of Moldova started her speech in Ukrainian. She also thanked Zelensky for the invitation to make this visit.

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Green Card premiums 28.7% down, number of contracts 45% down in Ukraine

Accrued insurance premiums under Green Card international insurance contracts concluded by the member companies of the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTIBU) in January-November 2020 decreased by 28.65% compared to the same period in 2019, to UAH 1.099 billion.

As the MTIBU reported on the website, the number of Green Card contracts concluded during this period fell by 44.9%, to 554,194.

At the same time, the amount of compensations paid on claims grew by 12.14%, to EUR 15.323 million, while the number of claims paid by 4.4%, to 15,323.

The MTIBU is the only association of insurers that provide compulsory insurance of civil liability of land vehicle owners for damage caused to third parties.

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NATIONAL BANK OF UKRAINE’S OFFICIAL RATES AS OF 12/01/21

National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 12/01/21

Source: National Bank of Ukraine

OFFICIAL RATES OF BANKING METALS FROM NATIONAL BANK AS OF JANUARY 12

Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of January 12

One troy ounce=31.10 grams

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