The Finance Ministry of Ukraine on September 25 repaid the fourth coupon on eurobonds with maturity until 2032, the agency has told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the total payment amounted to $110.625 million.
As reported, Ukraine in September 2017 placed 15-year eurobonds worth $3 billion, including $1.682 billion for the exchange or redemption of eurobonds maturing in 2019 and 2020, which were issued as part of debt restructuring in 2015, and payment of accrued interest on them.
New eurobonds have an interest rate of 7.375% per annum. Coupon payment is carried out once every six months on March 25 and September 25.
Their repayment is scheduled in equal parts in the amount of 25% of the principal amount on March 25 and September 25, 2031, on March 25 and September 25, 2032.
Ukrainian airlines in August 2019 serviced 84.1% of flights of the total number of flights serviced at Ukrainian airports within the 15 minute deviation from the timetable, which is 0.9 percentage points (p.p.) better than the figure for July 2019 (83.2%), according to the State Aviation Service of Ukraine.
According to the authority, in August, Ukrainian airlines serviced 5,694 flights.
The punctuality of foreign airlines in August compared with July increased to 83.2% from 80%, while the number of flights totaled 3,479.
Of the Ukrainian airlines that made more than 50 flights a month in August, Motor Sich remains the most punctual, with 96.8% and the number of flights 285.
Windrose is second with 91.5% and with the number of 658. Jonika is third with 86.2% and 58 flights. Bukovyna is fourth with 84.3% and 204 flights and Azur Air Ukraine is fifth with 84.1% and 429 flights.
Punctuality of Ukraine’s largest airline in the market – Ukraine International Airlines – was 82.8%, while the number of flights serviced was 3,396. The indicators in August for SkyUp are 77.9% and 565.
Air Arabia (28 flights), Aegean Airlines (10 flights), Bulgaria Air (four flights) and Iraqi Airways (4 flights) are in the top of the rating of foreign airlines with the 100% punctuality.
Pegasus Airlines had the best performance among low cost airlines – 89.8% with 128 flights. The figure of Irish Ryanair was 88.8% with 286 flights. Wizz Air Hungary is third with 86.1% and 589 flights.
A group of nine lawmakers from the Servant of the People parliamentary faction has proposed to ban the sale of plastic bags of up to 50 mm thick and oxo-degradable (oxo-biodegradable) plastic bags in the territory of Ukraine from January 1, 2022. Bill No. 2051-1 was registered in the Verkhovna Rada on September 18 and published on Wednesday.
“Biodegradable bags are the main alternative to plastic bags in the world. However, insufficient legislative regulation in Ukraine has led to a conflict when consumers are confused, believing that the bag they buy does not harm the environment,” the lawmakers said in the explanatory note to the document.
The authors said that the degradation of the oxo-biodegradable packages creates a million of microscopic plastic particles that do not disappear anywhere.
According to the document, the ban does not apply to ultralight bags (up to 15 microns thick) up to 225 mm wide (without side folds), up to 345 mm deep (with side folds) and up to 450 mm long (with handles), used as primary packaging for fresh fish, meat and products made of them, bulk products and ice. It also will not apply to biodegradable packages, however, the bill provides for their mandatory labeling in accordance with the National Standard DSTU EN 14995: 2018, DSTU EN 13432: 2015.
The bill provides that non-compliant packages that remain by January 1, 2022 must be disposed of at the expense of the business entity that purchased them.
In addition, it is proposed to prohibit employees of retail and restaurant businesses from somehow inciting consumers to purchase plastic bags.
The bill provides for the introduction of fines for the sale of plastic bags or oxo-degradable packages under the guise of bio-packages, as well as for the incentive to purchase them. The fines will be the amount of 100 to 200 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens (now UAH 17), for repeated violation – from 200 up to 500 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens.
The authors in the explanatory note said that Ukraine has the required capacities for the production of bio-packages, but there is no demand for them yet.
“The ban on the distribution of conventional plastic bags, in addition to the extremely positive impact on the environment, will stimulate demand for the production of biodegradable bags, making them cheaper for the end consumer,” the lawmakers said.
Kernel, a large Ukrainian agricultural group, has entered into an amendment and restatement agreement with a syndicate of European banks and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on extending for one year its $100 million pre-export credit facility until June 30, 2022, the group has reported on the website of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE).
According to the report, on September 23, 2019, Kernel signed the amendment and restatement agreement to its pre-export credit facility dated February 2, 2018. Total available limit under amended facility was increased up to $300 million by adding additional tranche of $200 million maturing on June 30, 2021.
Pre-export credit facility will be used by the company to fund the working capital needs of its grain trading and transshipment business in Ukraine.
Kernel is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, the leading producer and supplier of agricultural goods from the Black Sea region to the world markets.
Alfa-Bank at an auction held on the ProZorro.Sales platform on September 17, 2019 bought the largest pool of assets – mortgage loans of Delta Bank (both based in Kyiv) with the balance-sheet value of over UAH 1.3 billion for UAH 44.14 million, according to information posted on the ProZorro.Sales platform.
Director of the department of consolidated sales of assets at the Deposit Guarantee Fund Taras Yeleiko said on his Facebook page that with a starting price of the lot of UAH 48.4 million, bids initially fell to UAH 33.8 million, but later during the competition between bidders increased to UAH 44 million.
According to him, the pool consisted of 60% of assets located in Kyiv region, 40% of the assets located in Central and Western Ukraine.
Five companies submitted bids for this pool.
“The increase in the number of bidders and their willingness to increase the price offer indicates a revival of the market interest in such assets,” Yeleiko said.
According to him, companies with foreign capital also participated in the auction.
The volume of non-performing loans (NPL) in state-owned banks fell by UAH 22 billion in January-June 2019, and their share of the loan portfolio decreased to 65%, according to a second report of the Finance Ministry on the state of work with NPL published within a regular and detailed report on operations of state-owned banks.
“Compared to January 1, 2019, the volume of NPLs in state-owned banks decreased by UAH 22 billion, to UAH 415 billion, and their share of the loan portfolio decreased by 2.5 percentage points, to 65%,” the ministry said in the report.
According to the results of the first half of the year, public sector banks reduced overdue debts by UAH 3.5 billion and carried out restructuring for UAH 10.6 billion.
Banks of the public sector restructured a total of about UAH 11 billion, of which 47% (UAH 5 billion) under the law on financial restructuring. In the first half of the year, Oschadbank successfully completed the financial restructuring procedures with TMM Firm LLC, Imperovo Foods LLC, PJSC Avangard agroholding, and PJSC Rise-Maksymko. Two cases of financial restructuring for companies of the WOG group have been opened. In addition, Ukreximbank opened its first financial restructuring case with Office Construction Agency LLC, which has become one of the largest in terms of debt to be restructured.
The share of the NPL of the banking system as of July 1, 2019 was 51%, or UAH 581 billion.
