The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine calls on the Verkhovna Rada to provide internally displaced persons (IDPs) with the opportunity to vote in the upcoming local elections. The UNHR urges parliament to take steps to provide IDPs and labor migrants with the opportunity to vote in local elections scheduled for 2020, mission head Matilda Bogner said at a press conference, presenting “Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine 16 May to 15 August 2019” in Kyiv on Tuesday.
She noted that the Monitoring Mission would monitor developments around the Electoral Code, which President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky vetoed, giving Parliament 30 days to amend the document.
Bogner emphasized the need to solve the problem of paying pensions to residents of temporarily uncontrolled territories of Donbas. She said pensions should be paid to everyone who is entitled to them, regardless of their place of residence, adding this is an urgent recommendation, hoping that the new government will consider it one of the priorities.
In addition, the Mission notes that it is necessary to find a mechanism for paying off pension arrears.
At the same time, the UN Mission considers the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers to compensate families whose homes were destroyed as a result of the conflict in Donbas a positive sign. However, it has concerns about a number of issues, in particular, the condition that applicants for compensation should live in the same village where the destroyed housing is located, as well as the fact that funds for these needs will be provided for in the budget after 2020.
As reported, on July 15, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine established a mechanism for monetary compensation for private housing destroyed as a result of Russian armed aggression in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada has passed at first reading bill No. 1056-1 on protection of ownership rights, ceasing activities of accredited entities in the sphere of public registration of ownership rights. As an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported, bill No. 1056-1 at the plenary meeting on September 12 was supported by 327 MPs.
“The bill is aimed at providing additional guarantees for the protection of ownership rights in Ukraine, and provides for the removal from the market of the so-called accredited entities – nongovernmental organizations that regularly, unfortunately, performed the functions of “black registrars” and were one of the elements of criminal schemes,” one of the initiators of the bill, MP Olena Shuliak (the Servant of the People parliamentary faction) said.
The document also introduces the principle of simultaneous notarization of a legal act and public registration of emerging rights, and obliges to notarize certificates on disposing corporate rights.
In addition, the bill provides for increased liability for violations of registration procedures.
Ukrainian enterprises cut exports of titanium ore by 2% in Jan-Aug
KYIV. Sept 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine in January-August 2019 decreased exports of titanium containing ore and concentrate in kind by 2.1% compared to January-August 2018, to 410,261 tonnes.
According to customs statistics released by the State Fiscal Service, over the period exports of titanium ore and concentrate in monetary terms increased by 14.2%, to $100.226 million.
Major exports were made to Egypt (18.72% of deliveries in monetary terms), the Czech Republic (17.56%), and Russia (16.5%).
Ukraine in January-August 2019 imported 602 tonnes of similar products worth $428,000 from Senegal and Vietnam, while in January-August 2018 it imported 15,677 tonnes of titanium ore and concentrate worth $3.005 million from Senegal.
As reported, Ukraine in 2018 increased exports of titanium containing ore and concentrate in kind by 2.7% compared to 2017, to 599,494 tonnes. Last year exports of titanium ore and concentrate in monetary terms increased by 19.5%, to $125.722 million. Major exports were made to the Czech Republic (19.41% of deliveries in monetary terms), Turkey (17.96%), and Russia (15.68%).
Ukraine in 2018 imported 15,874 tonnes of similar products worth $3.142 million from Senegal and Mozambique, while in 2017 it imported 202 tonnes of titanium ore and concentrate worth $143,000 from Senegal (87.41%), Finland (10.49%), and Iran (2.1%).
Vilnohirsk state mining and metallurgical combine (Dnipropetrovsk region), Irshansk state mining and processing combine (Zhytomyr region), Valki-Ilmenite and Mezhdurechensk Mining and Concentration Complexes (both are located in Irshansk, Zhytomyr region) are the main producers of titanium ore in Ukraine.
Dnipro-based Velta production and commercial firm built a mining and processing complex at the Birzulivske ilmenite deposit, which has a 240,000-tonne ilmenite concentrate capacity per year.
Holding company Velta Group Global Ltd. was registered in London in November 2011.
Cypriot Dealbeta Investments Limited, created by Emerging Europe Growth Fund III (EEGF III) managed by Horizon Capital, jointly with an individual-citizen of Ukraine, plan to acquire a controlling stake in Cypriot Ajax Cyprus Holding Ltd., a leading producer of smart security systems in Ukraine. According to a website of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU), the committee will consider an issue of acquisition of Ajax Systems Cyprus Holding Ltd by Dealbeta Investments at its meeting on September 12, 2019.
Besides, the committee will consider an issue of acquisition of Ajax Systems trading DMCC (UAE) by Dealbeta Investments jointly with an individual-citizen of Ukraine.
As reported, Horizon Capital’s Emerging Europe Growth Fund III, LP (EEGF III) has acquired a minority stake in Ajax Systems for $10 million.
In January 2019, Horizon Capital announced that Horizon Capital created the largest equity fund in Ukraine over the past 10 years: EEGF III with $200 million.
Horizon Capital was established in 2006. It manages private equity funds Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF, established in 1994 with a seed capital of $150 million), Emerging Europe Growth Fund, L.P. (EEGF, established in 2006 with a seed capital of $132 million) and EEGF II (EEGF, established in 2008 with $370 million seed capital). The money of these funds is invested in projects in Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus.
DTEK Group through January-June 2019 reduced coal imports by 33.6% (501,400 tonnes) compared to the same period last year, to 991,300 tonnes, according to a press release from the company.
In the first half of the year, DTEK enterprises decreased production of coal by 2.5% compared to the same period of 2018, to 12.571 million tonnes.
In particular, the production of G and DG grade coal (Ukraine) for the first sixth months of 2019 decreased by 0.9%, to 11.325 million tonnes. Production of A grade coal by Obukhovskaya mine (the Russian Federation) for this period decreased by 14.8%, to 1.246 million tonnes.
Concentrate output fell by 5.5%, to 5.485 million tonnes. In particular, output at third-party processing plants in Ukraine fell by 85.2%, to 72,200 tonnes, while at Obukhovskaya mine fell by 6.7%, to 847,300 tonnes.
The net profit of state-owned PrivatBank in January-August 2019 amounted to UAH 25.8 billion, which is almost three times more than a year ago, Board Chairman Petr Krumphanzl said at a press conference in Dnipro last week. According to him, the bank’s net commission income in January-August 2019 totaled UAH 11.6 billion, and its share of the bank’s income was 45.1%. “The growth in commission income is the result of an increase in the number of active customers and transactions of Privat24 online bank,” the board chairman said.
As reported, Ukraine’s government, at the recommendation of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and former shareholders of PrivatBank, the largest of whom at that time were Kolomoisky and Boholiubov, on December 18, 2016 decided to nationalize PrivatBank, the largest Ukrainian financial institution. The state injected over UAH 155 billion in the bank’s capital.
PrivatBank ranked first as of July 1, 2019 in terms of total assets (UAH 522.422 billion) among 76 operating Ukrainian banks, according to the NBU.
