Former owners of bank Aval have invested over $140 million in the River Mall located in Dniprovska Naberezhna in Kyiv, which will be opened for visitors next week, the co-owner of the mall, Serhiy Vovchenko, has said.
“Tenants have been working on their premises since February of this year. Next week River Mall doors will open for visitors, and the official opening is scheduled for the first decade of September, while the exact date has not yet been set. Among those 50% of tenants who will open their stores already next week is Silpo,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to Vovchenko, more than $140 million have already been invested in the project.
“We did not attract foreign investment. The River Mall has seven founders from among the former owners of Aval Bank. The largest shareholder is Fedir Shpyh with a share of slightly less than 50%. Leased areas as of now are distributed by 90%. Inditex Group and H & M clothing retailers have come to us,” the co-owner said.
He said that there are plans to launch the aqua park in the summer of 2020.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership Fund have provided EUR 12.5 million for energy-efficient modernization of schools and kindergartens in Dnipro.
“The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, with which Dnipro is successfully cooperating in the construction of the subway and renovation of rolling stock, together with the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership Fund, provided EUR 12.5 million to the city for the energy-efficient renovation of 84 schools and kindergartens,” Dnipro Mayor Borys Filatov said in the Facebook social network.
According to him, modernization works include insulation of facades and roofs, replacement of windows, as well as the placement of heat points, which reduce heat loss in the winter period by half.
According to Filatov, by the end of 2019, it is planned to complete the modernization of 15 facilities, the rest – by the end of 2020. The works are performed by Azerbaijan’s Akelik, which was selected by the European partners at a tender.
Kyiv’s businessman Dmytro Nikiforov has built up 100% of corporate rights in a group of companies owning the Mizun mineral water plant (Ivano-Frankivsk region), producing water under the VODA UA trademark. According to the information on the website of InVenture, the group of companies includes Mizun LLC, Astreya LLC and Karpaty Mineral Waters LLC. Mizun deposit of table and medicinal waters is the largest in Ukraine with a confirmed debit of 1 million liters per day. The plant produces 19 SKU of natural table water under three trademarks (VODA UA, Horianka, Karpatska Vysokohirna), as well as mineral medicinal water. The total capacity allows bottling 150,000 liters per shift.
According to InVenture, the new owner of the plant seeks to invest $2.4 million in the modernization and expansion of production, and in the two-year term – to enter the top 10 Ukrainian bottled water producers.
“According to experts, the purchase of the plant could cost the businessman $1.5-2 million. The flagship brand of the VODA UA group was created about three years ago and demonstrates strong growth, primarily in the HoReCa segment,” InVenture said.
According to the public register of Legal Entities and individual entrepreneurs, Nikiforov also co-owns several enterprises registered in Kyiv and is engaged in trade, consulting services, and other services.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources Kent Logsdon has said at a meeting with representatives of the World Bank and the European Union that Washington is ready to support Ukraine’s energy reform programs together with international partners.
“During meetings with World Bank and EU officials, PDAS Logsdon underscored the U.S. commitment to supporting Ukraine’s energy reform agenda together with international partners,| the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine said on Twitter on Monday, June 24.
Nova Poshta has launched a pilot project for waste collection and sorting in ten Kyiv offices and is planning to extend it all over its chain, Director of Nova Poshta Oleksandr Bulba has told Interfax-Ukraine.
“In mid-April we started a pilot project for waste collection and sorting in our offices for all clients of the company. Ten our departments Kyiv are participating in the project. Three boxes are installed in each of them. The first one is for paper, cardboard, and paper packing material. The second one is for transparent stretch film and bubble film. And the third one is for plastic bags and colored stretch film. We pass raw materials to our contractors for recycling and they make new products of it,” he said.
Bulba added that the company collected around two tonnes of waste materials over months, 80% of which is corrugated cardboard.
“We are planning to extend this project all over Ukraine,” he said.
The decision of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to cancel mandatory sale of currency by business could result into active use of derivatives, such as forwards, futures, options, and swaps, Senior Associate Lawyer of Evris Law Firm Kateryna Breduliak has said. She recalled that the regulation on mandatory sale of 30% of currency on the interbank currency market was canceled on June 20, 2019. Mandatory sale of currency from clearing accounts was canceled on June 19, 2019.
Breduliak said that the NBU’s decision to cancel mandatory sale of currency was “rather predictable” taking into account the law on currency and currency transactions, which took effect on February 7, 2019, as well as the NBU’s course towards currency liberalization.
“Despite another relaxation of currency rules by the NBU, several approved currency liberalization measures have no significant effect on the financial market. However, the regulator took a timely decision as long as demand for U.S. dollar and at the same time for currency earnings is expected in summer,” the lawyer said.
She added that as a result of such changes businesses could actively use derivatives (forwards, futures, options, swaps).
“Bankers also hope for improvement as long as businesses will transfer currency in Ukraine more actively because now they can withdraw it any time,” she said.
The lawyer stressed that “in such situation it will be much more difficult to make dollar rate forecasts and the volume of currency on the market is also unknown.”
Breduliak added that “cancellation of mandatory sale of currency will not have a dramatic effect on businesses.”
“For example, take an agricultural company. The farmers need hryvnias to prepare for the sowing campaign. Hence, there is no point in holding currency back and the agricultural company anyway has to sell currency to insure its further work,” she said.
As reported, the NBU canceled the mandatory sale of currency by businesses from June 19, 2019.
