The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in April raised its forecast for corn exports from Ukraine for the 2018/2019 marketing year (MY, July-June) by 500,000 tonnes compared with the March forecast, to 29.5 million tonnes.
According to the report on the USDA’s website, the increase in the export forecast is associated with a large harvest. The forecast of corn harvest in Ukraine was increased by 305,000 tonnes, to 35.8 million tonnes.
In addition, the USDA retained the forecast of wheat exports from Ukraine in the 2018/2019 MY at the level of 16.5 million tonnes, raised the crop forecast by 57,000 tonnes, to 25.057 million tonnes. The forecast for barley production was also slightly increased (by 204,000 tonnes, to 7.6 million tonnes), while the export forecast did not change (4.2 million tonnes).
In general, the U.S. agency raised its grain yield forecast in Ukraine to 69.7 million tonnes, exports to 50.4 million tonnes.
The USDA has not changed its forecasts for oilseeds processing (15.85 million tonnes) and oil exports (5.93 million tonnes), while the forecast for oil meal exports rose to 5.26 million tonnes (100,000 tonnes more) after a decline in the previous month.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko is holding negotiations with the owner of the largest theme park in Germany – Europa-park – on attracting investment in the creation of the similar park in the capital of Ukraine, the press service of the mayor has reported.
“We are planning to create a large amusement park and active recreation in the territory of Kyiv’s Hydropark. This is an area of almost 130 hectares, an island not far from the city center. And today we need an investor who will invest funds, experience and ideas in implementing such a large project,” Klitschko said.
Klitschko noted the coziness and stylization of old times in Europa-park and said that such a park must appear in Kyiv.
“Everything is very interesting here: cozy, stylized as an old town with modern attractions, lots of interesting entertainment, and good nature. And for children there are locations not only for entertainment, but also with educational functions. In short, both children and their parents are happy here. I have been dreaming for a long time and I will do everything so that a similar park will appear in Kyiv,” he said.
Europa-park is the largest in Germany and the second most visited amusement park in Europe after Disneyland in Paris. Last year, Europa-park was visited by more than 6,000,000 people. They come here from Germany, France, Switzerland and other countries.
Ukrtelecom will invest around UAH 270 million in the development of the high-speed fiber optic Internet network using GPON technology in almost 300 small towns and villages. Almost UAH 135 million was raised from Slovenia’s SID Bank, a promotional development and export bank.
“The start of construction of the fiber optic network is scheduled for the middle of May. The first connections to the new network will be already in July,” the operator said on Tuesday.
According to the report, the project is designed for two years and will be implemented jointly with the Iskratel telecommunications company. It provides for the construction of more than 3,500 km of fiber optic lines and subscriber access speeds of up to 200 Mbit per second, with the ability to use Internet telephony and interactive television. The partner company was selected based on the results of the tender for a comprehensive solution for the construction of the network, including construction and installation works, supply of equipment and startup works, the company said.
“The loan is secured by the insurance policy of SID bank to cover commercial and non-commercial risks. In this project, SID bank acts as an export credit agency,” Ukrtelecom said.
JSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia saw an 11% fall in net profit in 2018, to UAH 27.135 billion (around $1 billion).
According to the financial statements audited by Deloitte and posted on the company’s website, net revenue in 2018 grew by 5.2%, to UAH 78.97 billion, while gross profit fell by 8.8%, to UAH 38.368 billion.
In 2018, the company saw revenue from sale of natural gas and oil in the amount of UAH 69.825 billion (a rise of 3.7% on 2017), from sale of refined petroleum products – UAH 8.465 billion (a rise of 21.4%), fossil fuel extraction and preparation services – UAH 220.216 million (a fall of 31.6%), and other goods and services – UAH 459.661 million (a rise of 3%).
The royalty for the use of subsoil and other taxes in 2018 was UAH 25.268 billion (a rise of 13.4% year-over-year), depreciation totaled UAH 9.84 billion (a rise of 47.7%), staff costs and social payments came to UAH 3.007 billion (a rise of 34.4%), and other costs – UAH 2.487 billion (a rise of 35.2%).
As reported, Ukrgazvydobuvannia increased production by 1.2% (by 176.2 million cubic meters), to 15.42 billion cubic meters in 2018.
Ukrgazvydobuvannia, fully owned by Naftogaz Ukrainy, is the country’s largest gas producing company, providing about 75% of the country’s total gas production.
Emerging Europe Growth Fund III, LP (EEGF III) of Horizon Capital has acquired a minority stake in a leading private medical chain in Kyiv city and region – Dobrobut, the company reported on Wednesday.
“Our plans require investment and expertise. Horizon Capital’s capital, knowledge and experience are pivotal in supporting our ambitious strategic plans,” Oleg Kalashnikov, CEO of Dobrobut, said.
According to him, in the nearest future Dobrobut will open another medical facility in Kyiv, 10,000 sq m, which will offer top-notch surgery, oncology and cardiology services.
Horizon Capital’s Founding Partner and CEO Lenna Koszarny said that Horizon Capital’s entry into this strategic sector, together with the backing of our global institutional investors, will play a significant role in the development of healthcare in Ukraine, as it brings capital, transparency, world-class equipment and best practices to this industry.
The participants in the transaction do not disclose its terms, however, Kalashnikov said that “it is not about selling part of the business, this deal is about increasing capital and supporting growth.”
“We have ambitious plans to further develop the company, including opening new clinics, expanding the scope of medical services offered and mastering new skills,” he said.
At the end of March, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine reported that 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 Satumco Limited, the owner of Dobrobut.
In January 2019, The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine began probing into the acquisition by Cypriot-based Satumco Limited, the owner of Kyiv’s largest private medical chain Dobrobut, of the Boris Clinic, one of the oldest private clinics in Kyiv.
The Dobrobut Medical Center was established in 2001 and previously included branches in Donetsk and Yalta, but now its assets are located in Kyiv and it grew to a large chain. In particular, it currently includes an emergency station, children’s clinics on the right and left banks of Kyiv, clinics for adults on the right and left banks, a hospital for adults and children, pediatric and adult surgery departments, a medical diagnostic center, the Dobrobut Oncology Center, as well as the center of clinical neurology, neurorehabilitation and rehabilitation medicine.
In January 2018, a group of investors from the Concorde Capital investment company and shareholder in the Luxoptica chain of optical stores Oleh Kalashnikov acquired 80% of the Dobrobut chain from UBG (both based in Kyiv). The owner of the UBG corporation was MP Ruslan Demchak (Bloc of Petro Poroshenko parliamentary faction), who retained a 20% stake in the chain.
Currently, according to the public register, Satumco Limited owns 99% in many companies of the chain (Dobrobut Emergency Aid LLC which revenue in 2017 was UAH 38.5 million, Dobrobut Polyclinic Center with UAH 347.8 million, Dobrobut Statsionar Center (in-patient facility) with UAH 48.9 million, Dobrobut Medical Center for Children with UAH 73.6 million, Dobrobut Dytynstvo (Childhood) Center with UAH 22.2 million) and its beneficiaries are owner and head of Concorde Capital Ihor Mazepa and Luxoptica shareholder Oleg Kalashnikov.
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.
Construction of one more solar power plant with a capacity of 762 kW on the territory of the Chornobyl exclusion zone will be started in July 2019 and completed in December, the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry has told Interfax-Ukraine. The project is financed by the Government of Spain. According to Svitlana Hrynchuk, Director of the Department for Climate Change and the Ozone Globe of the Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry, the solar power plant in Chornobyl is being built under a program of targeted environmental (“green”) investments that Ukraine received from Spain, transferring its emission quotas for greenhouse gases.
According to the ministry, at the end of 2018, a joint Ukrainian-Spanish committee, which controls the efficiency and feasibility of using the Kyoto funds provided by the Spanish government, approved the respective project to reconstruct the asphalt concrete pavement on the territory of the Chornobyl sports stadium by installing the solar power plant. The project was developed by state-owned enterprise Center for Organizational, Technical and Information Support of the Exclusion Zone Management.
The ministry also said that at the end of March, the Ukrainian-Spanish delegation, which included Ambassador of Spain to Ukraine Silvia Josefina Cortes Martin, as well as representatives of Ukrainian ministries and departments, inspected the territory where the plant will be installed.
Cooperation with the Spanish government was resumed in 2016 after an almost 10-year break, the ministry recalled. About 10 years ago, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Spain bought the so-called Assigned Amount Units from Ukraine for EUR 30 million.
Currently, a solar power plant with a capacity of 1 MW is operating in the Chornobyl zone. The plant was built by Ukrainian-German consortium Rodina-Enerparc AG in 2018. The consortium plans to expand the plant’s capacity to 100 MW.
