KYIV. Nov 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – State-run enterprise Zorya-Mashproekt (Mykolaiv) will supply energy equipment participating in the program to upgrade facilities of the Ukrainian gas transport system (GTS).
The company’s press service reported that Zorya-Mashproekt would produce and deliver 16 MW gas turbine engines DG-90 to public joint-stock company Ukrtransgaz to upgrade three compressor stations Ananiev, Zadniprovska and Pivdennobuhska. The company is to ship nine engines.
The press service said that the energy equipment will be delivered jointly with gas pumping units made by Sumy Machine-Building Science and Production Association (Sumy NPO). Sumy NPO is the author of the comprehensive solution to modernize the compressor stations. It won tenders held by Ukrtransgaz in November 2016.
The cost of Zorya-Mashproekt’s equipment of the total cost of the project is around 30%.
The company today exports over 95% of its products.
“Demand on the domestic market is important for the company. The enterprise’s team hopes for further cooperation with Ukrtransgaz under the GTS modernization program,” the press service said.
Zorya-Mashproekt (Mykolaiv) is a member of the Ukroboronprom Concern.
KYIV. Nov 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – A group of professionals not representing government officials intend to draw up a list of possible investment projects in Ukraine worth $150 billion. The projects could be implemented in Ukraine in coming 15-20 years, former head of the Presidential Administration and Head of the National Investment Council Borys Lozhkin has said.
“There are no [large investment] projects in the country. Ministries and state-run companies even cannot give projects worth $10 billion, while we need $150 billion for next 15 or 20 years. These figures are realistic,” he said at the third Orchestrators of Change Directors forum that took place in Kyiv on November 10.
He said that one of the largest international funds with assets of over $500 billion under management has expressed its readiness to invest $1-3 billion in Ukraine. The fund asked to present projects worth $20 billion to select some. It was found out that the country does not have these projects.
Lozhkin said that he ordered a group of ‘non-government’ people to prepare the list of projects in the sectors, including revised projects proposed by ministries.
He said that the Ukrainian energy sector could spend $50-70 billion of investment in coming 20 years, and infrastructure and agriculture – $30-40 billion each.
He said that these are projects worth over $100 million and better if they were $300-500 million, as efforts spent on the projects worth $5 billion or $100 million are the same.
Lozhkin said that foreign direct investment (FDI) is the main hope for Ukraine’s exploding growth.
“$1 billion of FDI is around 1% of GDP growth. If they have them worth $6-8 billion, it would be 6-8% of GDP growth and a multiplier – we can reach 10% of growth a year. Then the values would change quicker,” he said.
MHP Board Chairman Yuriy Kosiuk said that Ukraine today is not ready for large investments, as there is a large risk of losing it. The process should be gradual, he said.
“One cannot help a fool,” he said.
Lozhkin said that one can give $500 million to such businessmen as Kosiuk and President of Galnaftogaz Concern Vitaliy Antonov who also participated in the discussion. However, Kosiuk said that they could suffer from country risks too.
KYIV. Nov 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Antimonopoly Committee has permitted Koninklijke Bunge B. V. (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) to acquire shares in New European company LLC (Mykolaiv).
The press service of the committee said that the permit grants Bunge over 50% of the votes in the management body of the company.
As reported, the transnational company Bunge has invested $180 million in building a handling complex with an oilseed refinery, oil handling terminal and an expanded grain terminal.
Bunge Ukraine Managing Director Dmytro Horshunov said that the complex continues the company’s strategy aimed at developing infrastructure at Mykolaiv seaport. In 2011 the company built a handling terminal at this port and it expanded Ukraine’s exports capacity by 3 million tonnes a year.
New European company LLC provides cargo handling, storage and loading services. It was registered in 2013. Robertius Investments Limited (Cyprus) owns the company. The ultimate beneficiary is an individual from Cyprus – Atanasia Iakovidu.
Bunge operates on agricultural products and food markets.
The key assets of Bunge in Ukraine are the Dnipropetrovsk oil extraction plant and subsidiary Suntrade (Kyiv).
KYIV. Nov 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Nibulon agricultural company in the framework of its strategic plans in the field of inland waterway transport intends to build five new river transshipment terminals, continue building inland and mixed navigation transport ships.
According to the company’s presentation, posted on its website, the strategic plan also provides for investing no less than $300 million in river transport of Ukraine.
The report reads the transport potential of Ukraine’s inland waterways for grain transportation is more than 10 million tonnes, other freight more than 50 million tonnes.
This will allow reducing burden on roads by 2.5 million trucks and therefore saving about UAH 47.4 billion of budget funds for road repairs.
Nibulon was created in 1991. It is one of the largest operators in the grain market of the country. It has elevators with a total capacity of about 2 million tonnes, as well as its own transshipment terminal with a capacity of 5 million tonnes in Mykolaiv.
KYIV. Nov 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – China’s CNBM has completed the registration of ownership rights to the 10 largest solar power plants in Ukraine with a total capacity of 267 MW, Director General of China’s CNBM New Energy Engineering Co., Ltd. Yongzhi Chen has said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
Commenting on the recent news about the acquisition of Neptun Solar incorporated into Activ Solar, he said that this was the last deal to register ownership rights to 10 solar power plants received for debts, while ownership rights to the rest of nine plants were registered earlier.
“In general, we have invested around $1 billion of investment and financing, including commodity loans. Over EUR 168 million were converted into capital of 10 solar power plants. The company received control over the said assets in exchange of paying unrecoverable and unsecured debt under transactions to supply equipment,” Chen said.
He said that the Chinese company has been operating on the Ukrainian energy market since 2011. In 2012-2013 a large debt appeared, and the problem was settled only in 2014 when the plants were transferred to ownership as payment of the debt.
Chen said that CNBM received permits from all Chinese and Ukrainian regulators, including Ukraine’s Antimonopoly Committee, and information that the company owns Ukrainian companies is available in open registers.
He said that CNBM is fulfilling all liabilities of the Ukrainian companies to Ukrainian banks, including Oschadbank.
As for the tariff that is considered set too high by many lawmakers and market players, he said that this tariff guaranteed the acceptable payback period with the prices of equipment at the moment of building the plants.
“In 2011-2012 the cash cost of equipment was three times more than now. It is incorrect to assess the cash cost that was five years ago, taking into account the current market price,” Chen said.
Commenting on information that other countries eventually reduced feed-in tariffs, he said that there investors knew about the reduction of tariffs in advance and they could plan their operations.
“On the other hand, the tariffs were not reduced for the finished facilities,” he added.
Chen said that allegations of some politicians that CNBM is linked to Ukrainian oligarchs, in particular, fugitive ex-head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Andriy Kliuyev, is an attempt to deceive regulators and society and explain the discriminative steps against the company by this.