Ukraine Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food has approved a list of priority geographical indications (GIs), the EU-fund project “Geographical Indications in Ukraine” will be assisting in their registration. The first Ukrainian GIs products (given are working names) will be: wine with protected designation of origin (PDO) Shabskyi, PDO Yalpuh, wine with protected geographical indications (PGI) Zakarpattia, PGI Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, cheese with PDO Hutsul Sheep Bryndzya, watermelon with PDO Kherson Watermelon, sweet cherries with PDO Melitopol Cherries, honey with PGI Carpathian Honey, the project said on Facebook.
Sergiy Tigipko’s TAS group of companies has bought part of the Arena City retail and office center at 1-3/2a Baseina Street in Kyiv. According to the NV Business edition, with reference to several sources, the group of Tigipko acquired the center with an area of 14,000 square meters for $13-15 million. The deal did not include several premises on the ground floor that were previously sold.
According to the source, Dmytro Firtash’ Group D, which owned the asset, put it up for sale in 2018 at the initial price of about $20 million.
According to Olha Nasonova, the director general of Restaurant Consulting company, rental rates for offices in Arena City can reach $25-30 per square meter, for food courts from $50 per square meter.
TAS Group was founded in 1998. It has assets in financial and industrial sectors, agriculture, real estate, pharmaceuticals, and venture projects.
Ferrexpo with assets in Ukraine in 2018 saw $335.22 million in net profit, which is 15% lower than the figure of 2017.
According to the annual financial statements posted by the company on the website of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Tuesday, its revenue last year grew by 6.4%, to $1.274 billion with a fall of 2.3% in sales of pellets, to 10.227 million tonnes and growth of pellet production by 1.6%, to 10.607 million tonnes.
Gross profit fell by 2.5%, to $766.09 million, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) – by 8.7%, to $502.88 million and operating profit – by 12.7%, to $427.58 million.
Net debt fell by 14%, to $339 million with capital investment growing by 31.1%, to $135 million.
“We continued to benefit from the strong global demand for our high-grade iron ore pellets, which helped deliver strong cash flow despite a rise in costs. This enabled us to increase investment, reduce debt further and pay a record dividend,” Non-executive Chairman Steve Lucas said.
He said that “our balance sheet is now strong and this gives us a platform to deliver the next stage in our planned expansion.” “This year we plan to increase investment once more to be able to hit our medium-term production target of 12 million tonnes per annum by 2021 and lay the foundations for our longer-term intention to move to annual output of 20 million tonnes per annum,” he said.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide Bank Lviv (Lviv) with funding in the amount of EUR5.3 million under the Women in Business program for lending to companies led by women and for the development of trade, according to a press release from the EBRD.
According to the report, the financing package will consist of a four-year loan of up to EUR4.3 million, which is provided in the hryvnia, for lending to micro, small and medium enterprises under the guidance of women. The Women in Business program provides for the provision of consulting services for women entrepreneurs. The program also includes technical assistance to financial institutions to improve service in companies led by women.
In addition, the EBRD financing package includes a limit opened to Bank Lviv in the amount of EUR1 million under the EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Program (TFP) to stimulate international and regional trade.
SP Investments LLC (the United States) on April 22 acquired 77 million shares, or 100% of the charter capital, of PrJSC Etalon Insurance Company (Kyiv), according to the insurer’s official information. Prior to the acquisition of shares, SP Investments LLC or its affiliates did not hold shares in Etalon. According to the report, the highest price of shares, which were purchased within 12 days, was UAH 0.205 per share.
Etalon insurance company was established in 1993. It has 24 licenses for nine compulsory and 15 voluntary types of insurance. The company offers more than 50 insurance products for individuals and legal entities. It has an extensive regional network of representative offices in Ukraine.
