KYIV. April 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The World Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) is to lend $95 million to Kernel Holding S.A. and its subsidiaries for financing their working capital.
The Board of Directors will decide on the loan on May 10, IFC said in an announcement on its website.
“IFC loan will support a leading grain trader, crusher and a primary agricultural producer with significant linkages to the economy of rural areas. Kernel employs over 14,500 people on a full time basis, including 8,690 in its farming division. Through its wide origination network Kernel annually procures in excess of 2 million tons of sunflower seeds and more than 3 million tons of grains from about 5,000 farmers. In 3 years, the company plans to increase its procurement volumes by 30%, which would expand its reach to 6,500 farmers,” the announcement reads.
IFC’s financing will be channeled throughout the agri supply chain (farmers,
SMEs) and will also inject additional liquidity into the Ukrainian agri sector, which currently experiences working capital shortages.
Kernel is a vertically integrated company which has been operating in the Ukrainian agribusiness sector since 1994. The group produces sugar and sunflower oil, distributes bottled oil under the brand names Schedry Dar, Stozhar and Chumak Zolota, exports oil and grain, and provides elevator storage services for grain and oilseeds.
Kernel in the first half of the 2016 fiscal year (July 2015-June 2016) saw net profit rise by 79%, to $140.4 million while revenues fell by 19%, to
$998.7 million.
KYIV. April 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Energy Community has shortlisted six Ukrainian projects as candidates for the label of Projects of Energy Community Interest (PECI), Director of the Energy and Coal Industry Ministry’s planning and European integration department Mykhailo Bno-Airiian has said.
“There was a second meeting to shortlist the projects for PECI status. As I’ve written before, we’ve submitted six projects – three concern construction and renovation of power transmission lines, two foresee the construction of gas interconnector pipelines and one is related to crude oil. It’s pleasant that all the projects have been shortlisted for further action,” he wrote on Facebook.
Bno-Airiian says that there are 33 projects worth over EUR 4 billion that have been submitted for PECI status.
Projects of Energy Community Interest (PECIs) is a label attached to infrastructure projects that have the highest positive impact in the largest possible number of the Energy Community Contracting Parties. The identification of PECIs has evolved in two tiers; 2013 PECIs and 2016 PECIs.
KYIV. April 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The validity of the consolidated financial report of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) for 2015 has been checked by the Deloitte audit firm, which made positive conclusions (without qualifications), the NBU said on its website.
Deloitte audits reports of over 20 central banks in the world, the NBU said.
The NBU selected Deloitte via a tender for the second year in a row.
As was reported, the NBU’s assets on the balance of separate articles grew by 62% in 2015 from 2014, to UAH 1.009 trillion, according to rough estimates.
“The NBU’s assets in the final annual balance report will be smaller compared to the preliminary data thanks to closure of the matching and unused financial tool balances as swaps with foreign central banks. The sum of growth of NBU’s assets, taking into account these adjustments, would be around UAH 272 billion or 47%,” the bank said, citing Director of the Financial Controlling Department at the NBU Oleh Strynzh.
He said that according to tentative data, the increase in the NBU’s assets is first linked to growth of Ukraine’s forex reserves from $5.77 billion to
$13.3 billion. Their hryvnia equivalent in the NBU’s balance grew by UAH
200.4 billion in a year.
The second largest factor is growth of the hryvnia-pegged securities portfolio – by UAH 73.3 billion.
The regulator said that in 2015, banks returned UAH 8.2 billion on refinancing credits to the NBU, which is reflected in the trend of the decline in credits in the assets of the central bank from UAH 126.1 billion to UAH 117.9 billion.
The bank’s liabilities portfolio posted a rise in SDRs thanks to the attraction of tranches worth UAH 110.5 billion in equivalent from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – from UAH 65.6 billion to UAH 176.1 billion.
The deposit certificate portfolio of the NBU grew by UAH 70.3 billion in 2015, to UAH 89.9 billion.
The central bank’s capital rose by 100% or UAH 80.3 billion, to UAH 161 billion.
The NBU’s preliminary report for 2015 will be audited and approved by the board and council. By April 30, 2016, profit will be distributed to the bank’s reserves and Ukraine’s national budget.
NBU financial reports are drawn under the international financial reporting standards.
KYIV. April 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Arseniy Yatseniuk said he had decided to resign from the post of Ukrainian prime minister.
“I’ve decided to step down from the post of Ukrainian prime minister,” he said in the 10 minutes with prime minister program broadcast by Ukrainian television stations on Sunday.
Yatseniuk said that his statement of resignation would be tabled in parliament on Tuesday, April 12.
The politician said that his decision had been caused by several reasons.
“The political crisis in the state is stirred up artificially. The wish to replace one person has blinded the politicians and has paralyzed their will to real changes. The process of replacing the government turned into an unreasonable running in place. The authors of the crisis turned into hostages of circumstances and made us all – the government, society and the state – hostages,” Yatseniuk said.
He also said that the destabilization of the executive authorities should be prevented during the war. This prospect is inevitable if after the resignation a new Ukrainian government is not immediately elected.
“The settlement of the situation has finally become attainable. The coalition majority is reviving in the parliament. The new agreement is based on the goals and principles of the program by our Cabinet of ministers,”
Yatseniuk said.
He recalled that the Petro Poroshenko Bloc parliamentary faction has nominated incumbent Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Groysman for the post of prime minister.
“Having done everything for the stability and continuation of the course, I say I decided to transfer the duties and responsibility of the head of Ukrainian government,” Yatseniuk said.
Additionally, he said that despite the decision to resign from the post of prime minister the People’s Front political party faction in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada remained in the coalition.
The politician said that from now on he sees “his tasks broader than the powers of the head of government.”
Among the issues, which he plans to work on, are the control over the activities and performance of the parliamentary coalition, international support to Ukraine and other fields.
“From now on, I see my tasks broader than the powers of the head of government. A new election legislation. A constitutional reform. A legal reform. The coalition control over the course of a new government.
International support to Ukraine. Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and NATO. This makes part of my program,” Yatseniuk said.
KYIV. April 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – State-run enterprise Artyomsol saw a 47.3% salt exports increase in January-March 2016 year-over-year.
The company said that this allowed the company to almost double its share of European exports, to 13.7%. Despite warm winter, the company reported a 4.5-fold rise in supplies to Hungary, to 27,900 tonnes, while supplies to Slovakia and the Czech Republic totaled 11,600 tonnes.
“We’re actively strengthening our positions on the Eastern European markets. This is an interesting market with solvent demand. It is convenient from point of logistics. Exports to the EU helps us to compensate Russia’s limitations of Ukrainian salt imports,” the company said, citing acting Director general Volodymyr Dolia.
The 7% decrease in shipments in Ukraine is linked to a fall in demand by road maintenance services.
Artyomsol is the largest enterprise engaged in the production and sale of salt (NaCl) in Central and Eastern Europe.
KYIV. April 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine in January-March 2016 increased imports of aluminum ore and concentrate (bauxite) in real terms by 17.2% compared to the same period in 2015, to 1.235 million tonnes.
According to customs statistics, made public by the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, imports of bauxite in monetary terms in the three months rose by 17.9%, to $48.752 million.
At the same time, imports were made from Guinea (66.65% of supply in money terms), Guyana (27.19%), and Brazil (5.96%).
In January-March 2016 Ukraine did not perform re-exports of these materials.
As reported, in 2015 Ukraine increased imports of bauxite in natural terms by 12.7% compared to 2014, to 4.338 million tonnes, in monetary terms by 14.8%, to $181.075 million.
Imports were mainly made from Guinea (62.96% of shipments in monetary terms) and Guyana (30.37%).
