KYIV. Feb 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) –U.S. Textron Systems and the Ukroboronprom State Concern will establish industrial cooperation to modernize U.S. HMMWVs at the Ukrainian defense industrial facilities to the Survivable Combat Tactical Vehicles (SCTV) with improved anti-mine and ballistic protection similar to that of MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) protection.
The contract was signed by Textron Systems and SpetsTechnoExport, incorporated in Ukroboronprom. The information that the contract was signed was announced by Ukraine during the International Armoured Vehicles Conference held on January 25 through January 28, 2016 in London, the press service of SpetsTechnoExport reported.
The contract entails an initial low rate production of three SCTVs that will be delivered to Ukraine in an ongoing effort to vastly improve the survivability and mobility of their light tactical vehicle fleet as well as a possibility to use the patented Textron Systems technologies for upgrading HMMWVs at Ukroboronprom enterprises. Other details of the contract are not disclosed.
“It features a fully-armored, monocoque v-hull crew survivability capsule designed to provide the highest levels of protection technology available in its class of vehicles. Additionally, engine upgrades and suspension enhancements provide for superior performance and mobility,” the press service said.
According to Interfax-Ukraine’s sources in the defense sector, all three modernized HMMWVs will be supplied to Ukraine in 2016.
KYIV. Feb 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Investment Bank (EIB) plans to expand support of large corporate business in Ukraine in 2016, Senior Corporate Banker for EU Neighbouring Countries at the EIB Jean-Jacques Soulacroup has said.
“We would like to emphasize the focus that we are putting on this year in Ukraine is increasing our targets with our volumes with the private sector. Not only on SME side and mid-caps, but also on the large caps, the large corporates, because we think that we are now in a position that in the context Ukraine seems to be more and more favorable for financing the large corporates as well,” Soulacroup said at the international conference entitled “Focus Ukraine: Global Export Credit Agency and Multilateral Financial Institutions Strategy Meeting.”
“Our 40% of portfolio dedicated to SMEs is basically intermediated through banks, local banks. If I am really looking honestly about the picture of the EIB in Ukraine than on the pure corporate side we have financed basically 11% of our portfolio. So this is still very minor and we want to increase that. We want to do more. What we want to do is to target is to work with champions in Ukraine. When I say the champions I mean the companies that are the leaders in their market or that are the best managed and with best potential for development. I think this is important. But we want to target these champions that are suffering from the current economic environment,” he said.
The banker said that these companies need not only short-term money, but also long-term money.
“What they need, in fact, is a long-term financing. They need eight, ten, twelve years of long maturities. And this is something that we can provide… For that we cannot do it by ourselves… for that we need the corporations that support all of you… We can finance only half of the investment cost of any investment cost, so this leaves the room for the other have to be financed,” he said.
He also expressed his readiness to work on the guarantee mechanism that would allow cutting the cost of loans.
He said that the EIB has EUR800 mln to commit for this year as part of the 2014-2016 portfolio.
“We have been part of the package of EU commission for providing 11 billion to Ukraine and we committed ourselves to provide 3 billion. And out of these 3 billion over 2014 2015 and 2016 we’ve already signed 2.2 billion. As you have understood, we have EUR800 mln to commit for this year. Hopefully in 2017 we might be able to keep it going, probably with these amounts, hopefully with more,” he said.
The banker said that the bank is already in the discussion with the Ukrainian government for projects in transport, transit energy and possible trade support.
KYIV. Jan 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Turboatom (Kharkiv), Ukraine’s largest producer of turbine equipment, in 2015 saw a net profit of UAH 1.7 billion, which is 2.7 times higher than in 2014.
According to information on the website of the company, with reference to Director General Viktor Subotin, the company’s sales last year amounted to UAH 2.8 billion that is equivalent to 4,000 kW of the installed capacity of shipped produce.
The report notes that these figures are the best for all the years of the enterprise’s work.
As reported, in January-September 2015 Turboatom posted a net profit of UAH 1.288 billion, which is 56.5% more than in January-September 2014, its net income increased by 35%, to UAH 2.077 billion.
According to Turboatom, last year it produced and shipped to customers three steam turbines, two condensers, six driving wheels and four guide vanes of water turbines.
KYIV. Jan 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The territorial agencies of the State Service for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre in 2015 provided leasing rights to farmland parcels in state ownership with a gross area of 27,920 ha to investors at auctions, which is 3.8 times up on 2014.
The service said on its website that the largest number of land parcels in 2015 was leased to investors in Odesa region (4,931 ha), Volyn region (3,433 ha) and Lviv region (3,036 ha). The smallest number was leased in Chernivtsi region (130.4 ha), Ivano-Frankivsk region (221.6 ha), Zaporizhia region (221.7 ha) and Zakarpattia region (229 ha).
“For the major part of land parcels the starting rent rate was set at 4% of their pecuniary value (with the bottom rent rate set in Ukrainian law at 3%). At auctions the rent rates were increased to 7% of land pecuniary value on average in the country,” the service said.
In some regions the rent rate for the use of land was increased by 2.5 or even three time compared to the starting rate. The large increase in the rates was seen in Khmelnytsky (3.13 times), Lviv (2.54 times) and Dnipropetrovsk (2.34 times) regions.
KYIV. Jan 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – UMG Holding, uniting assets in the raw materials sector, industrial production and sales of the SCM financial and industrial group, plans to raise over $100 million of foreign investment by 2021 to create new business directions.
UMG Holding President Andriy Horokhov said at a briefing on Thursday that these goals are outlined in the company’s development strategy for the period until 2021.
Among other strategic plans are the further development of existing businesses and the achievement of the annual turnover of over $300 million, while in 2015 revenue was $164 million.
Horokhov said that it is planned to launch five new business directions in the raw materials and adjacent segments, depending on demand on the market.
UMG in 2007-2015 invested $82 million in business, and the investment plan to support existing production in 2016-2013 is $115 million.
UMG Holding is a diversified holding company focusing on asset management in the raw materials sector, industrial production and sales. It was founded in 2006 as clay production business.
At present, the holding works in three key directions: clay production, flux and dolomite production and processing and sale of ancillary products of thermal power plants.
KYIV. Jan 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The French-Ukrainian investment forum, initially scheduled for November 18, 2015 in Paris and postponed due to terrorists’ attacks in the city, will be held on April 5, 2016, Ukrainian Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister and Ukraine’s Trade Representative Natalia Mykolska has said.
“On April 5 the forum in France that was postponed in 2015 will be held. The date is confirmed. We want to make a public announcement jointly with France,” she said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday.
She said that the conference will be officially announced within a week.
She said that the holding of the similar forum with Canada is being discussed.
Mykolska added that it is planned to hold two more large conferences outside the country this year. One conference is devoted to the opportunities in trade with Ukraine and another one both to investment and trade.
As reported, in 2015, the Ukrainian government jointly with business organizations held two investment conferences in Washington and Berlin.
