Nestle, one of the world’s largest food producers, intends to invest about UAH 390 million in Ukraine in 2018, Nestle Director for Ukraine and Moldova Ansgar Bornemann has said. “In 2017 Nestle invested more than UAH 128 million in Ukraine. And investments were used in certain parts at each of the three factories. And in 2018 we plan to triple investments to UAH 390 million,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.
He said total sales in 2017 reached UAH 7 billion. “The most significant contribution to this figure was made by the culinary business (Torchyn and Mivina), confectionery products (Svitoch, Lion, KitKat) and beverages (Nescafe) .The business of baby food, animal feed, NestleProfessional, ready-to-eat breakfasts also demonstrated a significant growth,” he said, adding that in 2018 the company expects sales growth.
The company’s exports in 2017 increased by 10%. The company supplies goods to 17 countries, including Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Holland, Poland, France, Hungary, the Baltic States, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. In addition, in small quantities the products are exported to the United States and Canada.
Nestle began operations in Ukraine in 1994. The Nestle business in Ukraine is represented by the following directions: coffee, drinks, confectionery goods, cooking (cold sauces, seasoning, soup), fast food products, baby and special meals, ready meals, and pet food.
Ukrainian banks maintain positive expectations regarding the growth of corporate lending, as well as lending to the population over the next 12 months, according to the Survey on Credit Conditions posted on the website of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). According to the central bank, 76% of the banks surveyed expect an increase in the corporate loan portfolio over the next 12 months, with the corresponding expectations remaining for the sixth consecutive quarter. Some 69% of the polled banks expect the growth of lending to individuals, which is the highest percentage since the beginning of the survey in 2015.
In January-March, banks more actively than a quarter earlier approved applications for loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and consumer loans, responding to the growth in demand.
“The revival of lending to the population and SMEs in the first quarter was positively influenced by the banks’ lowering interest rates and lengthening the terms of lending,” the NBU reported on the website.
Increased competition between the banks and non-banking institutions, as well as economic growth and a reduction in inflation expectations led to the softening by small banks of requirements for individual borrowers during the first quarter. At the same time, the banks, primarily large ones, raised requirements for collateral on business loans and tightened restrictions imposed by credit agreements, especially for large enterprises. Several large banks also reported an increase in demand for mortgage loans.
PKO Bank Polski S.A. has increased a stake in the charter capital of Kredobank (Lviv) to 100% from 99.6293%, the bank has said in the information disclosure system of the National Commission for Securities and the Stock Market. “On April 24, the National Depository of Ukraine reported about the completion of procedures linked to the squeeze-out of ordinary shares in Kredobank,” the bank said.
As reported, amendments introduced on March 23, 2017, to some legal acts in Ukraine to facilitate corporate management at joint-stock companies have introduced such procedures as squeeze-out and sell-out (the forced purchase and sale of participation in share capital) to the country’s legislative environment.
Kredobank was established in 1990. Kredobank ranked 19th among 84 operating banks as of January 1, 2018, in terms of total assets worth UAH 15.171 billion, according to the National Bank of Ukraine.
Odesa-based Automagistral-Yug has launched an asphalt-concrete plant in the settlement of Derhachi in Kharkiv region, the company’s press service has reported. “We are launching the 14th own asphalt plant in Ukraine and the fifth plant of Italy’s Marini Fayat Group. Thanks to the construction of a new plant, we can hourly produce up to 320 tonnes of asphalt, which is more than 3,500 tonnes per shift, which today is a record indicator for similar enterprises in Ukraine,” Automagistral-Yug Director General Mykola Tymofeyev said. According to the company, the amount of investment in the new production plant was more than EUR 3 million. According to the report, the plant’s products will be sent to the asphalt-concrete coating on the P46 Kharkiv-Akhtyrka road, as well as on the M-03 Kyiv-Kharkiv-Dolzhansky highway and T2104 Kharkiv-Vovchansk road.
According to Tymofeyev, the total amount of work on the roads will be 80 km and will be completed by the end of the year.
ASPHALT-CONCRETE PLANT, KHARKIV REGION, LAUNCHE, MARINI FAYAT GROUP PLANT
The State Automobile Roads Agency, also known as Ukravtodor, opened bids of contractors participating in a tender to build two-level traffic interchanges on M-05 Kyiv-Odesa and M-06 Kyiv-Chop highways. The press service of the agency reported that the tender to build two-level traffic interchanges was held as part of the implementation of the project of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) entitled “Pan-European Corridors Project/European road of Ukraine II, Improvement of traffic condition of the roads at approaches to Kyiv.” The tender for the work was held for the contracts, the financing of which will be carried out through a loan: lot No. 1 is construction of two-level interchanges on the M-05 highway, turn to the village of Chabany and turn to Boyarka and M-06 highway – completion of the alignment near the village of Stoyanka; Lot No. 2 is construction of two-level transport interchanges on the M-06 highway – turn tot eh village of Chaiky and turn to the village of Bilohorodka.
Seven companies submitted their bids: Fermak Insaat Taahhut A.S. (Turkey), China Road and Bridge Corporation (China), СП PBDiM Sp. z o. o. (Poland) and Ukrainian-Polish Company with foreign investments UPS LLC (Ukraine), JSC Euro-Asian Construction Corporation EVRASCON (Azerbaijan), Sinohydro Corporation Ltd. (China), Alke Insaat Sanaye ve Ticaret A.S. (Azerbaijan), Kauno Tiltai LLC (Lithuania).
AZERBAIJAN, BUILD INTERCHANGES, CHINA, COMPANIES, LITHUANIA, POLAND, TENDER, TURKEY
Some Indian pharmaceutical companies are interested in entering the Ukrainian market with Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) products, President of the Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association (IPMA) Dr. Ramanan Unni Parambath Menon has told Interfax-Ukraine. “Many pharmaceutical companies are present on the Ukrainian market with AYUSH products and many of them are interested in entering it,” he said, adding that the Ayurvedic term is incorrect for this segment of medications.
“AYUSH is ab abbreviation for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy,” he said.
Commenting on the specifics of the Ukrainian regulatory base for the import of AYUSH products, Dr. Menon said that in Ukraine some of these medications are registered both as medicines and as biologically active additives.
“In India, there are separate rules for registration of AYUSH products. There are no separate rules in Ukraine. We would like these rules by analogy with India to be implemented in Ukraine,” he said.
In this case, according to Dr. Menon, some AYUSH preparations have a full package of documentation for the registration of medical products required by the State Expert Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
In turn, Head of the Representative Office of Dia Pharma Limited Ukraine Mr. Thamarai Pandian said that there are special rules of registration for AYUSH medications drawn up for the WTO in some countries like Switzerland, Germany, Hungary and some other EU countries.
“The Health Ministry of Ukraine could have introduced the same WTO rules in Ukraine,” the expert said.
At present, there are 278,000 Ayurvedic specialists, over 200 Ayurvedic educational institutions and 112 Ayurvedic skill enhancement institutions. Some 15,000 people graduate from them every year.
There are 7,439 private companies in India that produce Ayurvedic medications and over 20 companies with the international GMP certificate.
