Business news from Ukraine

KYIV. Nov 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) intends to launch two projects on energy efficiency market development in Ukraine by the end of 2016, UNDP Deputy Country Director in Ukraine Blerta Cela has said.

Speaking at the 8th International Forum on Sustainable Energy in Ukraine in Kyiv on Tuesday, Cela announced the launch of two important programs to promote activities in the field of energy efficiency and the development of this market in Ukraine.

According to her, the first program will be aimed at removing barriers to investment in energy efficiency in government buildings.

This program will be aimed at speeding up the implementation of energy efficiency measures at the expense of the most productive use of private sector investment, the deputy director of the UNDP office in Ukraine said.

At the same time, the UNDP’s second program will focus on promoting and encouraging the development of ‘green cities’ in Ukraine.

She said they will try to integrate ‘green’ urban development and ‘green’ urban management in this country including through taking the cue from several successful models of other cities in other countries.

The UNDP deputy country director also stressed the importance of the adoption by the Ukrainian parliament of the bills on housing and communal utilities, on energy efficiency of buildings and on fiscal metering of utility services, which should help Ukraine meet European energy efficiency standards, particularly in the residential sector.

The UNDP also needs financial support mechanisms and new technologies in order to support Ukraine in the implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy production, Cela said adding that the Energy Efficiency Fund has the potential to be a powerful tool in accelerating economic development in Ukraine.

According to her, Ukraine is still one of the least energy-efficient countries in the world occupying the 24th place in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

KYIV. Nov 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – DTEK Energo will buy 30,000 tonnes more gas coal in Poland in addition to earlier contracted 100,000 tonnes. The company will supply it in November to Burshtyn and Dobrotvirska thermal power plants (TPPs, managed by DTEK Zakhidenergo), the press service of the company has reported.

The press service said that first wagons with Polish coal started arriving to DTEK Zakhidenergo early October. At present, over 84,000 tonnes of imported coal has been shipped to TPPs.

“Since June DTEK’s TPPs have been operating in the extra coal burning mode. The Ukrenergo’s dispatch center ordered that DTEK’s TPPs will compensate for a lack of the power grid’s capacity. This has considerably increased the burden on our equipment and the volumes of coal supplies to our TTPs,” Commercial Director of DTEK Energo Vitaliy Butenko said.

He said that the diversification strategy approved by the company allows boosting coal supplies from different directions, in particular, from Poland.

KYIV. Nov 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the introduction of a passport in the form of a card for all citizens and the possibility of a voluntary exchange of the old passports.

According to the Cabinet’s decree No. 745 dated October 26, the government approved the patterns and technical specification of the form of the passport in the card form and the procedure of its registration of the issuance, exchange, transfer, removal, return to the state, the destruction in accordance with the requirements of Ukrainian legislation.

After adoption of this resolution, the passport of Ukrainian citizen will be: issued by the centers of administrative services; produced in the card form only, containing a wire-free electronic medium; granted to every citizen of Ukraine who has attained the age of 14; issued for persons under 18 years of age for the period of four years, and persons who have reached the age of 18 – for every 10 years; contain information on the tax number (registration number of the taxpayer’s registration card from the State Register of individuals – tax payers) or a notice of refusal to accept the registration number of the taxpayer registration card.

This passport-card is issued upon achieving 14 years of age based on the application no later than 20 working days. In addition, if the passport is made not for the first time, then it is made within 10 working days having the application for urgent execution.

ZHUHAI (China). Nov 2 (Interfax-AVN) – The new owners of the Sea Launch project, which has until recently been using Zenit Russian-Ukrainian launch vehicles powered with RD-170 engines, are expecting to resume the launch program as early as in 2018, NPO Energomash General Director Igor Arbuzov told Interfax-AVN on Tuesday on the Airshow China-2016 sidelines.

“If the launch vehicle is not replaced and if we are invited to cooperate, we will be ready to meet the company’s demand for engines,” he said, answering a question as to how long it would take to resume RD-170/171 production given the plans to reanimate the Sea Launch project.

Sea Launch Group members (subsidiaries and lower-tier subsidiaries of Energia Corporation) and S7 Group entered into a contract for the purchase of the Sea Launch Commander ship, the Odyssey launch platform and gear, and the Sea Launch trademark on September 27 during the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2016 in Guadalajara (Mexico).

Sea Launch International Consortium, established in 1995, used to launch Zenit-3SL rockets from the floating platform deployed in the equatorial Pacific. Following reorganization in 2010, Energia Overseas Limited (EOL), a subsidiary of Energia Corporation, acquired a 95% stake in the company, while U.S. Boeing received 3% and Norway’s Aker Solutions got 2%. The company was headquartered in Nyon, Switzerland, until recently.

The Zenit-3SL launch vehicle consists of the Zenit-2S two-stage rocket (created by Yuzhnoye (Pivdenne) Design Bureau and built by Yuzhmash (Pivdenmash) in Ukraine mostly using Russian-made component parts) and the DM-SL booster unit designed and manufactured by Energia Corporation in Korolyov, Moscow region.

As many as 36 Zenit-3SL missions, including 33 successful, have been accomplished under the Sea Launch program.

KYIV. Nov 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The oilseed harvest of Rostok-Holding (Kyiv) in 2016 grew by 25%, to 51,900 tonnes.

The company said in a press release that sunflower seeds were harvested on 12,800 ha (12,000 ha in 2015). Some 34,200 tonnes were harvested with average yield of 26.7 centners per ha (29 centners per ha in 2015).

“This year we carried out the works on fields in the extremely narrow period of time. He did our best and reached good indicators for oilseed yield. Average soybeans yield exceeded our target by 1.5 times. In general, this year a historic record was broken for soybeans yield,” Rostok-Holding CEO Dmytro Kypavtsev said.

Rostok-Holding LLC, created in 2010, is a vertically integrated agro-industrial group. It specializes in cultivation and sale of grains, production, processing and sale of dairy products, grain trading.

KYIV. Nov 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Shareholders in private joint-stock company AMD Illichivsk (Odesa region) have permitted the company’s board to refinance a credit line with the limit of $30 million (UAH 765.98 million).

According to a company report, the decision was made at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on October 28, 2016.

The shareholders authorized the board of ADM Illichivsk to sign addendums to the following contracts: on the short-term loan dated June 8, 2012, on the provision of overdraft services dated June 7, 2015 on the loan with the limit of $30 million and permitted the board to attract reimbursable financial assistance of UAH 200 million.

The permits are in effect within 12 months after the date of the meeting.

AMD Illichivsk is a subsidiary of ADM Corporation.

According to a posting on the corporation’s website, the corporation operates an oilseed crushing plant in Illichivsk, a grain terminal in the port of Odesa, five inland and one river silos, and a trading office in Kyiv. ADM employs more than 850 people in Ukraine

In April 2014, ADM finalized a deal to acquire Alfred C. Toepfer International, a global merchandiser of agricultural commodities and processed products with offices all over Ukraine.