Business news from Ukraine

KYIV. Feb 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ukrainian pharmaceutical market remains important and promising for Indian pharmaceutical companies, Head of the Indian delegation of the Ukrainian-Indian working group for healthcare and pharmaceutical market and Deputy Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers of India Sudhansh Pant.

“Ukraine is a very important market for Indian pharmaceutical companies. It was and remains important and promising, despite the fact that in recent years the decline in goods turnover in the U.S. dollars was seen. Nevertheless, we’re working on returning the indicators of the goods turnover to the level we saw several years ago and increased them,” he told Interfax-Ukraine, commenting on the results of the second meeting of the Ukrainian-Indian working group held in January 2016 in Kyiv.

Pant said that the change of currency exchange rates resulted in growth of goods turnover between India and Ukraine in the hryvnia equivalent.

“We should say that goods turnover in hryvnias have an upward trend,” he said.

Pant also said that the meeting of the Ukrainian-Indian working group in January 2016 was the second meeting and the first meeting was held in 2013 in India.

“In general, there is a good opportunity to discuss all urgent issued appeared during cooperation at these meetings. During discussion one can see progress in achieving the goals set, clear up the positions of the sides to support development,” he said.

He also pointed at possibilities of implementing projects to localize production of medicines at facilities of Ukrainian pharmaceutical manufacturers and organize production by Indian pharmaceutical companies in Ukraine.

“Taking into account the potential of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market, expectations from localization of production facilities are very positive. We will welcome projects on entering the Ukrainian market by Indian pharmaceutical companies to organize medicine production. I hope that we will see in the near future in what form it will happen and what contribution of Ukraine will be. In general, we see an upward trend both for the Ukrainian market and investment of Indian companies,” Pant said.

He also mentioned the fruitful work of the Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association in Ukraine (IPMA).

“At a meeting with representatives of the companies that are part of the IPMA the head of the IPMA association raised several problems that representative of Indian companies have to face in Ukraine, in particular, exports of medicines from India to Ukraine. We’ve discussed the issues and formed the position of India at the meeting of the working group. Some of the issuers were announced by India,” he said.

Pant said that India received a positive reaction from Ukraine.

He said that in general India positively assesses the negotiations.

KYIV. Feb 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Business Ombudsman Council has proposed the government convene an expert group to develop changes to criminal laws, which would reduce pressure on business on the part of law enforcement agencies.

“We propose to the government set up an expert group to develop amendments to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, inviting our experts, law enforcement authorities, the Ministry of Justice and other interested parties to take part in the process,” Business Ombudsman Algirdas Semeta said at a press conference.

Deputy Business Ombudsman Yaroslav Hryhorchak explained that today one-third of complaints from businesses concern the actions of law enforcement agencies, in particular, the tax police.

According to him, major violations relate to the opening of criminal proceedings, refusal to open criminal proceedings, violations during investigations and the inefficient administration of pre-trial investigations.

He also added that the business ombudsman’s office proposes putting amendments to criminal laws, which would more protect businesses from law enforcers.

KYIV. Feb 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s ocean fishing fleet saw around UAH 19 million of profit in 2015 (over $700,000), including UAH 9.5 million ($350,000) of dividends that will be paid to the country by the state fishing company.

The State Fishing Industry Agency of Ukraine said in a Tuesday press release that this is first profit that the state will receive from operations of the ocean fishing fleet since 1997. The state company paid its debts to foreign creditors in full.

“Profit was received thanks to resumption of control over state-owned Fishing Company and state enterprise Service and unblocking of their operations, which are the owners of ships. The companies resumed collection of freight payments, and the freight rate was increased by almost 40%, to the market level. Debts of one of the companies were fully repaid,” the agency said, citing its head Yarema Kovaliv.

He said that since the moment of the signing of the agreement in 2004, the freight rate was revised only once and it was slightly increased.

The agency said that Ukrainian state companies registered in Crimea have not received funds under freight agreements since March 2014, and foreign freighter did not recognize Ukrainian directors and the country actually did not control its ships used in New Zealand. The debt for freight of Captain Rusak ship was $400,000, and for three other ships – $1.2 million.

“We held log negotiations with the freighter. Finally, control over Ukrainian fleet was returned, and freight rate was increased, and a possibility of revoking the contract under the initiative of the ship owner appeared. The conditions for credits were improved. In 2015, it was permitted to conduct reflagging. Due to amendments to New Zealand laws, ships under New Zealand’s flag can receive quotas for fish catch in this area,” Kovaliv said.

The agency said that the reflagging does not imply the change of the ship owner – Ukraine remains the owner of the fleet.

KYIV. Feb 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Poland sees a serious potential of partnership with Ukraine in the space area, and one of the most promising directions of cooperation in the new conditions could be the joint creation of space and rocket technologies, President of the Polish Space Agency (POLSA) Marek Banaszkiewicz has said.

At a meeting of the working group for the use of outer space of the intergovernmental Ukrainian-Polish commission for economic cooperation held in Kyiv, the POLSA head pointed at the creation of Earth remote sensing satellites as one of the promising direction of partnership.

“Ukraine and Poland have interesting practices in the area of Earth remote sensing data processing, but we’re also interested in the technology of creating spacecrafts of this kind, taking into account Ukraine’s achievements in the creation of Earth remote sensing satellites,” the press service of the State Space Agency of Ukraine reported, citing Banaszkiewicz.

He expressed confidence that uniting experience and Ukraine’s potential with the opportunities and knowledge of Poland in the space area has a serious competitive market potential.

KYIV. Feb 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – U.S.-based Orbital ATK, the world’s leader in aerospace and defense industries, has signed an eight-year contract worth about $1.5 billion with NASA to implement from 2019 six commercial cargo flights to the International Space Station (ISS) using Antares carrier rockets created and produced in cooperation with Ukraine.

According to an official report from the company, within the framework of the contract signed after a tender, Orbital ATK for cargo flights to the ISS in addition to upgraded Antares carrier rockets could also use Atlas-5 carrier rockets of United Launch Alliance (the United States).

In addition, the contract includes an option for the execution in 2021-2024 of additional cargo flights “on the basis of operational requirements for the ISS.” The amount of the option is not specified.

According to a contract worth $1.9 billion between NASA and Orbital Science Corp., signed in 2008, the U.S. company should by the end of 2016 provide eight regular cargo flights to the ISS using Antares carrier rockets and the Cygnus spacecraft built in cooperation with Thales Alenia Space and deliver goods with a total weight of 20 tonnes. Ukraine’s Pivdenne design bureau and Pivdenmash (Dnipropetrovsk) in the framework of a long-term contract (up to 2019), signed with Orbital Science Corp. in 2008, provided the development and manufacture of the first stage of the Antares carrier rocket.

KYIV. Feb 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine at the beginning of August 2016 will launch new technical regulations for some goods, packed by weight and volume, developed in the framework of bringing the legislation in compliance with EU requirements.

This is stipulated in Cabinet resolution No. 1193 of December 16, 2015, published in the Uriadovy Kurier newspaper, which determines that the technical regulations come into force after six months from the date of publication.

The technical regulations concern goods, having a mass of at least 5 g (or ml) and not more than 10 kg (or liter). Products are considered to be packed if they are placed in packaging of any origin in the absence of a buyer, and the amount of goods indicated on the packaging cannot be changed without opening or damaging the package.

The government established that packaged goods, which were put into circulation or have been in the market for less than two years before the entry into force of the new technical regulations, are not subject to the restrictions and prohibitions in connection with the non-compliance with the requirements.