KYIV. Feb 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Saltivsky Bakery LLC (Kharkiv region), part of Lauffer Group, in 2015 produced 43,000 tonnes of bakery products, which coincides with the figures of 2014.
According to a press release, Lauffer Group’s capital investment in baking enterprises of Kharkiv region last year amounted to more than UAH 4 million. Re-equipment of production was carried out in two directions: introduction of energy saving technologies, improvement of product quality.
The group plans in 2016 to invest around UAH 10 million in Kharkiv bakeries.
“In 2015 we managed to maintain production volumes and the market share. Today we produce about 40% of bread in Kharkiv,” the press service said citing the head of the bakery business at Lauffer Group in Kharkiv, Bohdan Aleksandrov.
Lauffer is one of the largest Ukrainian business groups in the sector of processing agricultural products and food production, which has been operating in Ukraine for 14 years. It includes about 100 enterprises specializing in production of flour, bakery goods, fat, canned food and so on.
KYIV. Feb 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The largest recipients of VAT refunds in January 2016 became Poltava Mining and Processing Plant (PGOK) with UAH 720.8 million (in December 2015 some UAH 177.4 million was reimbursed), ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih with UAH 511.5 million (UAH 1.027 billion), Cargill exporter of sunflower oil with UAH 335.2 million (UAH 141.3 million) and Kernel-Trade with UAH 332 million (UAH 335 million), the State Treasury Service has said.
According to its data, the top ten recipients of VAT refunds in January also included Mariupol Illich steel mill with UAH 318.5 million (UAH 286 million), Azovstal with UAH 254.8 million (UAH 305.4 million), Zaporizhstal with UAH 237.6 million (UAH 1.018 billion), Myronivsky plant for manufacturing feed and cereals with UAH 200 million (UAH 201.7 million), Rise seed producer with UAH 181.7 million (UAH 83.2 million), and Motor Sich manufacturer of aircraft engines with UAH 174.7 million (UAH 10,000).
In general, the amount of VAT refunds in January 2016 decreased to UAH 7.887 billion compared to December 2015, when the figure amounted to UAH 9.49 billion.
KYIV. Feb 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) and the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P) provide a financing package of EUR 27.5 million to Lviv city to implement a project on the upgrade of wastewater treatment in the city, the EBRD said in a press release on Friday.
“The new project would enable municipal enterprise Lvivvodokanal to rehabilitate and upgrade the wastewater treatment infrastructure, install a biogas production capacity in the city,” the bank said.
The project is supported by an EBRD loan of up to EUR 15 million, a EUR 5 million loan from NEFCO and an investment grant of up to EUR 7.5 million from E5P.
“The proceeds will be used to significantly improve the efficiency and environmental performance of Lvivvodokanal, the major municipal utility which operates a 1,000-kilometer network of water supply systems and water treatment facilities and provides services to 760,000 residential and industrial users,” the EBRD said.
The investment programme will enable Lvivvodokanal to install a wastewater biogas combined heat and power plant (CHP), which will be able to generate up to 39,400 MWh of electricity annually thus allowing the company to achieve significant energy savings and will also lead to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to approximately 128,600 tonnes of CO2.
“Other environmental benefits for the city and the region will be achieved through the installation of grit chambers and a chemical precipitation plant, which are expected to improve overall wastewater treatment in Lviv and reduce the pollution discharged to the Poltva River,” the bank said.
Technical assistance, necessary to accomplish the feasibility study and the environmental due diligence, was provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
As reported, referring to the EBRD, on December 16, 2015 the board of directors decided to provide a loan of EUR 15 million to Lvivvodokanal to realize this project. It was planned to sign the agreement in January 2016.
The total cost of the project is estimated at EUR31.5 million. Lvivvodokanal will finance up to EUR 4 million.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. As of July 1, 2015, the bank had a total cumulative commitment of EUR 11 billion in 345 projects in the country.
KHARKIV. Feb 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Public joint-stock company Turboatom (Kharkiv) and China Dongfang Electric Machinery have signed a memorandum of cooperation.
The press service of Turboatom reported on Thursday that the document envisages joint marketing operations on supply of Turboatom’s urbones for nuclear power plants (NPPs), thermal power plants (TPPs) and hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) to China and third countries.
“The possibility of supply generators of 1,000 MW and more made by Dongfang Electric Machinery and other equipment for turbine islands that is not made in Ukraine to new reactors three and four of Khmelnytsky NPP,” the press service said.
Turboatom Director General Viktor Subotin said that under a protocol signed in September 2015 by National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom and Turboatom, the latter was selected as the general supplier of equipment for turbine islands of reactors three and four of Khmelnytsky NPP. The key possible supplier of generators that earlier were produced for the NPP by Russia’s Power Machines, is Electrotyazhmash Plant (Kharkiv). Energoatom and Turboatom are mulling alternative suppliers.
“One of the alternatives is the Chinese company which would be able to fulfill the order in the shortest terms if it is required,” the press service said.
Subotin said that the possibility of co-financing the project on construction of reactors by China, at least, in the volumes of equipment that China would ship.
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.
