Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Sanctioned property in Ukraine will be sold at online auctions in Prozorro.Sale

Sanctioned assets will be sold through online auctions in the state electronic trading system Prozorro.Sale, the relevant Procedure for the management of sanctioned assets was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine at the request of the Ministry of Economy at the end of November 2023.
“The government is consistently implementing the best practices of managing state assets through their sale at transparent and competitive electronic auctions,” commented Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksiy Sobolev.
According to him, the Procedure creates a comprehensive legislative framework for the management of various assets related to the aggressor country, as well as increases the confidence of potential investors in the public property management system and helps attract long-term investments, which is a priority for the coming years.
The Ministry of Economy reminded that the government approved this decision pursuant to Law 3137-IX, which has been in force since June this year, amending the sanctions legislation, and now the law and the Procedure determine the procedures for the sale of the recovered sanctioned property – assets owned by residents of states that carry out armed aggression against Ukraine.
According to these documents, the State Property Fund (SPF) will organize electronic auctions for the sale of sanctioned property in the Prozorro.Sale system, and the proceeds from its sale and lease will go to the accounts of the Fund for Liquidation of the Consequences of Armed Aggression.
“The SPF has been selling state property at online auctions in the Prozorro.Sale system for more than five and a half years, and during this time the state budget has received almost UAH 12 billion. The sale of sanctioned property through ProZorro.Sale will also allow for its transparent and competitive management in favor of the state,” said CEO of ProZorro.Sale Serhii But.
He reminded that the Cabinet of Ministers has already approved decisions on the sale of seized assets managed by the ARMA and confiscated Russian assets through the Prozorro.Sale system.
It is specified that participants in the auctions for the sale of sanctioned assets will be able to participate in them by registering through one of the platforms accredited in the Prozorro.Sale system, the current list of which is always available on the prozorro.sale website, where all information on online auctions for the sale of sanctioned assets will be posted.
The function of the state electronic trading system Prozorro.Sale is to ensure that no one can interfere with the bidding process, that everyone has equal access to the auction, and that anyone can follow online auctions in real time, the release says.
Prozorro.Sale is 100% state-owned and subordinated to the Ministry of Economy, and operates an electronic trading system that hosts online auctions for the sale of public assets. For more than seven years of operation, Prozorro.Sale online auctions have helped to raise more than UAH 80 billion to the budgets of various levels.

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Change in consumer prices in September 2023

Change in consumer prices in September 2023

Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news

2022-2024 goods trade balance forecast (USD bln)

2022-2024 goods trade balance forecast (USD bln)

Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news

Germany announces new aid package for Ukraine

The German Federal Government has announced a new military aid package for Ukraine. The list of aid was published by the German government’s press service.

According to the list, the Ukrainian army has been allocated 4 HX81 tractors and 4 semi-trailers for them, 8 Zetros trucks, 3 vehicles and 2 border guard vehicles.

In addition, the Ukrainian military will receive 3,840 155 mm artillery shells, 15 HLR 338 long-range sniper rifles and 60,000 rounds of ammunition, 5 drone detection sensors, 25 laser rangefinders, 1 mobile antenna system, and 250 tool kits with explosive material.

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NBU’s net sales drop to $2.5 bln

The National Bank of Ukraine’s (NBU) net sales of dollars in November, the second month after the country switched from a fixed exchange rate regime to a managed flexibility regime, fell to $2.45 billion from $3.34 billion in October, even less than the $2.69 billion in September.

According to the central bank’s website, its purchases of foreign currency remained minuscule at $4 million, compared to $14 million in October and $1 million in September.

For its part, the Ministry of Finance reported that in November, the budget received $2 billion in grants and external concessional financing, compared to $2.8 billion in October. In particular, $1.6 billion was provided by the European Union and $0.4 billion by the World Bank with a guarantee from the UK.

In November, the hryvnia exchange rate on the interbank market weakened by only 0.2%, or 7 kopecks, to UAH 36.3535/$1 at the beginning of December, while from the end of July 2022 to October 3 this year, the National Bank maintained the official exchange rate of UAH 36.5686/$1.

In the cash market in November, the dollar fell by about 35 kopecks to 37.40 UAH/$1.

In total, since the beginning of this year, the NBU has purchased $217.1 million in the market, while selling $24 billion 811.9 million.

Zaporizhstal increased rolled steel output by 48% and steel production by 58%

In January-November of this year, Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works increased its rolled steel output by 47.9% year-on-year to 1 million 847.9 thousand tons.

According to the company’s information on Friday, steel production during this period increased by 57.6% to 2 million 238.3 thousand tons, and pig iron production by 31.3% to 2 million 453.2 thousand tons.

In November 2023, Zaporizhstal produced 262.7 thousand tons of iron, 240.8 thousand tons of steel, and shipped 195.6 thousand tons of rolled products, compared to 267.3 thousand tons of iron, 251.7 thousand tons of steel, and 208.6 thousand tons of rolled products in the previous month, and 143.9 thousand tons of iron, 85.8 thousand tons of steel, and 74.8 thousand tons of rolled products in November 2022.

“The increase in production in November 2023 compared to the same period last year is due to the removal of blast furnace No. 2 from hot mothballing and the establishment of three blast furnaces,” the press release explains.

As a reminder, due to the escalation of hostilities in the region, Metinvest Group put some of Zaporizhstal’s equipment into hot mothballing mode in early March 2022. At the end of March of the same year, the plant partially resumed the operation of its cold rolling mill to produce and ship cold-rolled coils to European customers. A month after the forced shutdown, the plant brought its equipment out of mothballing and partially resumed production. The plant is currently operating at an average of 70% of its capacity.

As reported, in 2022, Zaporizhstal reduced its rolled steel output by 60.4% compared to 2021, to 1 million 304.3 thousand tons, steel by 61.7%, to 1 million 491.3 thousand tons, and pig iron by 54.3%, to 2 million 9.9 thousand tons.

“Zaporizhstal is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Ukraine, whose products are in great demand among consumers both in the domestic market and in many countries around the world. The plant specializes in high-quality steel hot-rolled coils, hot-rolled sheets, cold-rolled sheets, cold-rolled coils made of carbon and low-alloy steels, as well as steel strips, ferrous tin, and bent sections.

The main consumers of the products are producers of welded pipes, automotive, transport and agricultural machinery companies, and manufacturers of household appliances.

“Zaporizhstal is in the process of integration into Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%).

Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.

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