The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has returned without consideration the application of the Irish CRH group for permission to concentrate the assets of the Italian Buzzi in Ukraine, Forbes Ukraine reported citing the agency.
According to the publication, the application submitted by CRH did not meet the requirements of the committee. In addition, the AMCU pointed to the presence of an oligopoly in the Ukrainian cement market, with CRH already holding about a third of the market.
Interfax-Ukraine contacted CRH for comment.
As reported, Italian cement producer Buzzi has reached an agreement to sell its Ukrainian business and ready-mixed concrete assets in Slovakia to CRH for EUR100 million. The deal is expected to be completed in 2024.
Buzzi Unicem SpA (Italy) unites companies producing cement, concrete, sand, gravel, etc. The group’s core business is cement production, which is produced at its own facilities in Germany, the USA, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Ukraine. Buzzi’s Ukrainian subsidiary, Dickerhoff Cement Ukraine, operates branches based at Volyn Cement (Zdolbuniv, Rivne region) and Yugcement (Olshanske, Mykolaiv region). The group also operates in the ready-mix concrete sector in Kyiv, Odesa and Mykolaiv.
In Eastern Slovakia, Buzzi’s assets consist of six ready-mix concrete plants.
As reported, in March 2023, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) added the Italian cement producer Buzzi Unicem to the list of international sponsors of war. In Russia, Buzzi operates through SLK Cement LLC, which owns two cement plants, Sukholozhskcement and Korkino, a terminal in Omsk, and the Cemtrans transportation company. According to the NACP, the company is among the top five leaders in the Russian cement industry.
Ireland’s CRH Plc, the world’s largest manufacturer of building materials, which owned six construction mix plants in Russia, announced its withdrawal from the Russian market.
CRH entered the Ukrainian market in 1999 by acquiring the Kamianets-Podilskyi cement plant in Khmelnytskyi region. Currently, CRH also owns Odesa Cement Plant and Mykolaivcement (Lviv region).
CRH’s separate business in Ukraine is the production of concrete and reinforced concrete products. PoliBeton Energo, a Bila Tserkva-based concrete goods plant, is a specialized enterprise that produces power transmission towers. PoliBeton’s concrete hub in the north of Odesa joined CRH in 2020.
International rating agency Fitch Ratings forecasts the average oil price to reach $80 per barrel in 2023, according to its latest Global Economic Outlook (GEO).
Next year, it is expected to drop to $75 per barrel, and in 2025 – to $70 per barrel.
According to the agency’s analysts, the Japanese yen to the US dollar exchange rate will be around 145 yen/$1 at the end of this year, 135 yen at the end of 2024, and 125 yen at the end of 2025.
The single currency exchange rate in the next three years will be EUR 0.92/USD 1.
The pound sterling is expected to reach $1.25 in 2023-2024 and $1.2 in 2025.
The forecast for the Chinese currency at the end of this year is 7.2 yuan/$1, and for the next two years – 7.3 yuan/$1.
The Republic of Korea intends to participate in Ukraine’s reconstruction, as six pilot projects were unveiled during the Ukrainian-Korean Business Forum held in Kyiv on Thursday.
“Our partners’ support for our economy is very important. Investments in the renewal of Ukraine will create competitive jobs and bring Ukrainians back home. Our ministry wants to hear the opinion of business about the recovery process, business needs and problems. We are ready to work together to find solutions that will become a magnet for investment. Korean experience in transportation and technology is important to us. The Republic of Korea was able to become the undisputed leader in the industry. We present pilot projects that take this experience into account. We believe that together we will rebuild Ukraine for the prosperity of our peoples,” said Oleksandr Kubrakov, Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, during the event.
The Korean delegation, headed by Minister of Land Management, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea Won Hee-ryong, included representatives of government and business, including KIND, K-water, NAVER Cloud, KEITI, Yooshin Engineering, Hyundai Motor Group, HD Hyundai Construction Equipment, Samsung C&T, Posco International Corporation and other Korean associations and companies. The main sectors of focus are urban development, water treatment, reconstruction and development of transport infrastructure.
“We are already talking about implementing the first pilot projects for the restoration of Ukraine. By working on them, we hope that, based on Korea’s experience in post-war reconstruction, we will be able to help rebuild Ukraine and do it as soon as possible,” Hee-Ryong said.
According to him, six pilot projects were selected during a series of 13 bilateral video conferences.
The flagship project is a transportation master plan for the Kyiv region. It is planned to create a basic transport model, based on which to analyze problematic issues and conduct a feasibility study of the main project proposals. The implementation of this project will start in September.
According to the Minister, at the end of August, a “very unexpected” project was officially launched – the Uman Smart City Master Plan, which is expected to be implemented in 240 days. K-water was selected as the project’s executor. All segments and services in Uman will be launched: economy, security, mobility, environment, renewable energy, tourism, residence complexes, etc.
A large-scale project is a plan to support Ukrainian airports, focusing on nine regional airports, plus Boryspil and Lviv. Reconstruction/renovation options are being developed for the short and long term, for wartime and peacetime. After analyzing the data for each airport, we will assess the risks and possible solutions.
The wastewater treatment project in Bucha is extremely important for the development of the capital region.
“Korea has stricter requirements for sewage, and we have to comply with the standards. The project provides for real-time monitoring,” said Sin Hyun Choi, Director of the Overseas Construction Policy Department of the Ministry of Land Management, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea.
The project in Bucha will start next year.
“I hope that the sewage treatment plant project we will implement in Bucha will give an impetus to the development of the entire northwestern region. Unfortunately, during the years of independence, no such project has been implemented in Ukraine that would meet modern world standards,” Bucha Mayor Anatolii Fedoruk commented on the implementation of the future project to Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, this project can even cover “part of the Zhytomyr region.”
K-water has signed a memorandum of understanding that provides for technical assistance in the reconstruction of the Kakhovka dam; during the reconstruction phase, the company will provide technical support and possibly act as a sponsor.
The sixth project selected as a pilot project involves the renovation of railways, including the launch of the Kyiv-Poland high-speed train service.
“Korea has experience and resources. At this stage of planning, we need to see the options (for each of the pilot projects), evaluate their effectiveness, and only then involve companies in the implementation, choose options for participation, including concessions and public-private partnerships,” said Sin Hyun-cheol.
As reported, South Korean President Yun-Sook Yel promised to provide Ukraine with an additional $2.3 billion during the G20 summit in New Delhi to help the country restore peace and recover from the war with Russia. Of this amount, $300 million will come in 2024 in the form of humanitarian aid, and the remaining $2 billion in the form of low-interest loans through the Economic Development and Cooperation Fund (EDCF) starting in 2025.
“The budget of the first project is now known. It will cost about $800 thousand to create a master plan for the development of transport in Kyiv region. For five other projects, the budget for the development stage is currently being discussed,” Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land Management, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea, told the agency.
He added that it will be budget money, but “not necessarily from the $2.3 billion.”
During the business forum, a number of memorandums were signed, including cooperation between KIND (Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation) and the State Agency for Reconstruction and Development and Oschadbank, HD Hyundai Construction Equipment and Mykolaiv Regional State Administration and KBU (on the provision of construction equipment and educational cooperation).
Minister Hee-Ryong emphasized that the Republic of Korea views Ukraine as a long-term partner.
“We want to be a partner of Ukraine in 50 and 100 years,” the Minister said.
The National Bank of Ukraine has allowed banks and non-bank financial institutions to sell additional cash currency in the amount of their balances as of April 13, 2022, starting from September 16, which it believes will help level the difference between the cash and non-cash exchange rates.
“This helps to increase the stability of the foreign exchange market and stabilize exchange rate expectations,” the NBU said in a post on its website on Friday evening, without specifying how much additional supply it was talking about.
The NBU reminded that currently banks and non-bank financial institutions can sell cash currency in the amount of its purchase exceeding the volume of its sales for the period from April 13, 2022, plus 120% of the volume of non-cash currency purchases from individuals from April 13, 2022.
It is noted that the NBU also allowed enterprises with a 100% state share to transfer funds abroad in order to fulfill obligations to a non-resident under a loan or credit that has been restructured on terms agreed by the government. In addition, other payments related to the servicing of such restructured obligations are allowed.
“Such changes will contribute to the proper completion of the restructuring of external debt by state-owned institutions,” the regulator said.
Another easing, according to the release, was the expansion of the list of medical services for which the population can make cross-border transfers.
“Rehabilitation services, as well as services for the purchase of prostheses and their components, installation, maintenance and repair of prostheses, have been added to the relevant list. This is important for restoring the health of people with disabilities, including combatants in need of prosthetics,” the NBU said.
The above-mentioned mitigations were introduced by the Resolution of the Board of the National Bank No. 115 dated September 15, 2023, the release said.
The macro forecast of the Ministry of Economy, which formed the basis of the draft state budget-2024, assumes a sharp improvement in the security situation from the second half of next year and, as one of the consequences, an acceleration of economic growth to 5% in 2024 and 7-7.5% in 2025-2026.
“Further economic development of Ukraine depends on the duration and active phase of military operations… Thanks to the military successes of Ukrainian defenders and protectors, a significant reduction of security risks is expected from the second half of 2024, which will positively affect the indicators of economic and social development of Ukraine for 2025-2026,” the document says.
According to the forecast, dated mid-June this year, inflation (at the end of the year) will fall to 10.8% next year, to 7% in 2025 and 5.8% in 2026.
Other estimates include unemployment falling from 18.8% this year to 10.8% in 2026.
In the formation of the revenue side is expected to increase revenues from the National Bank in 2025 to 103.9 billion UAH from 17.7 billion UAH in 2024 with a subsequent reduction to 15.4 billion UAH.
As reported, the government on Friday approved the draft state budget-2024 with revenues of UAH 1 trillion 746.3 billion, expenditures of UAH 3 trillion 108.2 billion and a marginal deficit of UAH 1 trillion 593.6 billion.
In relation to the current law on the state budget-2023, it is proposed to increase revenues by 25.6%, expenditures – by 7.6%, and reduce the deficit by 7.3%.
At the same time, this week the government submitted to the Rada a draft law No. 10038 with amendments to the state budget-2023 to increase its expenditures by 328.5 billion hryvnias due to the growth of internal loans by 207.6 billion hryvnias and external loans by 91.2 billion hryvnias.
Compared to it, revenues in the draft state budget-2024 are higher by 23.3%, or by 329.9 billion UAH, while expenditures are lower by 2.5%, or by 84 billion UAH, and the deficit – by 20.7%, or 416.8 billion UAH.
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The Slovak government has decided to extend the ban on imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine until the end of the year, Prime Minister Ludovit Odor has said.
“The European Commission did not extend the import ban on four products from Ukraine, including wheat, after September 15, so the government decided to ban their imports at the national level. And this is until the end of the year and on the same four commodities, i.e. wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds. We have to prevent excessive pressure on the Slovak market to remain fair to domestic farmers,” Odor said, according to Aktuality.
According to him, the government’s move is also a reaction to a similar approach by Poland and Hungary. Odor emphasized that the Slovak government will continue to work intensively with the European Commission and European Union member states to find a pan-European and systemic solution while the national import ban on the four products is in place. He stated the government’s readiness to lift the ban in such a case.
The Slovak Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development added that the decision is related to the protection of the domestic market and is a logical reaction to the practice of neighboring countries that adopt unilateral import bans.
“The ban does not apply to the transportation of goods through our territory, which expresses our solidarity with Ukraine and the placement of its goods on target markets,” the ministry added.
