The logistics company Soul Marine LLC (Kyiv) will build a 20,000-tonne grain terminal in the port of Izmail (Odesa region) by the end of September, said Ivan Nyakyi, the company’s commercial director, who previously headed Crunchip and Danube Logistics Group, in an interview with Ports of Ukraine.
“At the first stage, we will have 20 thousand tons of one-time storage – four warehouses of 5 thousand tons each. We will have our own laboratory, scales, and everything we need to handle cargo,” he said.
According to Mr. Nikanyi, the necessary equipment has already been purchased.
“Unfortunately, we cannot build our own berth for a simple reason – there is no space. Therefore, we will work through other port operators, which will allow us to load vessels at different berths in Izmail,” he said, adding that preparatory work for the terminal construction has already been completed.
The Commercial Director also informed about the signed contract with the general contractor and the advance payment.
“The other day, the equipment arrived. The first stage of 10 thousand tons will be ready at the end of August, the second – in mid-September,” added Mr. Nikakyi.
It is noted that the company will employ about 10-12 administrative staff and about 30 people at the terminal in Izmail.
Mr. Nyakyi added that Soul Marine also plans to create its own platform for receiving and unloading railroad cars.
“The ability to accept not only vehicles but also railcars will be a great advantage. This is an expensive project, but it is very necessary. We are working on it now,” said the commercial director.
In addition, according to him, in October, Soul Marine plans to reach 60 thousand tons of transshipment through its warehouses, and by the end of the year – 100 thousand tons of transshipment per month. Separately, the company plans to ship 10 thousand tons of its cargo as a trader.
Mr. Nikanyi clarified that the project is being implemented at the expense of an investor who “provides financing and does not interfere with the company’s operations.” He did not name the investor, saying only that it was not related to the transportation or agricultural sectors.
According to the commercial director, Soul Marine’s team includes a technical director who built elevators on the Dnipro, and a corporate director in charge of investments and GR, and a potential terminal manager, forwarder, and agent have been selected.
According to Opendatabot, Soul Marine was registered on June 16, 2023, with a registered capital of UAH 0.5 million. The main activities are non-specialized wholesale trade, auxiliary water transport services, rental of transport and equipment, cultivation of cereals (except rice), legumes and oilseeds.
The company’s ultimate beneficial owner and founder is Mykhailo Kuranda.
The United States will support Ukraine’s grain exports to markets that desperately need them, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing.
“We are going to continue to support Ukraine’s efforts to get Ukrainian grain to markets that desperately need it,” she said.
The spokeswoman also noted the provision of U.S. financial support and supplies for Ukrainian farmers, such as seeds and fertilizer, as well as assistance with crop storage and processing.
In addition, Jean-Pierre recalled that the U.S. government is providing Ukraine with $250 million in financial assistance to support the agricultural sector.
“The United States will allocate another $250 million to the AGRI Ukraine initiative to help Ukrainian farmers produce, store and export agricultural products and grain to global markets,” she emphasized.
Ukraine remains in the top 30 states with the strongest passports: its citizens can visit 146 countries without visas or with visas on arrival, according to an updated rating of national passports by Henley&Partners.
The first place in the ranking is occupied by Singapore, its citizens can visit 192 countries without a visa. The second place is shared by Germany, Italy and Spain, citizens of these countries can visit 190 countries. In third place are Austria, Finland, France, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea and Sweden (189 countries). Also in the top 5 are Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, UK (188 countries) and Belgium, Czech Republic, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland (187 countries).
Sixth place went to Australia, Hungary and Poland, citizens of these countries can travel visa-free to 186 countries. In seventh place were Canada and Greece, from where you can travel to 185 countries.
The United States and Lithuania ranked eighth (184 countries), followed by Latvia, Slovakia and Slovenia (183). Estonia and Iceland round out the top ten, citizens of these countries can travel to 182 countries without visas.
Ukraine in this ranking shares 30th place (146 countries) with two countries – Grenada and St. Lucia.
The last place in the ranking belongs to Afghanistan: citizens of this country can visit only 27 countries without a visa. Iraq (29) and Syria (30) have slightly higher positions.
The Henley&Partners Passport Index is an international ranking of countries by the level of freedom of movement they provide to their citizens. The index analyzes the visa regulations of more than 200 countries and territories and ranks them by the number of visa-free countries. A country’s position in the ranking is determined by the number of countries in the world to which its citizens can enter without prior visa processing or by obtaining a visa on arrival.
In May 2023, Ukrainian banks issued 232 mortgage loans totaling UAH 322.5 million, while in April – 41 for UAH 50.1 million, according to the results of a monthly survey by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
According to the regulator, this growth was due to the resumption of preferential lending under the eHouse program.
This also led to a decline in the weighted average effective interest rate on mortgage loans in May to 8.05% per annum from 14.6% in April.
At the same time, loans are mostly issued for purchases on the secondary real estate market: in May, one loan for UAH 0.73 million was issued on the primary market, compared to two loans for UAH 1.78 million in April.
The NBU clarified that out of the 26 banks surveyed, only four financial institutions issued mortgage loans in July, as they did a month earlier.
The survey data show that more than half of all loans in May were issued in Kyiv and Kyiv region – 103 agreements for UAH 164.4 million (51% of the total), followed by Poltava region with a large margin – 11 agreements for UAH 12.6 million (3.9% of the total).
10 loans each were issued in Chernihiv (UAH 10.4 million), Rivne (UAH 13.4 million) and Vinnytsia (UAH 15.4 million) regions.
Real GDP percentage changes over previous period in 2014-2022
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
The former chairman of the SBU Ivan Bakanov received a lawyer’s certificate on June 27, 2023 in the Council of lawyers of Poltava region.
The record about it is made in the Register of lawyers, posted on the website of the National Bar Association.
The Verkhovna Rada dismissed him from the post of Chairman of the SBU exactly one year ago – July 19, 2022.
Source: Bakanov Ivan Gennadiyovych Є One Register of Lawyers of Ukraine (unba.org.ua)
