Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel have discussed during a telephone conversation the agenda of the chancellor’s visit to Ukraine this autumn. “The sides discussed the agenda of Angela Merkel’s visit to Ukraine, which will be made this autumn,” the press service of the head of state reported. The parties also discussed the situation in Donbas, the prospects for continuing sanctions against Russia and the issues of the bilateral agenda, including energy security. In late August, Poroshenko said at a meeting with the heads of foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine that Merkel would pay a visit to Ukraine in early November this year.
Exports of Ukrainian agricultural products to European countries in January-August 2018 exceeded $3.6 billion, Ukraine’s Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry has reported. “The top five key export items to the EU over the period include grain with a $1.2 billion volume, oil – $702.5 million, oilseeds – $581.4 million, – $312.8 million, poultry and byproducts – $169.8 million and other goods,” the ministry’s press service reported, citing Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food for European integration Olha Trofimtseva as saying.
She said that the top five countries with the largest share of trade in foreign goods flow between Ukraine and the EU includes the Netherlands with 15.2%, Poland with 14.3%, Italy with 12.6%, Spain with 12% and Germany with 11.5%.
Over the period imports of agrarian and food products from the EU to Ukraine rose by $336.2 million year-over-year, reaching $1.7 billion. “Most of all we imported products for feeding animals, tobacco and products made of it, chocolate and products made of cacao beans, meat and byproducts, oilseeds, corn, alcohol and other foods,” she said.
GlobalLogic IT company, the largest software designer in Ukraine, expects that the Ukrainian IT market would grow by 20% in 2018, to over $4 billion, Head of the company’s office in Lviv and Vice-President for Engineering at GlobalLogic Denys Balatsko has told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of Lviv IT Arena 2018. “Assessing the IT market in Ukraine is quite difficult, since most of the companies on it are not public and do not make their financial statements public. We know the number of people working in this industry – according to recent data there are about 120,000. According to statistics released by the state, the amount of funding coming to Ukraine from the sale of IT services abroad is about $3.5 billion, but there is still an internal market, so I think that the figure of $3.5 billion is rather understated,” he said.
According to Balatsko, this year the market is developing very dynamically, and there is very high demand for qualified personnel. “The market growth this year will be about 20%. We are growing faster than the market. I hope we will reach 30% plus by the last year,” he said. The head of the GlobalLogic office in Lviv said that the company estimates that the IT market of Ukraine is experiencing a significant shortage of qualified personnel and engineering talents.
“We are working with universities, helping them to make the program more modern, so that students when graduating higher education institutions could start working right away, and companies do not have to spend half a year on their training,” Balatsko said. He also said that the second significant problem of the Ukrainian IT market is a lack of a mature product industry with a rather strong IT outsourcing market.
GlobalLogic Ukraine is the largest software developer in Ukraine. It has offices in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv and Mykolaiv.
A total of contracts for the amount of around UAH 6 billion were signed at the tenth international economic forum “Innovations. Investments. Kharkiv Initiatives!”, Chairperson of the Kharkiv Regional Administration Yulia Svitlychna has said. PJSC Donbasenergo and JSC Turboatom signed a contract to produce equipment for Sloviansk thermal power plant (TPP) at the forum.
“This is a modernization of the 800 MW medium pressure cylinder of the turbine under the import substitution program to replace the Russian-made turbine. The contract was signed for the amount of UAH 250 million,” the press service of the Kharkiv Regional Administration said. Turboatom also signed a memorandum with Siemens (Germany) on joint participation in modernization programs for steam turbines for heat and nuclear power plants. The cost of the contract is up to UAH 2 billion. The plant also signed a cooperation agreement with the Chinese company Dongfang Electric Machinery (for the joint manufacture of power equipment for thermal, hydroelectric, nuclear power plants for the amount of UAH 1.68 million). In addition, during the forum a contract was signed between the Bogdan Motors Automobile Corporation and the state-owned enterprise Electrotyazhmash to supply traction engines for trolleybuses worth up to UAH 150 million.
CONTRACTS, FORUM, INNOVATIONS, INVESTMENTS, KHARKIV INITIATIVES
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) plans to first settle the issue of providing the proper level of cyber defense and cybersecurity in the sphere of money transfer.
The respective initiative is contained in the draft resolution of the NBU approving the regulation on cyber defense and cybersecurity in payment and settlement systems, the text of which was posted on the regulator’s website for public discussion.
In particular, the draft resolution provides for determining the requirements for the payment market players in building an cyber defense and cybersecurity system, the procedure for detecting cyber attacks that reduce the reliability of payment and settlement systems, as well as the requirements for organizational and technical measures to ensure the protection of information and cybersecurity by the payment market players.
The regulator said that this document is based on the requirements and recommendations of national and international cybersecurity standards, as well as modern approaches to cyber defense and cybersecurity that are universally accepted in international practice.
The adoption of the draft resolution will allow minimizing the number cyber incidents in the sphere of money transfer, regulating the use of cybersecurity tools, increasing the reliability of the functioning and efficiency of payment and settlement systems, speeding up the modernization of payment systems, taking into account modern cybersecurity technologies.
Comments and proposals for the NBU draft document will be accepted until October 27.
The Dutch development bank FMO is considering the issue of up to EUR13.5 million for the construction of a solar power plant by Norway’s Scatec Solar in Ukraine, according to the website of the financial institution. FMO said the funds can be allocated within a syndicated loan, which is organized by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Scatec Solar plans at the expense of credit funds to build a solar plant with an installed capacity of 30 MW.
As reported, previously Scatec Solar signed an agreement with Rengy Development (Kyiv) on the joint implementation of projects for the construction of solar plants with a total capacity of 47 MW in Mykolaiv region. Scatec Solar has already built and operates 322 MW solar stations in various countries, while another 434 MW of photovoltaic plants are under construction.
The company operates in the Czech Republic, the Republic of South Africa, Rwanda, Honduras, and Jordan.
