One troy ounce=31.10 grams
PJSC Odesa Port-Side Plant plans to terminate a contract with Liberty Gas LLC, which won a tender to process gas on a tolling basis at the plant’s facilities, First Deputy Director of Odesa Port-Side Plant Mykola Schurikov has said.
“Liberty Gas has so far paid funds in the amount of $600,000 and UAH 5 million to the plant. Unfortunately, we received a letter from Liberty about the impossibility to fulfill the terms of the contract with the Odesa Port-Side Plant in the future. We begin the procedure for termination of the contract and are preparing a new tender to select a partner to work with the plant,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
According to the letter of Liberty Gas to the Odesa Port-Side Plant, posted by N Schurikov, the limited liability company transferred funds to start the plant and paid an advance for processing services. The company also entered into a contract with Vitol to supply gas and Keytrade AG to ship products.
“Unfortunately, today the global natural gas market has an unjustified increase in the cost of gas, and over the past several weeks the gas price has increased by more than 50%, which has a very negative effect on the economic performance under the contract between our enterprises,” the company said in the letter.
As reported, at the end of July, the Odesa Port-Side Plant, which has been idle since the end of April this year, signed a contract to process gas on the tolling basis at the facilities of the enterprise with Liberty Gas LLC, which won the corresponding tender. The launch was scheduled for the end of September.
The representatives of Ukraine and the European Union have signed a memorandum of understanding and a loan agreement on providing the fourth program of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine (MFA IV) in the amount of EUR1 billion.
On the part of Ukraine, the documents were signed by Acting Minister of Finance Oksana Markarova and Governor of the National Bank Yakiv Smolii, from the side of the EU by Vice President of the European Commission for Euro and Social Dialogue, Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union Valdis Dombrovskis.
The ceremony of signing the loan agreement and the memorandum was attended by President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman.
After signing, the head of state thanked the European Commission and Dombrovskis for “the comprehensive and great support the European Union provides to the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people.”
“This is a great help in carrying out the reforms and supporting the reforms – not only financial, but also consultative – and you are rightfully a participant and co-sponsor of the reforms that have been held in Ukraine over the past four years,” Poroshenko said.
Head of the National Bank of Ukraine Yakiv Smolii positively assesses the course of the negotiations on the possibilities of obtaining the next tranche of financing with the mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that have been held in Kyiv since September 6.
“The negotiations with the IMF are continuing. The mission is finishing its work next week, and we expect a positive decision on continuing cooperation,” he told journalists on the sidelines of the 15th YES forum organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in Kyiv.
Asked about the aspects of this cooperation, Smolii noted that the fund’s continued financial support for Ukraine remains an important element of it.
“The replenishment of foreign exchange reserves is the key to macro-financial stability,” the NBU head said.
As reported, the IMF mission headed by Ron van Rooden began work in Kyiv on September 6 and plans to work until September 19 “to discuss the latest economic events and economic policy.”
The UK’s Court of Appeal, which is considering the Russian-Ukrainian dispute over $3 billion in eurobonds issued by Kyiv, has decided to study the Ukrainian side’s argument that eurobonds were issued under pressure from the creditor, in this case Russia, the Russian Finance Ministry said in a statement, indicating that Law Debentures Trust will appeal to the Supreme Court regarding this argument on behalf of the Finance Ministry.
“Today, the UK’s Court of Appeal rendered a verdict on Ukraine’s appeal of the London High Court ruling obligating Ukraine to redeem its debt and pay interest on a bond issue acquired by Russia with funds from the National Wealth Fund. The Court of Appeal confirmed the lawfulness of the refusal to grant Ukraine consideration of three of the four arguments stated in order to avoid meeting its obligations with respect to these eurobonds,” the statement said.
“Earlier, the London High Court did not grant consideration of all of the argument stated by Ukraine, determining that they did not minimal criteria for their consideration in full-fledged court proceedings envisaging the calling of witnesses, consideration and analysis of documents, as well as other evidence presented by the parties to the dispute,” the statement said.
The Court of Appeal rendered a judgment on the necessity of conducting legal proceedings in order to determine the presence or absence of evidence supporting the remaining, fourth Ukrainian argument, which alleges that the borrower issued eurobonds under pressure from the creditor, that is Russia, the statement said. At the same time, the Court of Appeal did not confirm the rightness of the defense’s fourth argument, and only declared that that argument, as opposed to the other three arguments made by Ukraine, cannot be dismissed without conducting comprehensive legal proceedings.
Ukraine’s fourth argument, much like the other three arguments, must also be dismissed without legal proceedings, the Russian Finance Ministry said. For this reason, the Ministry has requested that Law Debenture Trust Corporation plc, as the eurobond trustee, to file an appeal with the UK’s Supreme Court regarding the decision on Ukraine’s fourth argument.
