Business news from Ukraine

POLAND’S PESA COULD OPEN TRAM PRODUCTION FACILITY IN KYIV – KYIV MAYOR

KYIV. Oct 2(Interfax-Ukraine) – Poland’s Pesa, which won a tender to supply 40 trams to Kyiv in August 2017, plans to start production of trams in Kyiv, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said.
“I will reveal a small secret. When I visited the Polish plant Pesa I arranged with the company’s top managers that they would open their plant in Kyiv – first semi knocked down and later the full production cycle,” the press service of Kyiv City Administration reported, citing Klitschko in an interview with Novoye Vremia publication.
Klitschko recalled that Kyiv is buying 40 trams now and seven Lviv’s trams Electron.
“This is high-tech low-deck European transport with air conditioners, video surveillance and wi-fi. We also bought 60 MAZ buses meeting modern requirements,” he said.
Klitschko said that 400 trams are used in Kyiv, and 90% of them are older than 30 years. The tram fleet has not been upgraded for at least 30 years.
“We need to buy 165 more new trams, over 230 buses and 230 trolleybuses to fully upgrade the fleet.
“This is three or four times more than we bought now. According to the humblest forecasts, it will take around five years to buy new transport,” he said.

INSTALLED CAPACITY OF ‘GREEN’ GENERATION IN UKRAINE 18% UP IN NINE MONTHS – NCER

KYIV. Oct 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The installed capacity of facilities producing electricity from renewable sources in Ukraine in January-September 2017 increased by 18%, to 1,320 MW, Dmytro Vovk, the head of the National Commission for Energy, Housing and Utilities Services Regulation (NCER), has said.
“At an open meeting, according to the law, we’ve just approved tariffs for the fourth quarter and summed up the results of the nine months of 2017: we commissioned 201 MW of new capacity, which is 3.7 times more than in the same period in 2016, solar power plants account for 83% of new facilities, the average unit capacity is 6 MW and, for the first time in many years, facilities with a capacity of more than 10 MW appeared, the total installed capacity of renewable energy sources in the nine months rose by 18% and is 1,320 MW,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
According to the NCER, the share of renewable energy sources in total electricity production for the first nine months of 2017 was 1.58%. At the same time, the share of such generation in the total cost of electricity produced is 8%.

SMART-HOLDING, REZIDOR HOTEL GROUP OPEN PARK INN RADISSON KYIV TROYITSKA HOTEL

KYIV. Sept 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Smart-Holding and Rezidor Hotel Group have announced the opening of the first hotel of the Park Inn by Radisson brand in Ukraine near the Olympiysky National Sports Complex in Kyiv.
“Park Inn by Radisson Kyiv Troyitska is our first investment project in hospitality business. This is an attractive sphere for us. Rooms of this class hotel in the center of the city would be always of great demand. I am sure that jointly with the Rezidor Hotel Group we have offered a competitive project that fully meets international standards to city guests. The hotel would extend the ensemble of the Troyitska Square which we reconstructed before the final matches of Euro 2012,” the press service of Smart-Holding said, citing CEO Oleksiy Pertin.
The press service said that Smart-Holding acts as an investor in the hotel reconstruction project. Rezidor Hotel Group is the managing company of the hotel. It is the fourth hotel for Carlson Rezidor in Ukraine and third in Kyiv.
Smart-Holding told Interfax-Ukraine that the hotel took in first guests on September 26.
The hotel has 196 rooms.

KAZAKHSTAN READY TO START TALKS WITH UKRAINE ON STEEL PIPE DUTIES

ALMATY. Sept 29 (Interfax) – Kazakhstan is ready to begin WTO consultations with Ukraine about the anti-dumping duties on steel pipe imports within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Kazakhstan’s Ministry of the National Economy said.
“Kazakhstan is ready to conduct consultations with our Ukrainian counterparts,” the ministry said.
The schedule of the talks is now being discussed, it said.
“The procedure for the investigation and application of anti-dumping duties is regulated by the EAEU agreement, which fully complies with WTO rules,” the ministry said.
“Regarding the issue raised by Ukraine, the anti-dumping duties were applied with respect to certain types of steel pipes imported from Ukraine in June 2011. The anti-dumping investigation proved damages to Kazakhstan’s producers and the existence of dumping, while Ukraine has the right to protect its own interests,” it said.
The introduction of the anti-dumping duty does not terminate imports.
“The imports continue, but only on the condition that the anti-dumping duty be paid to restore the competitive environment for local producers,” the ministry said.
Ukraine initiated a WTO dispute against Kazakhstan’s anti-dumping duties on certain types of steel pipes imported from Ukraine.
The anti-dumping duty is currently 18.9-37.8%, depending on the type of the product.
Ukraine’s pipe exports to the EAEU totaled 330,000 tonnes worth $373 million in 2014, 138,000 tonnes worth $133 million in 2015, 151,000 tonnes worth $111 million in 2016, and 76,500 tonnes worth $63 million for the six months of 2017.
Interpipe is Ukraine’s largest pipe and wheel manufacturer.

TURBOATOM HAS FOUR TURBINES FOR TPPS READY FOR SALE – CEO

KHARKIV. Sept 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Turboatom has four turbines ready for sale for thermal power plants (TPP), Director General of PJSC Turboatom (Kharkiv) Viktor Subotin has said.
“The company had no orders for thermal power plants during the last two years. There are four turbines for thermal power plants [two turbines of 300 MW and two turbines of 200 MW]. They were paid for several years ago,” Subotin said during the national meeting “The strategic directions of machine building development in Ukraine: from regional initiatives to the national industrial policy” in Kharkiv.
According to him, the enterprise is ready to supply them to TPPs and is ready to consider flexible payment terms, “understanding that there are certain difficulties in financing.”
“The supply of these units will provide another 30 years of operational capabilities and a 10% increase in capacity at thermal power plants,” the company CEO said.

ECONOMY MINISTRY READY TO DISCUSS CREATION OF NEW AMMO PLANT IN UKRAINE WITH BRITAIN’S STILETTO

KYIV. Sept 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – A new ammunition plant in Ukraine could be created in international cooperation, Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister of Ukraine Yuriy Brovchenko has told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Today we are holding talks [on the project] with Stiletto: we want to hear their proposals next week how they see their role in the process, their conditions [for cooperation] and do our best to help them to work in Ukraine,” he told Interfax-Ukraine at the First Ukrainian Forum of Private Defense Enterprises in Kyiv on Thursday.
“This is one of the options. We are open for everyone,” he said.
Brovchenko said that today the plans to create an ammunition production facility in Ukraine are being implemented in several directions.
“First, the Defense Ministry will organize an assembly facility at its enterprises. This is one direction,” he said.
He said that the organization of production cooperation in ammunition production with the participation of the Ukroboronprom State Concern has started.
“Today we have signed contracts to organize production of large caliber ammunition at one of the Ukroboronprom’s enterprises,” he said.
In addition, cooperation in production of small-caliber ammunition has been organized at Fort research and industrial association (Vinnytsia), Brovchenko said.
He said that organization of the closed cycle ammunition production is not appropriate at one enterprise: this is the sectoral cooperation with participation of key players of the Ukrainian ammunition sector.
As reported, British-based Stiletto Systems Ltd. jointly with Canadian-based MAGNUM in summer were considering the possibility of participating in a tender of the Economic Development and Trade Ministry to create a new production of shooting and artillery ammunition in Ukraine. The alliance is ready to design and build a ammunition plant with an annual capacity of up to 100 million bullets within two years.