KYIV. May 24 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ukrainian nation’s coffers have saved UAH 24 billion, a little more than $900 million, since the launch of the ProZorro e-procurement system, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said.
“Today we can say the [ProZorro] system is not only competitive and transparent, it saves money for the national budget. According to our estimates, savings of budget funds – the money owned by the state, the Ukrainian people – have amounted to UAH 24 billion since its launch,” he said at the 13th Procurement, Integrity, Management and Openness (PRIMO) Forum in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Procurements worth UAH 700 billion, or $26.6 billion, have been handled via the system recently, he said.
Groysman also said that the Cabinet of Ministers and the State Property Fund of Ukraine had agreed about the possibility of using the ProZorro system for competitive sales of state-owned assets in future.
Public procurements in Ukraine switched over to the ProZorro e-system from August 1, 2016.
KYIV. May 24 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Mellanox Technologies, one of the leaders of the world market of technological solutions for data processing centers, will soon open its R&D center in Coworking Platforma Leonardo in Kyiv, the press service of the coworking platform has said.
“This is a great event for Coworking Platforma Leonardo, but it is also a unique opportunity for Ukraine as a whole. Mellanox is the world leader in technological innovation and I’m sure it will inspire the community of our coworking! I’m sure the appearance of such a company as Mellanox in the Ukrainian market will make Ukraine more visible on the international map of IT industry,” Coworking Platforma co-founder and CEO Refael Yucha said.
The press service of the coworking platform said it is planned the R&D center will employ about 100 people in near future. The amount of investments has not been disclosed.
Mellanox Technologies is a manufacturer of technology solutions for data processing centers: switches, InfiniBand and Ethernet network adapters, cables and software. The company’s offices are located in Sunnyvale, California (the United States) and Yokneam (Israel).
KYIV. May 24 (Interfax-Ukraine) – An ad hoc group should be created at the Verkhovna Rada to analyze disputes that emerge during medicine procurements by international organizations at the expense of budget funds, MP of the Radical Party Viktor Halasiuk has said.
“At least an inter-committee working group should be set up [in parliament] to thoroughly analyze such cases. Perhaps, it is worth creating a temporary commission of inquiry in parliament to properly address these issues,” he told reporters in Kyiv on Monday, commenting on a UNDP tender for the purchase of hemophilia drugs when a foreign manufacturer whose bid was higher than that of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical manufacturer Biofarma was named the winner.
“I’m waiting for an official response from Acting Health Minister Ulana Suprun and I hope this situation will end not only the cancellation of the tender and the organization of a new transparent and fair tender where the best bid will win, but there will be appropriate assessment of actions by UNDP officials involved in this procurement,” he said.
Halasiuk stressed that as a result of the tender, the losses of the Ukrainian budget amounted to about UAH 15 million, which could be additionally allocated for the purchase of medicines.
“By such tenders, Ukraine is in fact destroying domestic production with its own hands, as it is not a matter of choosing between an average Ukrainian intermediary company and a big foreign producer, but about choosing between two producers.” The Ukrainian manufacturers have invested $50 million in this enterprise, created 500 jobs and ensures UAH 100 million in tax payment every year,” he said.
Halasiuk noted that only 12 countries have factories that produce human blood coagulation factors. What is more, the products of this Ukrainian enterprise meet all world requirements and standards.
“I have a question as head of the parliamentary committee for industrial policy and entrepreneurship and deputy head of the Radical Party: Why should the domestic producer lose if it offers a more favorable price. Who benefits from this?” he wondered.
Halasiuk said he had sent his inquiries regarding this tender to the acting health minister, the prime minister, the Anti-monopoly Committee of Ukraine, and the business ombudsman.
“This issue concerns not only the patients, not only the industry and the budget, but also the investment climate. If Ukraine this way treats the manufacturer who trusts Ukraine and invested in Ukraine the funds of U.S.-based Horizon Capital, assuming that this Ukrainian enterprise will work for Ukrainian patients, there will be no confidence from investors, “he added.
As of May, only 17% of drugs had been supplied by international organizations with the use of budget funds of 2016, Halasiuk said.
“We will unite all pro-Ukrainian parliamentarians in the Verkhovna Rada and public organizations, producers’ associations in order to resolve this issue in the interests of the state,” he said.
KYIV. May 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Rambler & Co is launching a portal in the Ukrainian segment of the Internet – rambler.ua, according to the website of the online company.
“We have been, we are and remain a service outside of politics, aimed at users of different countries. First of all, we are a communication channel, a technology that ensures the convenience and speed of interaction between our users,” Rambler & Co said in a press release.
According to its data, in addition to reading news from the 25 largest cities in Ukraine, users will be able to get mail on @ rambler.ua.
“All interested parties will be able to save and transfer the blocked mailbox from another service and continue using it with the old address,” the report reads.
As reported, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko on May 15 enacted the NSDC decision on sanctions against the social networks of VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, as well as such companies as Mail.ru, Yandex and their services. Access to all the services of Yandex and Mail.ru is prohibited for three years.
KYIV. May 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The first aircraft engine assembled in China under Ukrainian technologies within the framework of strategic partnership between PJSC Motor Sich (Zaporizhia) and China’s Beijing Skyrizon Aviation Industry Investment Co. Ltd. could be demonstrated by late 2017, Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Stepan Kubiv has said.
During a briefing held in Kyiv and dedicated to the results of a recent visit of the Ukrainian delegation to China to participate in a high-level dialogue within the framework of the “One Belt. One Road” forum, the deputy premier highlighted the agreements achieved on Ukrainian-Chinese cooperation in the aircraft engine industry, saying the creation of aircraft engines production in Chongqing under Ukrainian technologies is “one of the priorities of the government.”
“Skyrizon and Motor Sich will create a joint venture for production of aircraft engines using Ukrainian technologies in China’s Chongqing. We want in 2017 to show the first engine that will be assembled at this plant,” Kubiv said.
He also welcomed the plans of the Chinese side envisaged by the cooperation program to invest $250 million in the modernization of Motor Sich, noting that the implementation of the program of Ukrainian-Chinese strategic cooperation in the field of aircraft engine building will strengthen the positions and influence of the Ukrainian aviation industry in the world market.
KYIV. May 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – S&P Global Ratings on May 19, 2017, affirmed its ‘B-‘ long-term issuer credit rating on the Ukrainian capital City of Kyiv, S&P said in a statement.
The outlook is stable, it said.
“The stable outlook reflects our expectations that Kyiv’s strong budgetary performance and ample cash buffers will enable it to withstand uncertainties coming from Ukraine’s very volatile institutional framework and also to provide financial support to its government-related entities (GREs) if needed,” S&P experts said.
The outlook also factors in the rating agency’s assumption that the city will keep its tax-supported debt low.
According to S&P, after debt restructuring, the city of Kyiv has no commercial debt. Its direct debt consists of intergovernmental obligations to Ukraine’s central government.
“We might lower the rating if we were to lower our sovereign ratings on Ukraine, if the city’s tax-supported debt were to increase materially above what we envisage in our base-case scenario, or if the city’s liquidity position were to deteriorate,” S&P said.
The rating agency says that, for the moment, there is no upside potential for its rating on Kyiv.
S&P says it expects Kyiv to continue reporting a strong operating surplus, as well as sound, albeit gradually diminishing, surpluses after capital accounts, which will allow the city to post tax-supported debt below a low 30% of consolidated operating revenues by year-end 2019.
“We think that these factors will counterbalance the very volatile Ukrainian institutional framework for local and regional governments (LRGs), the city’s low wealth levels, and a weak payment culture with a recent track record of defaults,” it said.
