KYIV. Feb 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has called on international partners to help Ukraine create a recovery plan for Ukraine similar to the “Marshall Plan” – the plan of assistance for Western Europe following World War II.
Appearing at a conference, titled “Cheering and Steering: Ukraine Reforms Reloaded ” in Brussels on Thursday, the PM said in 2014 the European Union and donors offered Ukraine a “Marshall Plan” and planned a donor conference in February 2015. Preparations for the plan to assist Ukraine were also held. However, the conference did not take place and the necessary decisions were not taken.
“I think we should return to this initiative. If the question arises, how friendly European and world partners of Ukraine can help, then we must provide a clear answer, a plan for Ukraine’s restoration. This “Marshall Plan” we will create jointly will be aimed at restoring key sectors of the economy which have suffered,” Ukraine’s PM said.
According to Groysman, key sectors of Ukraine’s economy which have suffered because of Russian aggression must be restored and recalibrated very quickly.
KYIV. Feb 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTIBU) has called on insurance companies to prepare IT systems for the introduction of electronic compulsory third party liability insurance (OSAGO) policies, the bureau has said on its website.
The bureau said that designing and testing of software for the electronic policy has been finished. Insurers are to buy, design or adapt own IT systems in line with the requirements of the e-policy issue.
The key tool for communications between the insurance companies and the e-policy system will be web services.
The bureau promised that all its members with the IT systems suiting for these transactions would have full and transparent access to the e-policy system. The bureau keeps options for software designers or information systems open. The IT systems of insurance companies will be checks in an unbiased way.
The bureau asked insurance companies and insurance associations to back the resolution of the national commission for financial service markets regulation about the specifics of signing electronic OSAGO policies and do their best to provide for the required conditions to switch the OSAGO insurance market to the issue of electronic policies.
According to the resolution, owners of vehicles can receive OSAGO policies online or at offices of insurance companies or their representatives.
The transitive period of one year is foreseen from the moment when the document took effect. During the period OSAGO policies can be issued both in electronic form and on paper. After one year they will be issued only in the electronic form.
KYIV. Feb 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – TMM developing and construction firm LLC (Kyiv) intends to realize a project to build a solid household waste-to-energy plant near combined heat and power plant six in Kyiv, TMM Director General Mykola Tolmachev has said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“The waste combust technology is similar to the “magma” technology when waste is heated on hot stone without the use of oxygen. The technology brings almost no waste and no emission. This is environment friendly production. I am going to be first who will build this plant in Ukraine. We are holding talks with Kyiv and Zaporizhia,” Tolmachev said.
He said that at present the company is waiting for the signing of the memorandum with Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The document would allow starting construction of the plant in Kyiv this year.
He said that the plant could be located near combined heat and power plant six in Troyeschyna district.
He did not disclose the cost of the project. He said that he intends to raise the funds himself.
TMM Firm is a developing and construction company of full cycle. It has been operating on the Ukrainian construction market since 1994.
KYIV. Feb 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Raiffeisen Bank Aval saw UAH 3.804 billion of profit after taxation in 2016, being the best among Ukrainian banks, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has reported.
Citibank saw UAH 1.45 billion of profit and OTP Bank saw UAH 913.76 million, being third.
Credit Agricole Bank saw UAH 807.79 million and ING Bank Ukraine – UAH 791.1 million followed by Oschadbank with UAH 468.17 million of profit. Oschadbank revaluated securities for sale in the bank’s portfolio – UAH 1.177 billion. This increased its total revenue to UAH 1.845 billion (second on the market).
Ukrgasbank also revaluated its securities portfolio – UAH 403.02 million. The bank was ninth in terms of profit after taxation with UAH 293.68 million and seventh in total revenue with UAH 696.7 million.
FUIB saw UAH 367.01 million of profit after taxation, ProCreditBank – UAH 300.65 million and Kredobank – UAH 263.68 million.
Nationalized PrivatBank is at the end of the list. The bank posted UAH 135.309 billion loss after taxation due to forming reserves for the non-performing loan portfolio.
Ukrsotsbank bought by the owners of Alfa-Bank last year saw UAH 10.367 billion and Alfa-Bank (Kyiv) – UAH 4.095 billion. Subsidiaries of Russian banks VTB Bank saw UAH 6.32 billion of loss, Prominvestbank – UAH 4.227 billion, Sberbank – UAH 2.818 billion and BM Bank – UAH 1.759 billion.
State-run Ukreximbank also posted large loss – UAH 1.011 billion, as well as UkrSibbank – UAH 993.97 million, Pravex-Bank – UAH 588.38 million and Diamantbank – UAH 573.02 million. For all banks the reason of seeing loss was impairment expense.
In general, loss after taxation of 93 operating banks in the country in 2016 totaled UAH 158.48 billion: 62 banks posted UAH 10.817 billion of profit, while 31 banks saw UAH 162.3 billion loss.
The NBU also gave return on assets data for 2016, according to which Alliance Bank showed the best result with 23.76% followed by Citibank with 10.21% and Crystalbank with 7.48%.
Bank 3/4 posted 6.94% return on assets and Industrial-Financial Bank – 6.53%, while Raiffeisen Bank Aval – 5.39%, bank Avangard – 5.07%, Deutsche Bank DBU – 4.89%, ING Bank Ukraine – 4.6% and Poltava-Bank – 4.46%.
KYIV. Feb 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The owner and director general of TMM developing and construction firm Mykola Tolmachev seeks to invest in agricultural business projects.
“I have four business plans. I am ready to study two of them in the agricultural sector. I am interested in those things that no one is doing now,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
Tolmachev said that he is studying construction of a pectin plant and the launch of a powder milk production project.
“Some apples contain pectin. Its price is from $15 to $25 per kilogram. The project is ideal for Belarus, as they have the raw material base,” he said.
He said that the second project to produce powder milk should be implemented with the prospect of exporting it to China.
“The powder milk project should be realized for China. There is always demand in this country on it. The price is good – $2,000-3,000 per tonne. I think that they would be investors without any problems. We are making products no worse than European companies make,” he said.
Tolmachev said that the prospect for launching the two projects is three or five years. It suits the TMM development strategy to become an international company in the next five years.
At present, TMM as the general contractor is building an elevator in Vasylkiv (Kyiv region). Earlier the company finished construction of a bakery. TMM is cooperating in construction of infrastructure projects with Astarta, Ukrproduct and NCH.
“We have what to offer, as we are the full cycle company and can make almost everything, starting from examination and design. If the company is ready to give us a bank guarantee, we build their facilities using own money,” the owner of TMM said.
He said that Ukrainian agriculture is a promising direction for investment, as Ukraine could produce 120 million tonnes of grain, but it has large problems with infrastructure.
“This is a large market for the next 10 years: according to my estimates, agricultural producers are to invest or raise around $12 billion in grain storage and transportation infrastructure. New companies would come: it is enough work for everyone, as in other segments,” the businessman said.
He said that agriculture in Ukraine will be profit-making if the land market were launched.
TMM Firm is a developing and construction company of full cycle. It has been operating on the Ukrainian construction market since 1994.
VILNIUS. Feb 10 (Interfax) – The Lithuanian government has decided to facilitate the employment of some experts from third countries and hopes to attract such workers from Ukraine, Prime Minister of Lithuania Saulius Skvernelis has said.
“If you look at the statistics of recent years, people of those professions, we are talking about, come from Ukraine. I think that we see the same process in the neighboring Poland. The situation is more liberal there. According to our data, thousands of Ukrainians have successfully integrated into the labor market. They are creating additional cost and allow the business to grow,” the prime minister said in an interview with Ziniu radijas radio station on Thursday.
According to him, the government, making employment of foreign experts easier, has created sufficient guards in order not to hurt the growth of wages of local residents.
On Wednesday, the Lithuanian government approved the list of professions for easy order of specialists’ employment of certain areas from abroad, in particular, programmers, experts in the field of information technology, engineers of various fields and technicians. These provisions will apply to immigrants not from the EU countries. Within the community itself all its citizens can work in another country without permission.
