Business news from Ukraine

NOVA POSHTA TO BOOST DELIVERY BY 21% IN 2016

KYIV. Dec 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Nova Poshta company predicts that in 2016 the company would deliver 113 million parcels and this would be 20.8% up on 2015.

According to its press release, in November and December the Nova Poshta logistic system was operating in the conditions of the seasonal peak. In October 2016 the company delivered 10.1 million parcels, in November – almost 11.3 million and in the first three weeks of December – over 8 million parcels.

The company has considerably changed operation processes. Nova Poshta curriers are working from 07:00 until midnight (until clients are ready to accept parcels). The delivery system is operating on Saturdays and Sundays in cities with over one million of population and on the rest of the territory – from Monday till Saturday. The company hired 150 curriers without vehicles to deliver small parcels.

The schedules and structure of over 600 international delivery routes have been optimized.

Taking into account overloading of flights from U.S. airports Nova Poshta selects alternative flights to deliver parcels to Ukraine from the United States via Europe, including within the updated NP Shopping service.

SPF WAITING FOR PROPOSALS OF POTENTIAL INVESTORS TO PRIVATIZE ELECTROTYAZHMASH PLANT

KYIV. Dec 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s State Property Fund (SPF) is waiting for the proposals of potential investors regarding the privatization of state-run enterprise Electrotyazhmash plant (Kharkiv), a large global turbogenerator and traction electric machine manufacturer.

The fund’s press service reported last week that potential investors can send their proposals via filling in a special form.

According to the report, the enterprise is working on several promising directions to expand production: production of hydrogenerators for small and mini hydroelectric power plants, turbogenerator equipment for powerful thermal power plants, turbogenerators for nuclear power plants and induction motors for city electric transport.

ABOUT UAH 8 BLN OF STATE BUDGET SAVED IN 2016 DUE TO PROZORRO – PM

KYIV. Dec 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – About UAH 8 billion of funds from the national budget were saved in 2016 thanks to the ProZorro e-procurement system, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has stated.

“If to talk about figures, this year we have saved UAH 8 billion,” he said during a meeting with students of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.

The premier noted Ukrainian business is being stimulated, corruption schemes are eliminated due to open trading through the electronic system, while savings can be used for other needs of the state.

EXPANSION OF EU EXPORTS QUOTAS IS TOP PRIORITY FOR UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT – TRADE ENVOY

KYIV. Dec 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The expansion of EU exports quotas for Ukrainian goods is a top priority for the Ukrainian government, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Ukraine’s Trade Representative Natalia Mykolska has said.

“We are working with the European Parliament and EU member states to accelerate making the decision. We expect that in the near future when the European Parliament returns from holidays, committees will discuss it and then we will be able to say that the situation is moving… The government jointly with colleagues from profile Verkhovna Rada committees are working with European parliamentarians to make the decision a top priority of the agenda. We consider it as a top priority for us,” she said at a briefing in Kyiv.

She also positively assessed the adoption of bill No. 2142a dated June 22, 2015 on providing the aggressive exports expansion of Ukrainian manufacturers via insuring, guaranteeing and cheapening of exports crediting that envisages the creation of the export-credit agency in Ukraine.

“We had considerable frictions with the authors [of the bill], and the government did not support it. At the last stage, thanks to personal participation of Volodymyr Groysman and Stepan Kubiv, we reached some compromises with the authors… In general, the bill creates a good legislative base for the creation of the agency,” she said.

“The important moment that consultants, with whom we worked under the [export-credit agency] project – Germany’s KfW, are ready to work with us in the project in the future and help us to quickly finish everything,” she said.

ETALON CORPORATION SEEKS TO SUPPLY 10-METER BUS MADE JOINTLY WITH DAF TO EUROPE BY LATE 2017

KYIV. Dec 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Etalon Corporation seeks to start supplies of the Tulpan 10-meter buses meeting Euro 6 emission standards designed jointly with DAF to Eastern Europe in Q3 or Q4 2017, Corporation President Volodymyr Butko has said.

He said that the key event of this year for the corporation was the start of cooperation with DAF. Two models of 10-meter intercity buses – А08420 and А08430 (for the European market) with front engines meeting Euro 5 emission standards have been designed jointly with the company.

“We presented the bus at an exhibition in Hannover (Germany) in September 2016. The bus aroused the interest. We have contacts of representatives of several interested countries. We are not ready to supply them, as Euro-6 standard is in effect in Europe now. DAF has supplied Euro-6 chassis. We plan to design a first bus by next summer. We will test it and then certify to start supplies to the European market,” Corporation Vice President Valeriy Kuptsov said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday.

He also said that the interest to the bus was shown due to its competitive price (EUR 90,000, VAT not included), while the price of analogs on the Isuzu and Iveco base is EUR 130,000-140,000.

“DAF helps us. It gives us its dealers. The company also expressed desire to sell buses on the Ukrainian market. We understand that this could be only a ‘club’ bus in Ukraine. Companies can buy them to transport employees or sports teams. We do not consider them for transportation of passengers,” Butko said.

The buses could be exported to Baltic state, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Romania.

INVESTMENT IN GRAIN DRYING COMPLEX AT BILOVODSKY BAKERY COMES TO UAH 56 MLN

KYIV. Dec 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – PJSC Bilovodsky bakery (Sumy region) has opened the renovated grain drying complex, according to the website of Sumy Regional State Administration.

The total capacity of the complex is 17,000 tonnes, investment in its launch reached UAH 56 million.

The plant not only stores grain but also produces animal feed and flour.

According to the National Commission on Securities and the Stock Market, the owner of 91.1% of the bakery is Cypriot company Firstmed Management.

The net profit of the company for 2015 increased by 44.7%, to UAH 12.68 million, net income by 36.7%, to UAH 104 million.