State-owned Oschadbank (Kyiv) and one of the largest grain market operators in Ukraine, JV Nibulon LLC, have agreed on a series of new loan agreements to replenish working capital, which refinance the company’s investments totaling $20.3 million, the first part of this loan program for $13 million has already been signed, the bank’s press service reports.
According to the report, Nibulon will use the funds to restore working capital after investing in the construction of a new transshipment terminal on the Danube. The Bessarabian branch began operations in 2022 and became the main route for exporting agricultural products, which was crucial in the context of the aggressor’s blockade of Ukrainian seaports in previous periods.
“The replenishment of working capital guarantees Nibulon’s ability to fully support the procurement campaign for the 2024/25 season and support the Ukrainian farmer in times of war,” the bank said, adding that after heavy losses and a difficult return to stability, the company was able to gain momentum and develop an ecosystem that will ensure sustainable food security.
“Nibulon has been a long-standing and reliable partner for us for over 6 years. It is one of the pillars of the country’s food potential, including exports. To date, the company’s total loan portfolio in Oschad is already almost UAH 2 billion. Given that Oschadbank has a high level of liquidity, we are ready to continue financial support for Nibulon in all its initiatives to restore its leadership positions in global markets lost due to the full-scale war,” said Yuriy Katsiyon, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Oschadbank in charge of corporate business, during the signing of the agreement.
The agroholding noted that the support of the real economy by state-owned banks is evidence of the government’s consistent adaptation of its policy to the conditions of a full-scale war and its real focus on helping businesses.
“We see changes. We see a targeted state policy of supporting domestic business in action. This is a direct recognition of the critical role of strategic enterprises for the further development of Ukraine and a guarantee of our successful future,” said Andriy Vadatursky, CEO of Nibulon. Andriy Vadatursky, CEO of Nibulon.
“We are grateful to Oschadbank for its systematic and consistent support of us, representatives of companies in the sector that ensures the country’s food security. At the very beginning of the full-scale war, Oschadbank provided Nibulon with additional funding for the 2022/2023 sowing campaign to prevent a food crisis that the aggressor was trying to create. In 2023, Oschadbank was one of the first to restructure Nibulon’s pre-war loan to support the company, which suffered losses due to the destruction of infrastructure during the hostilities, the blocking of sea routes from the port of Mykolaiv, and the forced reorientation to other logistics routes. And now we have new funding that we will use for the procurement campaign to support small and medium-sized agricultural producers,” said Vitalina Marchenko, Head of Nibulon’s Banking Department.
As reported earlier, Nibulon Group has more than 25 Ukrainian and foreign creditors, with the vast majority of whom have already signed restructuring agreements.
Nibulon JV LLC was established in 1991. Prior to the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and crop reception complexes, capacity to store 2.25 million tons of agricultural products at a time, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugs), and owned the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
“Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries. In 2021, the grain trader exported the highest ever 5.64 million tons of agricultural products, reaching record volumes of supplies to foreign markets in August – 0.7 million tons, in the fourth quarter – 1.88 million tons, and in the second half of the year – 3.71 million tons.
Nibulon’s losses due to Russia’s full-scale military invasion in 2022 exceeded $416 million.
Currently, the grain trader is operating at 32% of capacity, has created a special unit to clear agricultural land of mines, and has been forced to move its headquarters from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), as of July 1, 2024, Oschadbank ranked 2nd (UAH 435.06 billion) in terms of total assets among 62 banks in the country. Last year, the financial institution’s net profit amounted to UAH 5.98 billion.
