Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Energy imports, forecast, billion dollars

Energy imports, forecast, billion dollars

Source: Open4Business.com.ua

Overview of office real estate in Riga by Relocation

In 2024, the office real estate market in Riga demonstrates stability, supported by economic growth and increased business activity. Despite the moderate pace of construction of new business centers, the demand for modern office space remains high, especially in the city’s central districts and business zones.

Rental prices in different districts of Riga

  • Thecenter of Riga ( Old Town, Kr. Barona Street, Brivibas Street):
  • The most prestigious business centers and historic buildings converted for office use are located here. The average rental price varies from €12 to €20 per m² per month, and in the top premium locations – up to €25 per m².
  • Skanste (modern business district):
  • A rapidly developing business area with modern office buildings and convenient infrastructure. Average rental rates are €10-18 per m², and in new Class A properties they can reach €22 per m².
  • Purvciems, Teiki, Imanta (residential areas):
  • These districts offer more affordable options for small and medium-sized businesses. Office rental prices here range from €7-12 per m², making them attractive for startups and small companies.

Trends and forecast until the end of 2025

  • Growing demand for flexible office space
  • Coworking and short-term office space continues to gain popularity, especially among IT companies and freelancers.
  • Limited new construction
  • The pace of commissioning of new business centers remains restrained, which supports the level of prices, especially in the central areas.
  • Stability of rental rates
  • Office rents in Riga are expected to remain stable until the end of 2025, with possible minor adjustments depending on the economic situation and demand in key business zones.

Thus, the office real estate market in Riga continues to develop, remaining attractive to occupiers, especially in modern business centers and flexible office spaces.

Source: http://relocation.com.ua/ohliad-ofisnoi-nerukhomosti-ryhy-vid-relocation/

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World Bank to provide $432 million for Ukraine’s infrastructure

The World Bank’s Board of Directors on Saturday night in Kiev approved a new $432 million support package “Building Resilient Infrastructure in a Vulnerable Environment in Ukraine (DRIVE)” aimed at helping the government improve the resilience of the national road network and operational efficiency in the transport sector.

The Bank told Interfax-Ukraine that DRIVE complements the existing project “Rehabilitation of Essential Logistics Infrastructure and Network Connectivity (RELINC)”, under which modular road bridges were delivered and 200 flatcars were manufactured to increase Ukrzaliznytsia’s freight capacity and export capability.

The World Bank noted that Ukraine’s transportation infrastructure has suffered significant damage since the war began in February 2022, disrupting key import and export routes. According to the recently published Rapid Damage and Recovery Needs Assessment (RDNA4), road infrastructure in the transport sector has suffered the most damage: 58% of the transport sector; 30% of state roads and bridges, 11% of local roads and bridges, and 17% of municipal roads suffered significant damage.

DRIVE financing includes a $212 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) under the ADVANCE Ukraine (ADVANCE Ukraine) Trust Fund, which was supported by the Government of Japan. The financing also includes a $210 million loan from the Special Program for the Recovery of Ukraine and Moldova (SPUR) and a $10 million grant from the Ukraine Support, Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reform Trust Fund (URTF).

The project will be implemented by the State Agency for Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Development of Ukraine.

The project page on the Bank’s website notes that it has three components, the first of which is the preservation of the national road network. This component includes two components. The first, a $270.48 million investment for national roads, finances the design, execution, and supervision of construction works aimed at maintaining certain sections of national roads in proper operational condition, including through operational maintenance, major road repairs, and major bridge repairs.

The second component, National Roads and Road Transport Reform, allocates $90 million for transportation sector performance with a results-based approach.

The second component for $39 million is periodic maintenance of the national road network, it also has two components: installation of emergency modular road bridges and climate-smart preservation of key links in the road network.

The third component is technical assistance and project management, which also has two components: technical assistance and project development ($9 million URTF grant), which complements the investment-oriented components, and project management ($1 million URTF grant), which finances eligible costs for implementation and project management support, training, and knowledge sharing.

 

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Number of dead in Myanmar has already exceeded 1,000 people

The death toll in Myanmar as a result of a powerful earthquake has exceeded 1,000 people, Reuters reports citing government sources.

“International rescue teams began flying to Myanmar on Saturday to help search for survivors after Friday’s earthquake killed more than 1,000 people,” the agency said.

The military government on Saturday put the death toll in Myanmar at 1,002. The 7.7-magnitude quake reportedly damaged critical infrastructure amid an intense civil war.

At least nine people were killed in neighboring Thailand, where the magnitude 7.7 quake destroyed buildings and collapsed a skyscraper under construction in the capital Bangkok, 30 people were trapped under the rubble and 49 were reported missing.

https://interfax.com.ua/

 

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President of Ukraine will consult with society on minerals agreement

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that in case of risky things in the minerals agreement, he would communicate with Ukrainian society about it.

“It seems to me that Ukrainians, in principle, know me very well. I think there is no need to doubt that. If there are any risky things for us, I will definitely communicate all this without any secrets with our society,” Zelensky said at a briefing on Friday.

The president believes that “the main basic things, compromises, were outlined in the framework agreement, which we were ready to do.” “And so we will base ourselves on the clear things we talked about, where we see an opportunity to build the right partnerships,” he added.

Speaking about Ukraine’s alleged debts to the United States, Zelenskyy noted that he does not see them if we talk about the past.

“If there are any prospects, new support, new support packages, then the United States can set certain conditions, realizing that this team will not do anything for free. They are officially saying this,” the president explained.

Lviv-based Khlibprom suffered more than UAH 65 mln in losses in 2024

PJSC Concern Khlibprom (Lviv), one of Ukraine’s largest producers of bread and bakery products, posted a net loss of UAH 65.667 million in 2024, compared to a net profit of UAH 70.83 million a year earlier.

According to the agenda of the annual general meeting of shareholders scheduled for April 30 this year in remote mode, the shareholders are proposed to cover the net loss of UAH 161,366 thousand incurred by the company in 2024 at the expense of deferred income, and not to accrue or pay dividends.

In addition, the shareholders are proposed to approve the report of the management and the supervisory board on the financial and economic activities of the company for 2024, to recognize the work of the management and the supervisory board as satisfactory. They also have to approve the reports and conclusions of the audit firm Creston Ukraine LLC and decide on the need to take the measures recommended by the auditor.

According to Opendatabot, in 2024, Concern Khlibprom PJSC increased its revenue by 7.4% to UAH 2.036 billion, its debt obligations by 1.5 times to UAH 567.38 million, and its assets by 11.4% to UAH 1.19 billion. At the same time, the number of employees decreased by 52 people to 2,601. The company’s authorized capital is UAH 163.55 million.

Concern Khlibprom is one of the largest enterprises in the Ukrainian bread market, producing up to 200 tons of products daily: bread, bakery, confectionery and semi-finished dough products. The company has five processing plants located in Lviv and Vinnytsia regions. It owns the Khlibna Khata, Vinnytsiakhlib, Khlib po-Lvivski, Lyublyanna, Bandinelli, and Panerini trademarks.

The company’s beneficiary is Natalia Antonova, the ex-wife of OKKO Group majority owner Vitaliy Antonov. In October 2024, she acquired a 25.3% stake in Concern Khlibprom from Universal Investment Group LLC and became the owner of 98.1% of the company’s shares.

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