The number of insurance companies in Ukraine in March 2024 has not changed and as of the end of the month there are 86 risk insurers, 12 specializing in life insurance, one insurer with a special status (“Export Credit Agency”), according to the NBU website. At the same time, two insurance brokers are included in the register.
In general, the number of non-banking financial market participants in March decreased from 1,060 (as of February 29, 2024) to 1,056 (as of March 31, 2024).
The German government will donate about 400 generators to Ukraine to help fight Russian aggression, the German Embassy in Kyiv reports.
“Recent Russian air strikes have destroyed and damaged power plants in Ukraine. Millions of people, especially in Sumy and Kharkiv, were temporarily left without electricity. The German government is supplying > 400 generators to strengthen Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression,” the statement posted on Facebook reads.
Dynamics of changes in discount rate of NBU – from 2013 to end of 2023
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
PJSC Ukrnafta is launching a revitalization program and invites investors to participate in the restoration of the first 20 wells.
“An important part of the company’s strategy to increase production is the restoration of already drilled but abandoned wells that have prospects through the use of modern technologies,” the company said in a press release, citing Ukrnafta CEO Serhiy Koretsky.
Currently, 4222 such wells have been identified, of which 2100 are within Ukrnafta’s special permits, 700 of which are within the reserve contours.
“The company has selected 30 wells out of these 700 for the pilot. 10 will be restored on our own, and a tender is announced for 20. The company invites partners to help restore production at these sites by drilling horizontal sidetracks,” the document explains.
The company offers a deal based on the Risk Service Agreement, under which the investor must pass compliance and get access to the Virtual Data Room with information about the well.
“Ukrnafta, for its part, together with specialists, is forming a pool of wells, from three to 12, which will be restored by drilling at the expense of partners. The cost of restoring production from the wells is determined by bidding in the Prozorro system.
Subsequently, Ukrnafta receives an additional resource and pays for the revitalization using the funds from production from the restored wells. The partners, for their part, receive a share of the additional production from the revitalized wells.
“Any Ukrainian and international company that passes the compliance procedure can join,” the company said.
As reported, in 2023 Ukrnafta increased oil and condensate production by 3% (by 39.9 thousand tons) compared to 2022 – up to 1 million 409.9 thousand tons, gas production by 5.8% (by 60.4 million cubic meters), up to 1 billion 97.4 million cubic meters.
The company’s strategic goal is to double oil and natural gas production to 3 million tons and 2 billion cubic meters by 2027, respectively.
“Ukrnafta is the largest oil company in Ukraine and operates a national network of 537 filling stations, of which 456 are in operation. The company is implementing a comprehensive program to restore operations and update the format of its filling stations. Since February 2023, Ukrnafta has been issuing its own fuel coupons and NAFTAKarta cards, which are sold to legal entities and individuals through Ukrnafta-Postach LLC.
Ukrnafta’s largest shareholder is Naftogaz of Ukraine with a 50%+1 share. On November 5, 2022, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer to the state a share of corporate rights of the company owned by private owners, which is now managed by the Ministry of Defense.
At a meeting on Wednesday, the Swiss Federal Council decided to allocate CHF5 billion ($5.53 billion) for Ukraine’s economic development and long-term recovery until 2036 as part of strengthening existing cooperation, the Swiss government portal reports.
“As a first step, it is planned to attract about CHF1.5 billion from the international cooperation budget until 2028. This amount clearly demonstrates Switzerland’s solidarity with the people affected by the war in Ukraine and will increase stability on the European continent,” the statement said.
Citing the World Bank’s estimate, it is reported that the funds needed for reconstruction in Ukraine are estimated at $486 billion (about CHF440 billion). “Switzerland is already supporting projects in Ukraine aimed at restoring the destroyed civilian infrastructure in the energy, roads, and health sectors. In addition, Switzerland and Ukraine jointly launched the process of political recovery on a large scale at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano in July 2022,” the statement said.
According to the government, Switzerland has already spent about CHF3 billion on these and other measures to support people affected by the war in Ukraine. About CHF425 million of this amount was received from the international cooperation budget, and the rest (about CHF2.5 billion) was spent by the State Secretariat for Migration on reception and support of people with S protection status in Switzerland.
Over the next 12 years, the Swiss Federal Council intends to intensify its support for Ukraine’s recovery and develop cooperation with the private sector. “Given the current financial situation of the Swiss federal government, the Federal Council has proposed a phased approach: support for Ukraine from the international cooperation budget will amount to CHF 1.5 billion by 2028. In 2029-2036, the Federal Council also intends to study support for Ukraine’s recovery from the international cooperation budget until 2028. The Federal Council also intends to explore other sources (other than international cooperation) from which the remaining CHF3.5 billion can be obtained,” the statement said.
At its meeting on Wednesday, the Federal Council also commissioned the development of a program for Ukraine, which should provide targeted and effective support and be based on the seven Lugano principles: partnership, reform focus, transparency, accountability and the rule of law, democratic participation, multi-stakeholder engagement, gender equality and inclusiveness, and sustainability.
Global steel demand will increase by 1.7% to 1.793 billion tons in 2024 and by another 1.2% to 1.815 billion tons in 2025, the World Steel Association predicts.
Martin Theuringer, Chairman of the Worldsteel Economic Committee, noted in his commentary that after two years of negative growth and severe market volatility following the COVID crisis in 2020, there are first signs of stabilization of global steel demand on a growth trajectory in 2024 and 2025.
According to him, the global economy continues to demonstrate resilience despite several strong headwinds, the lingering impact of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, high inflation, high costs and falling household purchasing power, growing geopolitical uncertainty and sharp monetary tightening.
“As we approach the end of the monetary tightening cycle, we have seen that tighter credit conditions and higher costs have led to a sharp slowdown in housing activity in most major markets and weighed on the manufacturing sector globally. While it appears that the global economy will experience a soft landing after this cycle of monetary tightening, we expect global steel demand growth to remain weak and market volatility to remain high due to the lagged effects of monetary tightening, high costs and high geopolitical uncertainty,” the head of the economic committee said.
China’s steel demand in 2024 is expected to remain roughly at the level of 2023 as real estate investment continues to decline, but the corresponding loss in steel demand will be offset by an increase in steel demand driven by infrastructure investment and manufacturing sectors. In 2025, steel demand in China will return to a downward trend with a 1% decline.
This forecast implies that by 2025, China’s steel demand will be significantly lower than in the recent peak year of 2020. This forecast is also in line with Worldsteel’s view that China may have reached its peak steel demand and that steel demand in the country is likely to continue to be strong in the medium term as China gradually moves away from an economic development model dependent on real estate and infrastructure investment.
Worldsteel’s forecasts for the world, excluding China, assume broad-based growth in steel demand at a relatively high 3.5% per year in 2024-2025.
It also states that India has become the strongest driver of steel demand growth since 2021, and the forecast shows that steel demand in India will continue to grow rapidly, with steel demand in the country growing by 8% in 2024 and 2025, driven by growth in all steel-using sectors and especially by continued strong growth in infrastructure investment. India’s steel demand is projected to be almost 70 million tons higher in 2025 than in 2020.
In other emerging economies such as the Middle East, Africa and ASEAN, steel demand is expected to grow in 2024-2025 after a significant slowdown in 2022-2023. However, growing challenges in ASEAN, such as political instability and declining competitiveness, may lead to a slowdown in steel demand growth in the future.
The developed world is also expected to see a stronger recovery: 1.3% in 2024 and 2.7% in 2025, as Worldsteel expects steel demand to finally show strong growth in the EU in 2025 and remain resilient in the US, Japan and Korea.
According to the forecast, the EU (and the UK) remain the region currently facing the biggest challenges. The region, and in particular its steel-using industries, is facing challenges on multiple fronts: geopolitical shifts and uncertainty, high inflation, monetary tightening and partial withdrawal of fiscal support, and still high energy and commodity prices. The persistence of these negative factors has led to a significant drop in steel demand in the region in 2023 to the lowest level since 2000 and a significant downward revision of the forecast for this year. After only a technical recovery in 2024, steel demand in the region is expected to finally show a significant recovery with growth of 5.3% in 2025. Projected steel demand in the EU in 2024 is only 1.5 million tons higher than during the 2020 pandemic.
In contrast to the EU, US steel demand continues to demonstrate healthy steel demand fundamentals. The country’s steel demand is expected to quickly return to growth in 2024 after a sharp drop caused by the housing market slowdown in 2023, thanks to strong investment activity, boosted by the inflation reduction law, and a gradual recovery in housing activity.
Worldsteel believes that risks have decreased since its last forecast update in October 2023 and are balanced. On the other hand, the Association believes that faster-than-expected disinflation, accompanied by further monetary policy easing, could provide a significant boost to steel-using sectors, especially residential construction. Worldsteel also believes that accelerating global decarbonization efforts or efforts to strengthen public infrastructure to combat the growing risks of climate change are significant positive risks that could support global steel demand going forward.
“However, we observe that further escalation of geopolitical tensions, inflationary pressures proving more resilient than expected, and high and rising public debt levels driving fiscal consolidation in major economies pose significant risks that could certainly slow or even derail the ongoing economic recovery,” the forecast concludes.
