The adoption of a law simplifying the procedure for privatization and lease of state property will be a signal for investors, including international ones, Deputy Head of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Development Roksolana Pidlasa (Servant of the People faction) said.
“This bill [No. 4572] will become a green light for investors, including international ones. And it will also contribute to the development of regions, because after its adoption, the budgets of communities will receive funds not only from the privatization of municipal enterprises, but also 10% of the funds received from the sale of state assets,” Pidlasa told Interfax-Ukraine.
She recalled that the Verkhovna Rada has already adopted the bill at the first reading and currently the Committee on Economic Development is preparing it for the second reading.
The MP stressed that “it is privatization that gives people the opportunity not to go strawberry-picking in Poland, but to have a decent job in Ukraine, in their community.” “Hundreds of enterprises and production sites that have been abandoned and forgotten for decades and would hardly ever resume work are bought by private investors and they turn them into modern enterprises where Ukrainians are working now,” Pidlasa said.
The MP recalled that over the past year and a half, the State Property Fund returned ten key assets under state control, including the United Mining and Chemical Company, PJSC Centrenergo and JSC Odesa Port-Side Plant.
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada on July 15 adopted at the first reading bill No. 4572 on amendments to the law on the State Property Fund of Ukraine and other legislative acts promoting investment attraction in the process of privatization and lease of state and municipal property.
The growth of capital investments in Ukraine in April-June 2021 compared to the same period in 2020 amounted to 17.1%, while in January-March there was a decline in capital investments at the level of 9.5%, the State Statistics Service said.
According to the service, in the second quarter of this year, UAH 191.133 billion of capital investments were spent (excluding the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea, Sevastopol and the territories of Luhansk and Donetsk regions).
The growth of capital investments in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2020 amounted to 4.2%, the State Statistics Service said.
In the regional context, a significant decrease in capital investments in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020 was recorded in Volyn (by 64.1%), Kirovohrad (by 17.1%), Mykolaiv (by 13.3%) regions.
Capital investments in April-June 2021 compared to April-June 2020 increased in Luhansk (by 9.08%), Zhytomyr (by 85.3%), Zaporizhia (by 66.7%), Ivano-Frankivsk (by 60.4%), Kherson (56.4%), Chernivtsi (57.1%), Lviv (47.9%), Sumy (41.7%), Vinnytsia (36.1%), Rivne (by 37.5%), Donetsk (by 34.3%), Kyiv (by 27.1%), Dnipropetrovsk (by 26.2%), Chernihiv (by 22.3%), Cherkasy and Ternopil (by 22.2%), Khmelnytsky (by 15.7%), Zakarpattia (by 13.3%), Odesa (by 13%), Kharkiv (by 12.7%), Poltava (by 10.8%) regions and in Kyiv city (by 10.2%).
Among industries, the growth of capital investments in the second quarter of this year was recorded in the field of forestry – 4.4 times, the provision of other types of services – 3.9 times, in postal and courier activities – 3.6 times, healthcare and social assistance – 2.5 times, at transport enterprises, in warehouses, postal and courier activities – by 60.8%, in temporary accommodation and catering – by 27.7%, in real estate transactions – by 25.9%, in wholesale and retail trade – by 25.3%, in activities in the field of administrative and support services – by 16.3%, computer programming and the provision of other information services – by 14.8%, in industry – by 14.1%, agriculture – by 13.1%, construction – by 7.6%, scientific achievements and developments – by 5%, public administration and defense – by 3.8%, advertising – by 1.2%.
In the field of fish farming, the decline in capital investments was 43.3%, in financial and insurance activities – by 37.7%, in education – by 29%, in professional, scientific and technical activities – by 5.5%, in the field of information and telecommunications – by 4.3%.
Own funds of enterprises and organizations remained the main source of financing for capital investments, at the expense of which 75.2% of the total volume of all investments has been used.
A significant share of capital investments was invested in buildings and structures – 45.5%, and in machinery, equipment and vehicles – 44.9% of all investments.
As reported, capital investment in Ukraine in 2020 fell by 38.2%, while in 2018-2019 they grew by 16.4% and 15.5%, respectively.
The rental price of apartments in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro in August 2021 increased by an average of 3% compared to spring, in Odesa – by 5%, and in Lviv – by 2%, according to the OLX Real Estate analytical service.
“If last year, after the first lockdown and until the fall, rental prices in Kyiv decreased by 6-9%, then in 2021 the situation is different: housing prices are growing. Compared to April, long-term rent in Kyiv has risen by 3%,” according to the OLX press release.
According to the service, the largest drop in rental prices for apartments was recorded in Kyiv. The average prices for one-room apartments in Kyiv vary on average from UAH 7,000 to UAH 16,000, for two-room apartments – UAH 8,000-UAH 30,000, and three-room apartments – UAH 11,000-UAH 55,700. The highest rates are kept by apartments in Pechersky district. At the same time, the lowest rental prices remain in Desniansky district: UAH 7,000 – for a one-room apartment, UAH 8,000 – for a two-room apartment, and UAH 11,000 – for a three-room apartment.
According to analytical data, in Kharkiv, the cheapest housing for rent is offered in Industrialny, Nemyshliansky, Novobavarsky and Moskovsky districts, where prices for one-room apartments are UAH 5,000-UAH 5,500, two-room apartments – UAH 6,000-UAH 7,000, and three-room apartments – UAH 7,000-UAH 9,000. At the same time, the highest prices remain in Shevchenkivsky district – on average 50% higher than in remote residential areas.
In Dnipro, the average rental price for a one-room apartment is UAH 5,000-UAH 8,000, for a two-room apartment – UAH 6,000-UAH 12,000, and for a three-room apartment – UAH 7,000-UAH 13,000. The lowest prices were recorded in Samarsky district: UAH 4,000, UAH 5,000 and UAH 8,000, respectively.
According to OLX, Lviv has the smallest difference in rental prices between apartments in central and remote areas. So, the rental prices for a one-room apartment vary within UAH 7,000- UAH 8,000, two-room apartments – UAH 8,000-UAH 10,000, and three-room apartments – UAH 8,500-UAH 12,500.
According to the company, Odesa has the lowest prices for long-term rent among cities with a population of over one million. This is due to the decline in the tourist season. Thus, the average rental prices for a one-room apartment are UAH 5,500-UAH 7,000, for a two-room apartment – UAH 6,000-UAH 8,500, and for a three-room apartment – UAH 7,000-UAH 9,500.
At the same time, as we get closer to the sea, prices in Odesa increase: one can rent a one-, two- and three-room apartment in Prymorsky district for UAH 8,500, UAH 12,000 and UAH 19,300, respectively.
NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy is studying the issue of building a tank farm for storing strategic reserves of oil and petroleum products at the site of the Pivdenny maritime oil terminal (Odesa region), the company said in a press release published on August 20 with reference to acting CEO Yuri Vitrenko who spoke about it during his trip to the site on 19 August.
“The terminal where we are now is a critical element of the oil transmission system of Ukraine with a huge potential for development. We intend to develop it to boost the reliability of supplying Ukraine with oil. This is an extremely important platform for creating a strategic oil reserve,” he said.
At the same time, Vitrenko said that the strategic oil reserve is necessary both in accordance with European rules and in view of the fact that Ukraine is actually in a state of war with Russia, and still does not have a strategic oil and oil products reserve.
According to the head of Naftogaz, at the first stage it is about the construction of a reservoir for strategic reserves with a capacity of about 120,000 tonnes at the Pivdenny maritime oil terminal site. In general, the first stage of the project may include the construction of up to four tanks.
Pivdenny maritime oil terminal is connected to the Druzhba oil trunk pipeline system near the city of Brody (Lviv region) through the Odesa-Brody pipeline with a length of 674 km and an annual capacity of 9 million tonnes. It was launched in 2001.
MARITIME TERMINAL, PIVDENNY, STORING, STRATEGIC OIL, TANK FARM
Ukraine since the beginning of the 2021/2022 marketing year (MY, July-June) and as of August 25 had exported 6.49 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops, which is 1.9% more than the figures for the same date of the previous MY.
According to the information and analytical portal of the agro-industrial complex of Ukraine, to date, 3.13 million tonnes of wheat (19.9% less compared to the same date in 2020/2021MY), 2.16 million tonnes of barley (up 13.4%), 1.17 million tonnes of corn (2.2 times more), 19,300 tonnes of flour (1.7 times less) have been exported.
As of the indicated date, 6,800 tonnes of rye were also exported, which is 8.5 times more than in the last MY.
As reported, the export of wheat to Ukraine in 2020/2021MY amounted to 16.64 million tonnes, corn – 23.08 million tonnes, barley – 4.23 million tonnes, flour – 129,000 tonnes.
In addition, Ukraine in 2019/2020 MY exported 56.72 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops.
In order to become a full member of the European Union, Ukraine will have to work hard for 20 years, said Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid.
In an interview with European Truth, the politician stated that neither Ukraine, nor Georgia, nor Moldova still meet the requirements for membership in the European Union.
“The EU has many conditions. And frankly speaking, none of these countries is ready to fulfill the EU criteria. So, it will be 20 years, maybe, to work before you get there. All these countries have problems with independent justice systems. Therefore, you don’t qualify for European membership,” Kaljulaid said, adding that some “intermediate cooperation format” could help these states on the way to European integration.
The Estonian President also noted that the EU should have been somewhat more courageous in expanding its borders, in particular, the Union could offer Kyiv, Tbilisi and Chisinau either a new format of work for countries that have ambitions to join the EU, or full membership, however it will take “a lot of time”.
In addition, answering a question about joining NATO, Kaljulaid noted that Ukraine would not be able to become a full member of the Alliance until it regains control of all the occupied territories.
“Estonia is a strong proponent of MAP and for Ukraine to work closely with NATO, but we don’t know exactly when we will arrive at this end. We need to wait for some time for the history to turn,” she stressed.
She also expressed hope for a peaceful solution to the issue of de-occupation of Ukrainian territory.
