National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 19/08/21
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Investments in the construction sector of Ukraine in the next three years could reach $2 billion, the founder and president of City One Development, Valeriy Kodetsky, told Interfax-Ukraine, commenting on the results of CC Forum Monaco Global Investment in Sustainable Development held in July.
“The world business positively evaluates the initiated reforms in the construction sector of Ukraine. However, the main measure will be not only nominal reform, but its real effectiveness. Forum participants predict that Ukraine will be able to attract up to $2 billion in the next three years with an annual progress of up to 20%,” Kodetsky, who was the only representative of Ukraine at this event, said.
According to the expert, the participants of the CC Forum estimated the investment potential of the Ukrainian construction industry at no less than $50 billion. At the same time, “powerful foreign investors” are primarily interested in the creation of new factories and production facilities, participation in large infrastructure projects and the implementation of projects in the commercial and residential real estate segments.
One of the important directions for the development of domestic development, according to Kodetsky, may be the reorientation of business processes towards the creation of a high-tech closed cycle for the production of modern construction equipment and materials that correspond to global trends in environmental safety and energy conservation.
“Thanks to foreign partners, for 10 years Ukraine can fully provide itself with everything necessary not only for the development of the construction sector, it is capable of reaching a new technological level. This is primarily about setting up the production of building materials through the introduction of energy-saving environmental technologies,” he said.
According to the expert, the annual demand of the Ukrainian market for float glass is more than 100 million square meters and almost 100% is covered by imports, and 80% of this volume is used in the construction sector.
Kodetsky said that in the near future, thanks to foreign investors, the construction of a float glass plant could begin, which could potentially satisfy up to 30% of the domestic construction market. The volume of foreign investments in this production could be more than $80 million with a payback period of five or six years. The profitability of the plant will be over 30%.
According to his forecasts, over the next two years, the growth of float glass production may reach 3-5% annually. The expert said that the estimated cost of domestic float glass will be 15-20% lower than exported, which will allow developers to redirect the released funds to improve the quality of construction projects, increase the level of builders’ wages, etc.
“The establishment of high-tech closed production processes will reduce the cost of building materials by 25-30%. Part of these costs can go to improve the quality of projects in various segments of real estate,” he said.
At the same time, the expert drew attention to the fact that effective reforms in construction will significantly reduce the “corruption burden” on developers, and the released financial resources could be reassigned to social responsibility programs, as well as to increase salaries in the construction sector.
“According to our calculations, salaries in construction as one of the main driving spheres of the Ukrainian economy in the next two years may grow by at least 30-40%,” Kodetsky said.
The president of City One Development recalled that now more than 1 million of our fellow citizens are forced to work in the construction sphere in Eastern Europe. Moreover, the “net” earnings of a builder, depending on qualifications, are on average 30-40% higher than in Ukraine. He believes that an increase in wages by at least a third can return up to 200,000-300,000 compatriots to the domestic construction market.
“The development of construction now depends on the effectiveness of the implemented reforms and the creation of opportunities for attracting foreign investment. It is the construction sector that can become a driving force for sustainable economic and social development of our state,” Kodetsky said.
In turn, Tetiana Shulha-Zabelska, Managing Partner of the Residential Estate Development Community (RED Community), said in a commentary that the main goal of the CC Forum was to determine the main directions of sustainable development of society and business in the face of the existing challenges of counteracting global diseases and epidemics, changes climate, migration and the like.
“As for the investment attractiveness of Ukraine, global business leaders almost unanimously consider Ukraine one of the countries with the greatest development potential and attractive for long-term investments,” she said.
According to Shulha-Zabelska, most of the investments (more than 40%) will be spent on the development of large-scale projects to create technology parks and facilities for the production of modern building materials. About 35% of the funds raised can go to infrastructure facilities, and 25% of investments will directly relate to commercial and residential real estate projects.
“The Ukrainian strategy for attracting foreign funds should be inextricably linked to global trends in sustainable development, the implementation of global trends in the construction industry, an increase in jobs with an increase in the income of citizens of the country,” she said.
City One Development is an investment and development company that provides a range of services in the field of creation and development of real estate facilities.
Founded in 2017, the RED Community brings together over 30 leading residential developers.
Ukraine has already harvested 29 million tonnes of wheat this season, which is 4 million tonnes more than last season, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday.
“In Ukraine, the harvesting of grain and leguminous crops continues. This year we can reach all-time high yields compared to previous years. More than 29 million tonnes of wheat have already been harvested. Corresponding figures show that, before finishing the season, we have already received 4 million tonnes more than last year as a whole,” the Prime Minister said.
At the same time, Shmyhal said that the State Agrarian Registry, which is currently being created, will help increase the competitiveness of the Ukrainian agro-industrial complex and more convenient interaction between all its structural divisions.
“This is a new level of relations between the state and agricultural producers, based on the principles of transparency, convenience and accessibility. Today we will approve the distribution of money for the Ministry of Agrarian Policy to ensure measures to create the Registry,” the prime minister said.
According to him, the implementation of the “single window” principle in the Registry will make it easier for farmers to receive services and state support. In addition, the Registry will provide an opportunity to facilitate access to bank financing.
“The agrarian Registry will accumulate the services most demanded among agricultural producers and, most importantly, will minimize the role of officials,” Shmyhal summed up.
The Fozzy Group launches its own digital banking Vlasny Rakhunok (Own Account) Bank.
The group told dev.ua that the bank is currently in the process of testing.
The software is developed by the IT department of Vostok Bank, which is also the owner of the new bank.
The new bank also offers a system of bonuses that are awarded for purchases. They can be used when paying at Fora and Silpo supermarkets and other Fozzy Group stores.
According to the terms, the bank offers customers a credit limit of up to UAH 100,000 free card replenishment at Silpo and Justin post offices, a savings account with 7% per annum.
Earlier, Fozzy Group announced the creation of a network of sports clubs Apollo Next Sport-Space.
Fozzy Group is one of the largest Ukrainian retailers with nearly 690 points of sale throughout the country. As of 2019, the total area of its stores exceeded 1 million square meters. The company develops retail chains of various formats: Silpo supermarkets, Fozzy Cash & Carry wholesale hypermarkets, Fora convenience stores, Thrash! discounters, Bila Romashka pharmaceutical supermarkets, Ringoo personal electronics stores.
Refractory enterprises of Ukraine in January-July of this year increased production by 11.8% compared to the same period last year – up to 141,100 tonnes.
A source in the industry told Interfax-Ukraine that 20,100 tonnes of refractory products were produced in July.
It is predicted that if the current production rates are maintained in 2021, refractory enterprises will produce 243,000 tonnes of products.
As reported, Ukraine in 2020 reduced the production of refractory products by 14% compared to the previous year – to 216,000 tonnes.