The lack of production facilities in Ukraine and the import of its confectionery products into the country allows Mars Corporation to successfully conduct its business amid a crisis in the industry caused by the rise in prices for raw materials and energy resources, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Mars Ukraine LLC (Brovary, Kyiv region) Svitlana Hrukhal has said. “In the field of confectionery, we have everything under control. We import products, and this makes it possible to distribute the raw material base and production resources in several countries and thus compensate [for crises],” she told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of the Ukrainian CFO Forum on Wednesday.
According to her, the key trend in the industry is the growth in demand in Ukraine and neighboring countries, which is most pronounced in the segment of chocolate and chewing gum. Hrukhal said that in order to meet this demand, it is necessary to increase production of confectionery products in the region, which is hindered by the rise in prices for raw materials, their shortage, as well as the lack of labor resources.
“If we talk about assessing the development of confectionery products specifically for Mars Corporation, then we have everything under control, and we hope to successfully close this year,” the company’s CFO said.
During the forum, she also said that in 2007 the company planned to build a plant in Boryspil district (Kyiv region) for production of animal feed, but due to unstable business conditions in Ukraine, it abandoned this idea. According to her, for large international companies, the presence of clear and understandable “rules of the game” in the country is a more important factor for investment than well-developed measures of state support for business.
Mars Ukraine LLC is a Ukrainian division of the large international confectionery company Mars. The company sells food and pet care products in Ukraine, produced in Russia and Hungary. Its major brands are Snickers, MARS, Twix, Bounty, Milky Way, M&M’s, Maltesers, Dove, Pedigree, Chappi, Whiskas, Kitekat, Sheba and others.
Dinamo Kiev lost 0-1 to Barcelona (Spain) in the third match of the 2021-2022 Champions League group stage, dropping to last place in Group E with one point.
The only goal in the 36th minute was scored by Gerard Piqué, completing Jordi Alba’s pass from the goalkeeper’s line. Thus, the Catalans bypassed the Kyivans, rising to third place with three points.
In another match, the leaders play: Benfica in Lisbon hosts Bayern München.
In the fourth round on November 2, Dinamo will play with Barcelona in Kyiv, and Benfica will go to Germany.
The single counterparty exposure limit (H7, shall be no more than 25%) as of October 1, was violated by Prominvestbank (88.3%) and Industrialbank (44.08%), according to the website of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
The limit on bank total long open FX position (L13-1, shall be no more than 10%) was violated by Oschadbank (135.7%), Prominvestbank (106.93%), PrivatBank (80.25%) and Industrialbank (19.56%).
The limit on bank total short open FX position (L13-2, shall be no more than 10%) was violated by Prominvestbank (131.27%).
As reported, the prudential requirement on Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) was set at 90% by the NBU for banks starting October 1 (earlier it was 80%). In accordance with the schedule, the NBU will increase the NSFR requirement for banks to 100% from April 1, 2022.
According to the data of the National Bank, all operating banks as of October 1 exceed the level of the NSFR standard of 90%.
The NSFR regulation is intended to encourage banks to rely on more stable and long-term funding sources and reduce their dependence on short-term financing.
AVERAGE MONTHLY WAGE BY REGION IN AUGUST 2021, UAH
The growth of consumer prices in Ukraine in annual terms in August 2021 remained at the level of 10.2%, the State Statistics Service reported.
According to its data, after inflation of 0.1% in July, deflation of 0.2% was recorded in August this year, which corresponds to the dynamics of prices in August last year.
Underlying inflation in August was zero after deflation of 0.1% a month earlier. In August last year, an underlying inflation of 0.1% was recorded, respectively, in annual terms, it decreased to 7.2%.
In the consumer market in August, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages decreased by 0.7%. Vegetables and fruits fell in price the most – by 18.3% and 5%, respectively. Prices for sunflower oil, pasta, rice and cheese fell by 1.0-0.2%. At the same time, prices for eggs increased by 18%, prices for sugar, meat and meat products, milk, sour cream, bread, butter, fermented milk products, fish and fish products rose by 3.6-0.3%.
Prices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products increased by 0.4%, which is associated with a rise in prices for tobacco products by 1.0%.
Prices for clothes and footwear fell by 3%, in particular for footwear – by 3.7%, clothing – by 2.5%.
The rise in tariffs for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels by 0.6% was mainly due to an increase in prices for maintenance and repair of housing by 2.3%, natural gas – by 2.1%, sewage – by 0.9%, water supply – by 0.7%.
Transport prices increased by 0.8%, primarily due to the rise in the cost of transport services by 1.9%, fuel and oils – by 1.6%.
As reported, in June consumer prices in Ukraine increased by 0.2%, in May – by 1.3%.
In general, for the first eight months of this year, inflation in Ukraine amounted to 6.2%, underlying inflation – 4.2%.
The National Bank of Ukraine in July downgraded the inflation forecast for 2021 from 8% (in the April forecast) to 9.6%. According to it, by the end of the third quarter, inflation will peak this year at 11.2%, after which it will begin to decline.
PJSC Ukrnafta in January-September 2021 reduced oil and condensate production by 1.1% (by 12,200 tonnes) compared to the same period in 2020, to 1.122 million tonnes, including in September production grew by 2.1% compared to September 2020, to 125,500 tonnes.
As the company told Interfax-Ukraine, gas production in the first nine months of 2021 fell by 3.4% (by 29 million cubic meters), to 832.8 million cubic meters, including in September it rose by 4.9%, to 94.6 million cubic meters.
Ukrnafta said that the average daily production has been growing since the beginning of the year, in particular, in September 2021 this figure for oil with condensate amounted to 4,180 tonnes, which is 4.8% more than in January 2021, for gas it was 3.15 million cubic meters, which is 7.3% more than in January 2021.
Ukrnafta is the largest oil company in the country. NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy owns 50% + 1 share in Ukrnafta, a group of companies associated with the former shareholders of PrivatBank – about 42% of shares.
Ukrnafta has 85 licenses for the production of hydrocarbons, it has 1,809 oil and 153 gas wells on its balance sheet. The company owns 537 filling stations.
