FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS IN THE ECONOMY OF UKRAINE FOR THE III QUARTER OF 2020 (OPERATIONS, $ MILLION)
Soul Partners, the independent investment banking boutique in Ukraine, under the USAID Economic Resilience Activity Project is raising over $8 million to develop four enterprises: Agro Master Plus LLC, Kod Zdorovia LLC, private enterprise Magistr and Azovtechgas LLC.
“Investment banking services are normally afforded by large companies. But USAID Project gives small regional enterprises an opportunity to attract investments,” Managing Partner of Soul Partners Vitaliy Provotorov said.
According to the document, the manufacturer of hydraulic cylinders and hydraulic distributors Agro Master Plus LLC (Melitopol, Zaporizhia region) needs, according to preliminary estimates, $1 million for the purchase of equipment and software, construction and repair of industrial buildings, replenishment of working capital.
The medical center of Kod Zdorovia LLC (Mariupol, Donetsk region) needs more than $3.6 million for the construction and launch of a department for cancer treatment, in particular for the purchase of high-tech equipment, the company said.
According to it, the manufacturer of hydraulic cylinders, private enterprise Magistr (Semenivka village, Melitopol district, Zaporizhia region) will receive over $3 million to expand production capacity in an effort to increase the volume of exports to global markets, and Azovtechgas LLC (Mariupol) requires about $1 million for the purchase of equipment for expanding the scope of activities.
Soul Partners said that the companies, which were selected for cooperation are the leaders in their niche and meet the defined criteria for investments attraction. Those are companies having fewer than 250 employees, an annual turnover of up to EUR 40 million or a balance sheet total of no more than EUR 20 million. Preferences were granted to SMEs in agriculture (excluding commercial grain production), IT, innovative manufacturing, alternative energy and tourism.
“The investment attraction process for the abovementioned companies is still ongoing: Soul Partners expects to finalize the process till the end of 2021,” the company said.
Pivdenne (Yuzhnoye) Design Bureau, Makarov Pivdenny (Yuzhny) Machine-Building Plant (Pivdenmash, Dnipro) and Italian Avio SpA have reached an agreement on additional supplies of 10 Ukrainian-made propulsion engine blocks for the Vega launch vehicle (LV) for a total amount of almost EUR 6 million, according to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
According to its Friday press release, the Italian side confirmed its readiness to expand cooperation on April 28.
“The expansion of participation in the European Vega program testifies to the reliability and competition of engineering developments in the Ukrainian rocket and space industry. Support of such contracts is one of the top priorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the efforts of Ukrainian diplomats in Italy played an important role in reaching this agreement,” the press service said, citing Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
According to Chief Economist at Pivdenmash Dmytro Nikon, the current contract contains an option providing for the manufacture of additional 10 units.
“We are thankful to the Ukrainian diplomats who kept the case under control, repeatedly contacted both the company’s management and representatives of the Italian Space Agency, which led to a positive result,” he said.
Chief Designer of the Design Bureau of Liquid Propellant Rocket Engines of the Pivdenne Design Bureau Oleksandr Prokopchuk said that cooperation with Avio S.p.A. is a clear example of the integration of the Ukrainian rocket and space industry into European space programs.
According to the press release, the current contract for the supply of 11 propulsion engine blocks is effective until 2023. Seven blocks have already been delivered, one will be shipped to the customer in the near future, and three more are being manufactured.
The Vega light launch vehicle is a joint project of the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. Pivdenne Design Bureau and Pivdenmash cooperate with the Italian Avio S.p.A. under the Vega program since 2004, during this time more than 20 propulsion engine blocks were manufactured and delivered, the last of which were at the beginning of 2021.
A feature of the propulsion engine blocks is the ability to launch multiple times during flight (up to five launches), which ensures the deployment of satellites into different orbits. Italy is one of the founding countries of the European Space Agency and is among the top three contributors along with Germany and France.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive in Kyiv for a two-day visit on May 5, Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement released on Friday.
“The Secretary will travel to Kyiv, Ukraine, May 5-6, where he will meet with President [Volodymyr] Zelensky, Foreign Minister [Dmytro] Kuleba, other officials and representatives of Ukrainian civil society to reaffirm unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression,” the spokesperson said.
“He will also encourage continued progress on Ukraine’s institutional reform agenda, particularly anti-corruption action, which is key to securing Ukraine’s democratic institutions, economic prosperity, and Euro-Atlantic future,” the spokesperson said.
Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba said that during a meeting with Blinken he plans to discuss the assistance that the United States can provide to Ukraine in the reform process, as well as a number of economic issues, especially in the energy sector.
Internal and external debt of Ukraine IN 2009-2020
Over the past six months, eight new markets have been opened for Ukrainian exporters, 63 commodity items have been reconciled in 11 states and international economic organizations, the State Service on Food Safety and Consumer Protection has said in a press release on Friday. According to the State Food Service, in six months the markets of Japan, Libya, Argentina and Lebanon have opened for Ukrainian producers of milk and dairy products. Domestic producers were able to supply eggs to Ethiopia, animal protein to Serbia, and cattle to the UAE. The Lithuanian market is now open for the export of arachnids (insects used to protect crops).
“In addition, 63 commodity items in 11 states and international economic organizations have been reconciled. First of all, we are talking about the CIS countries, with which new trade rules are in force from April 13, 2021 due to the termination of the agreement on cooperation in the field of veterinary medicine, which was signed back in 1993. Also, due to changes in the terms of trade, documents were renegotiated with Singapore and South Korea,” the press service said.
The agency reported on the work on the audit of the European Commission in order to assess the official control over the production and certification of milk and dairy products intended for export to the European Union. Also, work was carried out for the EU to recognize the zoning of Ukraine for highly pathogenic poultry influenza, thanks to which the export of poultry products to the EU was resumed from March 20.
The state service also announced the continuation of work to open markets on all continents. The most promising for export are the EU countries, China, Singapore, India, Vietnam, South Africa and Indonesia.
“An important priority for us is to work on opening new markets for the export of Ukrainian products. After all, these are new jobs and income to the state budget from taxes,” Head of the service Vladyslava Mahaletska said.
