Alfa Smart Agro has been audited and received an ISCC certificate for the supply of corn and rapeseeds to the EU as raw materials for biofuel, the company has said.
According to a press release, Alfa Smart Agro received the ISCC certificate in a FGP status (first gathering point) and as a trader in rapeseeds and corn.
“Certification for compliance with the ISCC requirements opens up for Alfa Smart Agro the opportunity to supply corn and rapeseeds as raw material for biofuel production to EU countries,” the company noted.
Alfa Smart Agro noted that during the audit, it is not the product itself that is certified, but the process and chain through which it is produced, stored and delivered to the EU markets. Land use is estimated, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and other indicators are taken into account.
Alfa Smart Agro is a manufacturer of plant protection agents and micronutrients.
The deficit of the national budget of Ukraine in January-June 2019 amounted to UAH 871 million, in particular the general fund deficit was UAH 8.67 billion with the target being UAH 22.99 billion, the State Treasury Service has said.
According to the agency, government borrowings for the six months amounted to UAH 246.8 billion, while debt repayment some UAH 210.67 billion.
In general, the national budget for this period received UAH 506.85 billion of revenues, the general fund revenues amounted to UAH 448.4 billion with the target being UAH 476.36 billion.
The national budget expenditures in January-June of this year were at the level of UAH 508.56 billion, in particular UAH 459.33 billion on the general fund with the plan standing at UAH 502 billion.
According to the report of the agency, local budgets in this period posted a surplus of UAH 21.93 billion, while the surplus of the general fund amounted to UAH 39 billion.
The surplus of the consolidated budget in the first half of the year was UAH 21 billion, including UAH 30.38 billion in the general fund.
The government of Ukraine has instructed the Ministry of Finance to attract two loans from Cargill Financial Services International, including EUR100 million for two years at 5.15% per annum and EUR150 million for five years at 6.25% per annum.
According to Cabinet resolution No. 651 of July 10, published in the Uriadovy Kurier newspaper, interest income will be paid quarterly.
The document notes that state external borrowing is carried out within the framework of the law on the national budget for 2019, other details are not available.
As reported, Ukraine in the middle of June of this year placed the issue of seven-year eurobonds worth EUR1 billion on the foreign loan market at 6.75% per annum. This was the first sovereign issue of Ukrainian eurobonds in euros in the last 15 years. The demand for it exceeded the supply by 6 times.
According to the Ministry of Finance, investors from the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and other European Union countries bought most of the eurobond issue: their share was 32%, 27%, 17% and 13% respectively. Investors from Switzerland bought 7% of the issue, while the share of investors from Asia was 4%.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and his brother, ex-boxing champion Volodymyr Klitschko, have filed suit against 1+1 TV to defend their honor and dignity. “Not a day goes by when the top-rated TV channel says unkind word of the Kyiv mayor. Lies, manipulations, fabricated information. I already said that I would defend my honor and dignity in court. My brother and I have filed a suit against the channel, which flings mud at us. They decided not to stop at me and already have targeted my brother Volodymyr,” Vitali Klitschko said during a press conference in Kyiv on Friday.
Klitschko said, “We are not talking about an attack on freedom of speech,” adding that the head of the channel (Servant of the People Party member of parliament candidate Oleksandr Tkachenko) “is a contender to head of the Kyiv City State Administration.”
Klitschko said campaign had been launched against him. He said the channel’s coverage about the new pedestrian-bicycle bridge in the center of Kyiv and restoration of the Shuliavsky overpass are examples of slanted coverage.
As reported, 1+1 Media Director General Oleksandr Tkachenko, who was elected to parliament on the Servant of the People Party list, has refused to comment about the possibility of his appointment to head of the Kyiv City State Administration.
INTEGRITES acted as local counsel to EuroCape Ukraine, an indirect subsidiary of LongWing Energy, a Luxemburg-based independent power producer operating renewable assets in Europe, in connection with the financing of the first 98 MW phase of a 500 MW wind farm in Zaporizhia region, Ukraine.
The first phase of the project build-out is financed by a mixture of debt and equity. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is providing US$150 mln in long-term financing. The remaining project costs are financed by LongWing S.C.A, VLC Renewables and GE Capital’s Energy Financial Services. GE Renewable Energy will also supply the turbines for the 98 MW.
The first phase of the project is under construction and shall enter operation in the first quarter of 2020. The subsequent phases are intended to be finished in the course of 2020. The wind park when fully constructed is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 4.86 tons per year and provide 780,000 of households in Ukraine with electricity.
INTEGRITES was retained by the sponsors as local counsel on overall aspects of financing, construction, regulatory, corporate and other development matters related to the project. In particular, the advice included structuring, advice on capital and exchange controls, review of the project and finance documentation as well as complex advice on the FiT regime, the PPA and the grid connection agreement.
«We are delighted to see that this pioneering and large-scale wind energy project has successfully achieved the financial close. Above all, this project will have a positive social and environmental impact for the region and we are proud to have contributed to promoting the sustainable development of Ukraine”, – comments Igor Krasovskiy, partner and project lead at INTEGRITES.
«I am very proud to see INTEGRITES helping to implement the second wind farm project financing in Ukraine after the Syvash deal, closed by our team a few months earlier this year. I am sure that reaching financing for the remaining 402 MW will be as successful as this deal», – said Dr. Oleksiy Feliv, Managing Partner at INTEGRITES.
INTEGRITES team included, among others, Managing Partner Dr. Oleksiy Feliv (Energy and Real Estate), partners Igor Krasovskiy (Finance/Projects), Illya Tkachuk (M&A and Corporate), Viktoriya Fomenko (Tax and Customs law), counsels Serhii Uvarov and Gennadii Roschepii, senior associates Olena Savchuk, Inna Kostrytska and Yuriy Korchev, associates Oleh Kotliar and Victoriia Shvydchenko.
About Longwing
LONGWING ENERGY SCA is a European IPP platform which acquires, constructs and long-term operates onshore wind and solar parks in Europe. LongWing Energy owns a pipeline of operating and development wind park projects of approx. 900 MW located in France, Poland and Ukraine. The company has a growth strategy targeting additional markets.
About INTEGRITES
INTEGRITES is a full-service law firm with headquarter in Ukraine. Particularly focused on renewables, the firm represents the biggest international clients with a cumulative commitment to 2 GW of wind and 500 MW solar power projects in Ukraine which ensures the firm’s leading position on the regional market. For more information visit www.integrites.com
DEVELOPMENT, INTEGRITES, LONGWING ENERGY, WIND FARM, ZAPORIZHIA
Ukraine as of July 22 had fully used quotas for duty-free exports of agricultural products to the EU on nine groups of goods, including honey, sugar, cereals and flour, processed starch, processed tomatoes, grape and apple juice, wheat, corn, and butter. According to a press release from the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UAC), the pace of quota use and revival of trade with the EU is noticeably accelerating, as on the same date last year seven quotas for duty-free exports from Ukraine to the EU were used.
“Potentially, quotas for barley (79% are now used), poultry (75%), malt and wheat gluten (58%), and starch (53%) will be used by the end of the year,” the association noted.
The UAC said additional quotas for eight groups of goods come in force from October 2017 for a period of three years: for honey, flour and cereals, processed tomatoes, grape and apple juice, oats, corn, wheat, and barley. As of July 22, five of the additional quotas were used: for honey, cereals, juice, wheat, and corn.
AGRI PRODUCTS, APPLE JUICE, CEREALS, CORN, DUTY-FREE EXPORTS, EU, GRAPE, HONEY, SUGAR, WHEAT
