Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

NATIONAL BANK OF UKRAINE’S OFFICIAL RATES AS OF 01/08/19

National bank of ukraine’s official rates as of 01/08/19

Source: National Bank of Ukraine

EBRD BUYS ONE-FIFTH OF EUROBONDS ISSUED BY NAFTOGAZ FOR EUR 600 MLN

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has acquired one-fifth (for EUR 120 million) of five-year eurobonds issued by Naftogaz in the amount of EUR 600 million, the bank has said.
“The eurobond proceeds are issued for general corporate purposes including the financing of gas purchases. The bank’s financing will be used exclusively for gas purchases. The transaction will contribute to Ukraine’s energy security, ensuring procurement of natural gas for the upcoming 2019/2020 winter heating season in the country,” the bank said on its website.
As reported, on July 12 Naftogaz Ukrainy placed two tranches of eurobonds denominated in euros and U.S. dollars: EUR 600 million for five years at 7.125% and $335 million at 7.375% per annum for three years. The anchor investors of the issue were the EBRD and a number of U.S. investors. The initial benchmark yield of dollar eurobonds was about 7.75%, eurobonds in euros about 7.5%.
Earlier, Naftogaz announced the need to urgently raise funds for the accumulation of increased volume of gas in storage facilities for winter – 20 billion cubic meters to be ready for a possible termination of transit by Gazprom from January 1, 2020 and strengthen its position in negotiations with the Russian gas monopoly.

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DNIPROVSKY PLANT OF MINERAL FERTILIZERS TO START PRODUCTION OF NPK FERTILIZERS

The Dniprovsky Plant of Mineral Fertilizers has launched production of the compound fertilizers (NPK) with perspective to produce 75,000 tonnes of NPK by the end of 2019, Vice President of the Union of Chemists of Ukraine Serhiy Liskovsky said.
“A long-term agreement to supply the main raw materials was signed. Every month we’ll produce 15,000-18,000 of the compound fertilizers,” he said.
Liskovsky said that the production program foresees production of liquid nitrogen-phosphate NP fertilizers (8:22), pelleted fertilizers (10:32), and production of the NPK-compound fertilizers (16:16:16) is scheduled for the second half of August.
Liskovsky reminded that for the last five years the plant has been working with the interrupts, by 20-25% of its capacities, in terms of absence of the raw materials inside the country and expensive import.
“For this period a share of Ukrainian enterprises on the domestic market of compound fertilizers dropped by 10% and by 2-3% on some positions,” he added.
According to Liskovsky, state-owned enterprise Sumykhimprom with a capacity of 40,000 tonnes per month also will produce compound fertilizers. By the end of the year, two enterprises aspired to produce 275,000-280,000 tonnes of products.
According to the Chemists Union of Ukraine, Ukraine needs 1.2 million tonnes of compound fertilizers annually, 1.3 million tonnes meant for import.

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NCER SETS FEED-IN TARIFF FOR SOLAR POWER PLANTS OF VR CAPITAL AND ICU

The National Commission for Energy, Housing and Utilities Services Regulation (NCER) has set feed-in tariff at 15.03 eurocents per kWh for Nick Solar2 LLC with a capacity of 15.4MW and Nick Sunstar with a capacity of 13.3 MW (Bashtansky and Voznesensky districts, Mykolaiv region).
The commission approved this decision during a meeting on July 30.
The tariff is set until January 1, 2030.
NCER also set feed-in tariff for Nick Green LLC with a capacity of 9 MW and Sunstar Pryvilne with a capacity of 7.4 MW (Veselynivsky and Bashtansky districts of Mykolaiv region).
Also, Ukrspecstroy Plus LLC with a capacity of 21.669 MW received the aforementioned tariff (Dniprovsky district of Dnipropetrovsk region).

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CANADIAN VERMILION, UKRGAZVYDOBUVANNIA ENTER 50/50 PARTNERSHIP IN UKRAINIAN OIL&GAS PSA

The partnership of Canadian Vermilion Energy Inc. and Ukrgazvydobuvannia in a joint project on development of three oil and gas fields in Ukraine under production sharing agreements (PSA) is now 50/50, according to its second quarter year report.
“Entering Ukraine aligns with our strategy to capitalize on opportunities in under-exploited basins by using modern technologies to improve success rates and recovery,” reads the document.
Vermilion said that subsequent to the end of the second quarter of 2019, it entered into a 50/50 partnership with Ukrgazvydobuvannia and were awarded two exploration licenses in Ukraine, subject to a final production sharing agreement.
“The licenses cover approximately 585,000 gross acres situated in one of Europe’s most prolific natural gas regions (Dniprovsko-Donetsky Basin). The new licenses are in close proximity to several multiTCF gas fields with most of the basin (and awarded license areas) still uncovered by 3D seismic. The terms of the licenses include a modest capital commitment, back-loaded over a five-year time frame,” reads the report posted on the company’s website.
As earlier reported, Canada’s Vermilion Energy jointly with a Ukrainian company (Ukrgazvydobuvannia) has won the right to develop three oil and gas fields in Ukraine.
On July 1, an interdepartmental commission for organizing the conclusion and implementation of the product sharing agreements (PSA) prepared for the government proposals on the winners in nine continental hydrocarbon sectors put up for auctions. Among them are Ukrgazvydobuvannia in alliance with Vermilion for Balakliyske and Ivanivske fields, Ukrgazvydobuvannia for Berestianske and Buzivske, private company Ukrnaftoburinnia for Rusanivske, U.S. Aspect Energy for Varvynske, DTEK for Zinkivske, Geo Alliance for Sofiyivske and Zakhidnadraservis for Uhnivske fields.
The head of the office of the National Investment Council, Yulia Kovaliv, said that now within two months companies must agree on the contracts themselves and sign agreements with the government in order to start exploration as soon as possible and to start work as soon as possible. She also said that the volume of investments of the winning companies is $430 million in the pessimistic scenario.
According to Vermilion report, its quarterly production volumes by approximately 1,300 boe/d and FFO by approximately $11 million, we recorded corporate production of approximately 103,000 boe/d, little changed from the previous quarter.

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UNIVERSAL BANK SEES 5.7-FOLD RISE IN NET PROFIT

The net profit of Universal Bank (Kyiv) in January-June 2019 amounted to UAH 268.46 million, which is 5.7 times more than in the same period of 2018.
According to the report posted on the bank’s website, the net interest income of the bank in the first half of this year increased by 2.4 times compared with the corresponding period of 2018, to UAH 452.967 million.
The bank’s assets for six months of this year rose by 42.3%, to UAH 12.034 billion, in particular loans to customers were by 41.1%, up – to UAH 6.612 billion.
Since the beginning of the year, the bank’s liabilities grew by 43.4%, to UAH 10.898 billion, its net worth increased by 32.1%, to UAH 1.136 billion. Charter capital remained at the level of UAH 3.103 billion.
Universal Bank is part of TAS Group of businessman Sergiy Tigipko, which was founded in 1998 and has assets in financial and industrial sectors, agriculture, real estate, pharmaceuticals and venture projects.

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