Pelidona Services Limited (Cyprus) from Smart-Holding of Ukrainian MP and businessman Vadim Novinsky has increased its stake in Regal Petroleum Plc with assets in Ukraine from 54% to 82.65%, and companies from the EastOne Group of Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk sold the shares to the Smart-Holding’s company.
“A stake in the amount of 91.868 million shares was bought out from the major shareholder of Regal Petroleum Plc – Kylestone Limited – as part of the implementation of Smart-Holding’s fossil fuel production business development strategy. Pelidona Services Limited does not intend to continue the further buyout of shares in the market,” Smart-Holding said in a press release of on Friday.
“We confirm the fact of the deal to sell Regal Petroleum’s shares. The transaction was carried out as part of the portfolio strategy of the EastOne Group. We remain in the oil and gas sector of Ukraine, continue focusing on the development of assets under the group’s mandate, and exploring new opportunities,” EastOne, which includes Geo Alliance Group, a large gas and condensate producer in Ukraine, told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the information on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) website, on the AIM platform where Regal Petroleum shares are traded, their quotations on June 20 (closure) were 39.95 pence. At that price the transaction could be valued at GBP 36.7 million (about $46.6 million).
“The results of the transaction will not affect the corporate governance of Regal Petroleum and its status as a public company. No changes are planned for the board of directors,” Smart Holding said in the press release.
The holding said that Regal Petroleum shows good performance and will continue being the basis of gas production, and its development strategy provides for both organic business growth by increasing production at existing fields and the acquisition of new assets.
“Smart-Holding is confident that deeper integration with public platforms for placement of shares is a tool for increasing capitalization, this will give gas production businesses greater stability and will open additional opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation with new institutional investors,” Smart-Holding said.
In a stock exchange report on Friday, the majority shareholder said that the long-term development and growth of Regal Petroleum at AIM may also include expanding the shareholder base in the future.
Poland is ready to launch a gas pipeline with a transmission capacity of 2 billion cubic meters, which will connect the Polish gas transmission system (GTS) with the Ukrainian one in Hermanowice (Poland), the zn.ua (Mirror Weekly) ezine reported on Thursday.
“We are ready to launch the gas pipeline, if necessary, which will connect the Polish system with the Ukrainian one in Hermanowice. Its capacity is 2 billion cubic meters. This is not much, but when Ukrainians need urgent help, we are ready to provide it,” the publication said, quoting a representative of the Polish government for the strategic energy infrastructure Piotr Naimski.
He also said that Poland is waiting for a decision from the Ukrainian side.
The National Commission for Securities and the Stock Market of Ukraine has published a plan for development of commodity markets in Ukraine, including the gas and power markets, based on the concept of energy hubs. The press service of the commission reported that the plan was developed with participation of an international group of experts in line with the standards of the EU Energy Community. The commission said that the implementation of current reforms, in particular the gas market and the electricity market, does not take place in an integrated manner. It does not provide for the creation of a full-fledged payment system, such important aspects as ensuring pricing on competitive principles, requirements for the organization of trade, the activities of stock exchanges, which causes significant risks of non-payment and pose a threat to financial stability, according to the commission.
One of the main prerequisites for successful reform is the distribution of responsibilities between regulators – core (regulating the conditions and rules for the physical movement of goods) and financial (financial aspects of trading and conditions for using financial tools).
“We do not offer another energy reform. We have developed a mechanism for implementing previous reforms: the gas market, the electricity market. Reforms that started with good intentions, but without taking into account the need to develop the accompanying financial infrastructure, were implemented distortedly: one is not completed, the second is proposed to be delayed both by the regulators and market players, because it threatens to collapse the system. This happens because the markets do not function as intended. They still need administrative “manual control,” because it does not ensure compliance with its primary function – to establish a balance between buyers and vendors, they are not transparent, competitive,” Head of the commission Tymur Khromaev said.
Khromaev said that the model developed by the commission will make it possible to balance the commodity markets, ensure the establishment of fair prices, and increase the efficiency and competitiveness of the country’s economy.
In particular, the commission’s plan implies amending the law on securities and the stock market to expand trading tools on the stock exchange, which will open up the segments of energy products in accordance with the law.
Ukraine since the beginning of the 2018/2019 marketing year (MY, July-June) and as of June 21, 2019 had exported 48.902 million tonnes of grain and leguminous plants, which is 26.3% more than on the same date of the previous MY.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, farmers exported 29.2 million tonnes of corn, 15.5 million tonnes of wheat, and 3.5 million tonnes of barley.
They also exported 289,600 tonnes of flour on the indicated date.
As reported, with reference to the ministry, Ukraine exported 39.4 million tonnes of grain in the 2017/2018 MY.
Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are preparing for boosting defense cooperation in the sphere of joint production of new samples of weapons and equipment, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) based on developments of Antonov State Enterprise (Kyiv).
The press service of the Ukroboronprom state concern reported that the potential of the bilateral military and technical cooperation between Kyiv and Abu Dhabi was the subject of negotiations held during Le Bourget 2019 International Paris Air Show by Head of the state concern Pavlo Bukin and UAE Assistant Undersecretary for Support Services Abdulla Al Hashmi.
Bukin said that among the promising defense cooperation projects considered by the parties are the establishment of joint production of UAVs based on the developments of the Antonov State Enterprise.
As the head of Ukroboronprom said, the reliable Antonov aircraft, capable of working in extreme climatic conditions, fully meets the needs of the military and rescuers, and it is in steady demand in the market, which was confirmed during the negotiations held during Le Bourget 2019.
“Today, the most promising market for us is the countries of the Middle East and Southeast Asia,” he said, adding: “We expect that in the near future Antonov’s products will occupy a significant part of the market in these regions.”
According to the report, during the talks, the parties discussed a wide range of cooperation, including logistics support for the needs of the UAE Ground Forces.
Ranking of ukrainian trade partners by trade balance in thsd USD
