The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine asks Volodymyr Zelensky to take personal control over Ukraine’s fulfillment of the memorandum obligations between the country’s government and renewable energy investors, which were legislatively enshrined in 2020.
Such a request is contained in a letter from President of the American Chamber of Commerce Andy Hunder to the head of the Ukrainian state dated January 26.
“We ask you to take personal control over the implementation of the provisions of Law No. 810-IX and the fulfillment of obligations under the current legislation and refrain from taking decisions that undermine earlier agreements between the state and investors,” the text of the letter said.
As Hunder recalled, on August 1, 2020, the law on the amendments to certain laws of Ukraine on improving the conditions of support for electricity production from alternative energy sources (No. 810-IX) came into force.
Adoption of Law No. 810-IX was aimed at improving the feed-in tariff’s sustainability and electricity market liquidity by enshrining in law the provisions set out in the Memorandum of Understanding, signed on June 10, 2020 by the Cabinet of Ministers, the Energy Ministry, the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) and renewable industry associations.
Inter alia, the provisions of Law No. 810-IX envisaged 20% co-financing from the state budget and issuance of government domestic loan bonds to cover the deficit in payments to renewable energy producers. However, none of these mechanisms was implemented either in the state budget for 2021 or using debt financing instruments.
“Accordingly, the American Chamber of Commerce members expected that the government will fulfill its obligations under the legislation and the memorandum by allocating at least UAH 9 billion from the attracted UAH 10.25 billion of credit funds to pay off 40% of the debt to renewable energy producers accumulated as of August 1, 2020 in the amount of UAH 22.4 billion. However, on January 16, 2021, the NEURC issued the Guaranteed Buyer an instruction to allocate not less than 50% of the funds received from Ukrenergo under the loans provided by state-owned banks for repaying other debts,” Hunder said.
He said that such NEURC decision combined with a lack of actions by the government to implement Law No. 810-IX is a clear sign of Ukraine’s unwillingness to fulfill its commitments to private investors.
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of January 28
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
The new supply of office premises located on the left bank of Kyiv in 2021 will amount to only about 20,000 square meters, according to the international consulting company CBRE Ukraine (Kyiv).
According to the company’s report presented during the webinar entitled “Retail Real Estate Market Analytics” on January 27, about 180,000 square meters of new office space are expected to be released on the capital market in 2021, of which only 20,000 square meters are located on the left bank of Kyiv. Among them are office buildings on Bazhana Avenue (11,000 square meters and 6,000 square meters) and the Piramida business center (2,600 square meters).
“A piece of advice to developers: you need to pay attention to the left bank, as 35% of people working in the center live there. The lack of premises on the left bank also affects the fact that people do not want to return to offices, as it takes a lot of time to go to the center. It would be good to develop the left bank as well, which is now happening gradually,” Head of Brokerage at CBRE Ukraine Anna Silvestrova said at the webinar.
According to her, projects with an area of about 20,000 square meters, located near the metro, are optimal for the left bank.
At the same time, rental rates for high-quality class A premises on the left bank will inevitably be lower than for similar properties on the right bank.
“This is unprofitable for developers, since the return on their investment will be much longer and a little more painful,” Silvestrova said.
She said that someone should launch a project that will equalize the rights of the two banks. “I think it is faster to build a business center than the fifth or sixth bridge,” the expert said.
At the same time, CBRE predicts a reduction in new supply in 2023-2024, since many projects in the early stages of construction were canceled or suspended last year.
Biopharmaceutical company Biopharma (Kyiv) has started the production a hyperimmune globulin drug, potentially effective against coronavirus (COVID-19) disease, the drug is to be produced at the end of February.
The first fusion of plasma with antibodies against COVID-19 in the amount of 2,100 liters took place on January 25, the company said in a press release.
“The product will be supplied to the finished goods warehouse at the end of February. Further, the drug is tested in an independent French laboratory, which in March must confirm the antiviral activity of the drug,” the press release said.
The company said that in case of a positive conclusion of the European laboratory, Biopharma will be able to start clinical trials of the drugs in Ukraine.
The collection of plasma with antibodies against COVID-19 started in the spring of 2020 in cooperation with the CoVIg-19 Plasma Alliance, of which Biopharma is a member. The goal of the alliance is to accelerate the development and provide reliable and sustainable treatment for people with complex coronavirus disease.
In October 2020, within the framework of the alliance, the third phase of a clinical trial of inpatient treatment with anti-coronavirus immunoglobulin started.
The results of clinical trials are planned to be published in April 2021. If the trials are successful, the new treatment could provide hope for those suffering from serious health consequences from COVID-19.
“To date, thanks to caring donors in Ukraine, it has been possible to collect about 10,700 liters of plasma from those who have overcome COVID-19. This amount of plasma will save hundreds of lives of Ukrainians. We thank every donor who has shared his part of antibodies to help seriously ill patients. And we continue to appeal to those who are not indifferent, to become plasma donors for the creation of vital drugs,” President of the company Kostiantyn Yefymenko said.
As reported, the CoVIg-19 Plasma Alliance was formed in April 2020 to fight the COVID 19 pandemic and to help develop potential plasma therapy for people who are prone to serious complications from COVID 19.
Biopharma is a Ukrainian biotechnology company, the only plant in Eastern Europe that has modern technologies, has been producing and developing drugs from donor plasma for almost 50 years.
The company is focused on providing medicines to Ukraine and on a contract basis, supplies its products to more than 30 countries around the world. In the fall of 2019, Biopharma moved its production to a new research and production complex in Bila Tserkva.
The company is developing a network of its own plasma centers. The company’s investments in this area of activity amounted to more than $10 million.
Foreign trade turnover by the most important positions in Jan-Oct 2020 (export).
Ukrainian parliamentarians propose to amend the Ukrainian legislation, which will allow citizens to have dual citizenship.
Corresponding bill No. 4640 “On amendments to some laws of Ukraine regarding the legal provision of foreign citizenship (allegiance) to citizens of Ukraine” is registered in the Verkhovna Rada, the website of the parliament reports.
The authors of the bill propose to amend the Law of Ukraine “On Citizenship”, which provide citizens of Ukraine with the right to obtain citizenship (nationality) of a foreign state without losing the citizenship of Ukraine.
The proposed amendments also allow foreigners to obtain Ukrainian citizenship without renouncing the citizenship of their country.
The authors of the bill are Servant of the People deputies Oleg Dunda, Alexander Aliksiychuk, Dmitry Mikisha.
