Developers returned to active construction of suspended commercial real estate projects in Kyiv in 2018, Deputy Head of the Strategic Consulting Department of UTG Kostiantyn Oliynyk has said. “A development boom occurred on the commercial real estate market in late 2017 through early 2018. Numerous projects have resumed development activities and are planning to open, new concepts will be developed for some facilities. For example, Podol Mall, which was initially designed as a shopping mall, will be a three-story shopping mall with three floors of office premises,” Oliynyk said during a press conference on the results of the Ukrainian real estate market in H1.
He added that shopping malls Retroville, MegaMarket Nyvky, Blockbuster Mall, Podol Mall, River Mall will be commissioned in Kyiv in the next year. A range of other shopping facilities are at a high level of construction readiness. In particular Smart Plaza Obolon, Oasis (at Heroiv Dnipra metro station), Good Life are under construction, while preparations for the construction of the second line of Auchan Rive Gauche are conducted. The shopping mall will be commissioned in Q2, 2019.
“There are several suspended facilities which might resume at any time – Lukianivka, Respublika, and Happy Mall,” the expert said and added that Kyiv-based developers are planning to build five or six more shopping malls, but have not made public information about them.
Oliynyk also said that around 400,000 square meters of commercial real estate will be commissioned in Kyiv in the next one or two year.
The expert added that the commissioning of new facilities could result into outflow of tenants from older facilities constructed in 2000 through 2010.
According to UTG, goods turnover in retail trade increased by 18% in 2017, but was 14% down from 2016 (taking into account inflation).
UTG also reported that average daily attendance of shopping malls at the beginning of May 2018 was 647 people per 1,000 square meters (against 701 people per 1,000 square meters in May 2017). Attendance of district shopping malls did not change, while in regions it was 14% down in the first months of 2018 year-on-year. According to UTG, rent rates at shopping malls in Kyiv are $15-30 for restaurants and cafes, $4-15 for cinemas, $1.5-20 for large shops (600-1,500 square meters in area), up to $70 for fashion galleries, up to $12 for electronics stores, and $1.5-15 for food retailers.
Most Ukrainians are convinced that the country is not moving in the right direction, according to a poll done by the sociological group Rating. The problems that concern the respondents the most are the war in Donbas and corruption.
According to a poll published in Kyiv on Thursday, 75% of the respondents believe the situation in Ukraine is not developing in the right direction, 13% have the opposite opinion, and 12% are in doubt. In the perception of the problems existing in the country, respondents retain the opinion that the war in the east of Ukraine and corruption are the most important national problems, social problems also prevail: low salaries and pensions, as well as high tariffs for housing and communal services.
The poll was conducted by the sociological group Rating in the period between June 22, 2018 and July 5, 2018. It surveys 3,200 respondents aged 18 or older.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a loan of EUR10 million to Kyivsky cardboard and paper mill (KCPM), a leading company in the sector and based outside Ukraine’s capital. This will be a seven-year loan to boost energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions, the EBRD said in a statement on July 13. The purchase of a shoe press for cardboard drying will help KCPM reduce the use of steam, increase production volumes and improve the quality of coated cardboard. The replacement of pumps will halve the electricity needs of this equipment. Combined annual savings are expected to reach up to EUR2 million.
New converting and packing lines for the production of tissues will be procured as part of the project and will allow the company to widen its range of products for use in office buildings, hotels, schools and airports. It will also help KCPM increase its domestic and export sales, including those to the EU.
KCPM will upgrade its waste-paper processing equipment, which will allow the firm to improve the quality – and reduce the cost of cardboard production. These improvements will make it possible to reprocess waste paper up to four times. This will be the first production cycle in the country to implement the EU principles of using fewer resources and increasing energy efficiency.
The investments are expected to reduce the company’s annual CO2e emissions by up to 11,000 tonnes. Kyivsky cardboard paper mill is one of the largest cardboard and paper producers in Europe. It employs almost 2,200 people. It sells produce to almost 700 companies in Ukraine, some CIS member states and the rest of the world. In 2017, the mill saw a 14.8% rise in production from 2016, to UAH 4.85 billion. The mill is owned by Pulp Mill Holding GmbH (Austria), its ultimate beneficiary is businessman Volodymyr Krupchak.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. Since the start of its operations in the country in 1993, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost EUR 12.1 billion across some 400 projects in Ukraine.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has approved VS Bank (Lviv) merger with TAScombank (Kyiv) under a simplified procedure, VS Bank reported on its website.
“On July 11, 2018, VS Bank received the NBU’s permission for reorganization via the merger of VS Bank with TAScombank under the simplified procedure,” reads the report.
The merger will be conducted in line with the reorganization plan approved at the general meeting of shareholders of each bank and a merger agreement. TAScombank will become the legal successor of VS Bank’s rights and obligations.
TAS Group was founded in 1998. It has assets in the financial and industrial sectors, agriculture, real estate, pharmaceuticals, and venture projects. The financial sector of the group includes TAScombank, Universal Bank, VS Bank, two insurance companies and several other organizations. The founder and the main shareholder of the group is Sergiy Tigipko.
According to the NBU, as of January 1, 2018 the major owner of TAScombank was Sergiy Tigipko, who owned 99.86851% of securities.
Sberbank sold VS Bank as part of the implementation of its strategy to leave the Ukrainian banking market.
Nine insurance companies led Insurance Top ranking in terms of collection of insurance premiums in Ukraine’s regions in January-March 2018. TAS Insurance Group became leader in ten regions.
According to the ranking, TAS Insurance Group in Volyn region (raised UAH 16.5 million and paid UAH 4.3 million), in Zhytomyr region (UAH 9.3 million and UAH 3.3 million respectively), in Ivano-Frankivsk region (UAH 10.2 million and UAH 4.2 million), in Kirovohrad region (UAH 6 million and UAH 1.5 million), in Luhansk region (UAH 2.1 million and UAH 614,000), in Mykolaiv region (UAH 11.8 million and UAH 3.4 million), in Sumy region (UAH 5.4 million and UAH 2.1 million), in Ternopil region (UAH 20.3 million and UAH 6.2 million), in Khmelnytsky region (UAH 7.6 million and UAH 1.6 million), in Cherkasy region (UAH 10 million and UAH 5 million).
Alliance Insurance Company led in Dnipropetrovsk region (raised UAH 105 million and paid UAH 21 million), Asko-Donbas Pivnichny – in Donetsk region (UAH 12.8 million and UAH 3.8 million respectively), Globus Insurance Company – in Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi regions (UAH 13 million and UAH 6 million; UAH 2.8 million and UAH 886,000), Credo Insurance Company – in Zaporizhia region (UAH 216.4 million and UAH 46 million), AXA Insurance – in Poltava and Kherson regions (raised UAH 15 million and UAH 7.6 million respectively), Oranta – in Chernihiv region (UAH 12 million and UAH 2.8 million), Kniazha Insurance Company – in Vinnytsia region (UAH 15 million and UAH 7 million).
PZU Ukraine raised the largest amounts in premium collection in January-March 2016 in Lviv region (raised UAH 27.2 million and paid UAH 30.6 million), Kharkiv region (UAH 6.8 million and UAH 5.2 million respectively), and Rivne region (UAH 5 million and UAH 2 million).
Arsenal Insurance led in terms of premium collection in Kyiv and Kyiv region (raised UAH 434 million and paid UAH 42 million). It was followed by AXA Insurance with UAH 264 million and Ukrainian Insurance Group with UAH 160 million.
