Ukraine saw a $1.2 billion surplus of a consolidated balance of payments in June 2019 compared with a $750 million deficit in May, a $45 million deficit in April, a $652 million surplus in March 2019 and a $23 million surplus in June 2018.
“The surplus of the consolidated balance of payments amounted to $1.2 billion (it was $23 million in June 2018). This allowed us to simultaneously increase international reserves (by $1.1 billion) and pay off debt to the International Monetary Fund ($158 million),” the central bank said in a statement on its website.
National bank of ukraine’s official rates as of 01/08/19
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
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.
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.
DNIPROVSKY PLANT, FERTILIZERS, MINERAL FERTILIZERS, NPK, PRODUCTION
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).