Ukraine International Airlines (UIA, Kyiv) in 2018 carried more than 8 million passengers, which is 15% more than in 2017.
According to the airline, the share of transfer passengers on UIA regular flights was 53%.
During this period, the carrier performed 61,500 flights, which is 9% more than in 2017, and the occupancy of passenger seats was 81%.
“The expansion of the network of long-haul routes and the fleet with wide-bodied aircraft made it possible to take another step forward in increasing transit traffic through Ukraine and the further growth of the hub at Boryspil International Airport,” Yevhenia Satska, the spokeswoman of UIA, said.
The volume of cargo and mail transportation reached 21,350 tonnes, which is 12% more than in 2017.
In 2018, the airline expanded the geography of international flights and began operating flights from Kyiv to Copenhagen, Cairo, Delhi, and Toronto. The map of domestic routes was complemented with the regular flight Kyiv-Vinnytsia.
The deficit of Ukraine’s foreign trade in goods in January-November 2018 increased by 66.6% compared with January-November 2017 and amounted to $8.866 billion, the State Statistics Service has reported.
According to its data, in November the deficit amounted to $920 million, whereas in October it was $1.48 billion, in September $1.46 billion, in August $940 million, in July $1.41 billion, in June $600 million, in May $630 million, April $220 million, March $460 million, February $460 million, and in January $280 million.
In January-November 2018, exports of goods compared to the same period in 2017 rose by 9.9%, reaching $43.25 billion, imports by 16.7%, to $52.11 billion.
The State Statistics Service said that in November 2018 compared with the previous month the seasonally adjusted export volume grew by 4.7%, reaching $3.98 billion, while imports decreased by 1.1%, to $4.88 billion.
The rate of coverage of imports by exports for the 11 months of this year was 0.83 against 0.88 in January-November 2017.
The State Statistics Service said that foreign trade operations were conducted with partners from 220 countries of the world.
PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region) in 2018 increased its capital and operating expenses by 31.6% compared to 2017, to $443.4 million from $337 million.
According to a press release of the company, $348.8 million were capital investments, $94.6 million were operating costs.
In 2019, the company intends to invest more than $450 million.
At the same time, the press service clarifies that one of the key projects in 2018 is the construction of two new continuous casting machines worth about $144 million. Hot tests of one of the continuous casting machines will begin in February of this year. It is also planned to complete the reconstruction of small section mill No. 250-4 in spring, the volume of investments in it will be about $55 million.
KyivESKO LLC and JSC Commercial Industrial Bank on January 14, 2019 signed a first energy service contract in Ukraine for the amount of around UAH 3 million, using the factoring tool. The Ukrainian Association of Energy Service Companies wrote on its Facebook page that the contract was signed with the technical assistance of the UNDP project and the State Agency for Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving.
The tool allows borrowing without collateralized property, the association said. The guarantee for the loan would be money flows from energy service contracts, which KyivESKO LLC has.
In August 2018, specialists of the State Agency for Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving and experts of the UNDP project studied various models of using energy service mechanisms in European countries, in particular in Latvia, where two funds for the energy service purposes using the factoring tool were created with the help of the financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and public funds.
The implementation of the firsts factoring contract in the energy service area would allow other companies and financial institutions to use this experience, the association said.
KyivESKO LLC signed its first energy service contract in the housing sphere with Politekhnik housing and construction cooperative in Kyiv.
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
