KYIV. Sept 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a plan of measures to resolve problem issues and ensure the implementation of the project on the creation of the Cyclone 4 rocket and space complex with a new foreign partner to replace Brazil that left the project in 2015 at the final stage of the project.
The respective draft government order, which was worked out by the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU), was approved at a government meeting on Wednesday, September 20.
SSAU Head Pavlo Dehtiarenko said that before submitting the draft order for consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers the document had been agreed with all agencies concerned.
According to the order, the State Space Agency, the Foreign Ministry, the State Property Fund, the Justice Ministry, the Finance Ministry, the Economic Development and Trade Ministry and the State Fiscal Service should ensure the implementation of the plan’s measures in 2017-2018. SSAU, in turn, should table in the government a generalized report on the implementation of the plan’s activities before the 10th day of the month every quarter.
In accordance with the draft document obtained by Interfax-Ukraine, the plan’s activities include, among other things, developing and submitting for consideration by government the well-grounded proposals on the expediency of extending the effect of the intergovernmental agreements signed with Brazil in 1999 and 2002, which regulate cooperation on the Cyclone 4 project; making an inventory of objects of intellectual property rights received during the implementation of the project; making an inventory of manufactured technological equipment, as well as design and technological documents and ensuring they are preserved at the enterprises that produced them before the issue of their further use is resolved; liquidating after the inventory the Alcantara Cyclone Space bi-national company and preparing a mechanism for mutual settlements between manufacturers; confirming and determining mechanisms for compensation for losses incurred by Ukraine as a result of the cancellation and during the period of effect of the agreement, as well as attracting international assistance to protect Ukraine’s interests.
According to the draft document, Alcantara Cyclone Space should be liquidated before October 30, 2017 with a distribution of its assets, taking into account the intergovernmental agreement with Brazil of 2002 on the protection of technology under the project. Property and funds belonging to Ukraine as a result of liquidation of the bi-national company should be returned to Ukraine in 2017-2018 for further preservation.
At the same time, as early as 2017, the authorized agencies should begin work to ensure the implementation of the Cyclone 4 project with a new foreign partner.
In accordance with the approved plan of measures, draft government decisions and a draft law on supporting the creation of the Cyclone 4 rocket and space complex in the territory of another state with the involvement of foreign investors should be submitted for government consideration in 2017-2018.
As reported, the agreement signed by Brazil and Ukraine in 2003 on long-term cooperation on the use of the Cyclone 4 launch vehicle at the Alcantara launch center was unilaterally denounced by the Brazilian side in the summer of 2015. According to the procedure, the decision to denounce the agreement came into force in the summer of 2016. Kyiv suggested that Brazil’s decision to end cooperation at the final stage of the long-term project could have been taken under political pressure, as Brazil counted on deepening cooperation with Russia. In a new situation, Ukraine announced plans to create an alternative promising launch pad for the Cyclone 4 launch vehicle in North America.
According to the information provided by the State Space Agency of Ukraine in December 2016, the actual costs of the Ukrainian side for the implementation of the Cyclone 4 project in Brazil were estimated to be worth at $592 million.
In March 2017, Canada’s Maritime Launch Services Ltd (MLS) announced plans to build a launch complex in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia for commercial launch of satellites with the help of the Cyclone-4M launch vehicle developed by the Pivdenne design bureau (Dnipro). The first launch of the Cyclone-4M as part of the project is scheduled for 2020. The first funds under the program, which is to be implemented on a commercial basis, were allocated in 2016 by a founder of MLS – United Paradyne Corporation (UPC).
ODESA. Sept 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The increase in internal and external investment is the key factor for accelerating the economic growth in Ukraine in coming years, and the most promising sectors for the next two years are agriculture, infrastructure and energy sectors, Managing Partner of ICU Investment Group Makar Paseniuk has said.
Speaking at the Ukrainian Financial Forum organized by ICU in Odesa on September 21 and September 22, he said that capital investment in Q2 2017 grew to 15.4% of GDP from 15.1% in 2016 and 13% in 2015, although they should be at least 20-25% of GDP for the desired economic growth.
Explaining his selection of the sectors, Paseniuk said that in agriculture, infrastructure and energy sectors Ukraine has a global competitive advantage or needs to develop them to ensure the long-term economic stability.
As an example, he took the capacities in power generation and energy supply, estimating the necessary amount of investments to restore their operating lives, which have already been exhausted by 70-80%, at $15-20 billion.
“Market prices and transparent, unchanging rules will create conditions for the investment in the extraction, transportation and distribution of gas, oil, coal, and electricity, and the development of competition in these sectors will ensure minimum prices for consumers, while bringing Ukraine closer to energy independence,” he said.
Paseniuk also said that the farmland market is the reserve for attracting $15-20 billion of investments. In his view, the formation of the market could begin with state-owned land.
He added that preference should be given to direct investments than debt financing, and in terms of currency this should be a financial tool nominated in hryvnias.
Completion of cleaning the balance sheets of financial institutions from low-quality assets should increase the activity of the Ukrainian financial sector and its involvement in investment, according to the expert.
Paseniuk said that an important factor for growth of investments is justice, the presence of transparent and unchanging rules of the game.
“Therefore, one of the priorities for all should be judicial reform, which will ensure real protection of property rights and impartiality of decisions made by courts,” he said.
KYIV. Sept 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met with leading U.S. business representatives on September 21 as part of his working visit to the United States, the presidential press service has reported.
He said at the meeting that despite the ongoing Russian aggression, Ukraine had managed not only to stabilize macroeconomic figures, but also to switch to growth.
“Ukraine is a country of opportunities for investors,” Poroshenko said.
Moreover, the head of state briefed U.S. business representatives on the measures being taken to improve the conditions for doing business in Ukraine. He noted that according to a survey conducted by the Institutional Investor magazine, Ukraine ranks first among the countries that potential investors plan to visit during the year.
Poroshenko also noted the role of the United States in ensuring Ukraine’s energy independence and said that American companies were reliable partners of Ukrainian business and desired investors in Ukraine.
“American business leaders welcomed the tangible progress in the reforms in Ukraine on the road to creating a proper investment climate and fair justice,” reads the report.
KYIV. Sept 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Union (EU) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) under the EBRD’s Finance and Technology Transfer Centre for Climate Change (FINTECC) programme have provided Climate Innovation Vouchers (CIVs) worth EUR 160,000 to six Ukrainian companies: VTS Komplect (Dnipro), Engineering Innovations (Lviv), Ecoisme, Elektrokars, Institute of Ecology and Energy Saving and Ukrcenter-Group (all based in Kyiv).
The EBRD said in a report that the CIV project, with a total budget of EUR 1 million, will support around 50 innovative projects in Ukraine until the end of 2018.
According to the press release, vouchers for individual projects may range from EUR 20,000 to EUR 50,000 depending on their innovativeness, complexity and potential benefit. Further recipients will be identified via three more rounds of the competitive selection process.
The CIV project is implemented by a local NGO Greencubator. Ukraine has become the first of the EBRD’s countries of operations to benefit from the CIVs.
EBRD Associate Director for Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Sergiy Maslichenko said that over 40 companies from different regions of Ukraine competed for the innovation vouchers.
The CIV project aims at the development and improvement of technologies reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improving energy consumption in Ukraine.
Ecoisme is raising funds for energy monitor for effective electricity consumption, Elektrokars for billing systems for electro-car charging stations, Engineering Innovations for prefabricated reinforced-concrete construction technology, Institute of Ecology and Energy Saving for software for the operation of solid-fuel boilers, VTS Komplect for a household cardboard recuperator and Ukrcenter-Group for Hempire Mix insulation material.
The EBRD’s FINTECC programme is designed to transfer technology in the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation and was launched in Ukraine in February 2016. The three-year FINTECC programme is supported by $7 million of grant funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and a EUR 4 million grant from the EU’s NIF.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. To date, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost EUR 11.6 billion through 383 projects since the start of its operations in the country in 1993.
KYIV. Sept 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian meters manufacturer NIK has signed a contract with Britain’s CyanConnode to supply hardware and software for smart metering systems for $29 million, the British company has reported on the website of the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
The company said that the purchase order is for the supply of CyanConnode’s hardware and software advanced metering infrastructure solution for a 1 million unit smart metering deployment to be delivered over the next three years.
CyanConnode will receive $13 million for the provision of hardware with the majority of deliveries expected to be weighted towards years two and three. The Head End Server software payments will be made over the 10-year period post installation and will be worth $16 million, providing the company with a recurring revenue stream.
NIK LLC (Kyiv) is a large manufacturer of metering devices and automated energy metering systems in Eastern Europe.
KYIV. Sept 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMC) has permitted Saltora Plus, Ariant Firm, Milton-Group (all based in Dnipro) to acquire assets in the form of integrated property complexes of enterprise with foreign investments Billa-Ukraine (Kyiv).
According to data posted on the AMC website on September 7, Saltora Plus and Ariant plan to buy Billa supermarkets at 8 Kondratiuka Street and 2 Heroiv Avenue in Dnipro, while Milton-Group plans to buy a Billa supermarket at 2 Yatsenka Street in Zaporizhia.
According to the state register, equal shares in these three companies are held by Kingsbarns Holdings Limited and Mitaly Holdings Limited (both based in the British Virgin Islands).
As reported, the AMC by its decisions on December 15, 2016 allowed the owners of the Varus supermarket chain, Valeriy Kiptyk and Ruslan Shostak, to gain control over Kingsbarns Holdings Limited and Mitaly Holdings Limited.
According to the Billa-Ukraine website, on September 20, 2017 the network united 17 supermarkets in Kyiv, Obukhiv (Kyiv region), Zhytomyr, Dnipro, and Odesa.
