One troy ounce=31.10 grams
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in April raised its forecast for corn exports from Ukraine for the 2018/2019 marketing year (MY, July-June) by 500,000 tonnes compared with the March forecast, to 29.5 million tonnes.
According to the report on the USDA’s website, the increase in the export forecast is associated with a large harvest. The forecast of corn harvest in Ukraine was increased by 305,000 tonnes, to 35.8 million tonnes.
In addition, the USDA retained the forecast of wheat exports from Ukraine in the 2018/2019 MY at the level of 16.5 million tonnes, raised the crop forecast by 57,000 tonnes, to 25.057 million tonnes. The forecast for barley production was also slightly increased (by 204,000 tonnes, to 7.6 million tonnes), while the export forecast did not change (4.2 million tonnes).
In general, the U.S. agency raised its grain yield forecast in Ukraine to 69.7 million tonnes, exports to 50.4 million tonnes.
The USDA has not changed its forecasts for oilseeds processing (15.85 million tonnes) and oil exports (5.93 million tonnes), while the forecast for oil meal exports rose to 5.26 million tonnes (100,000 tonnes more) after a decline in the previous month.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko is holding negotiations with the owner of the largest theme park in Germany – Europa-park – on attracting investment in the creation of the similar park in the capital of Ukraine, the press service of the mayor has reported.
“We are planning to create a large amusement park and active recreation in the territory of Kyiv’s Hydropark. This is an area of almost 130 hectares, an island not far from the city center. And today we need an investor who will invest funds, experience and ideas in implementing such a large project,” Klitschko said.
Klitschko noted the coziness and stylization of old times in Europa-park and said that such a park must appear in Kyiv.
“Everything is very interesting here: cozy, stylized as an old town with modern attractions, lots of interesting entertainment, and good nature. And for children there are locations not only for entertainment, but also with educational functions. In short, both children and their parents are happy here. I have been dreaming for a long time and I will do everything so that a similar park will appear in Kyiv,” he said.
Europa-park is the largest in Germany and the second most visited amusement park in Europe after Disneyland in Paris. Last year, Europa-park was visited by more than 6,000,000 people. They come here from Germany, France, Switzerland and other countries.
Ukrtelecom will invest around UAH 270 million in the development of the high-speed fiber optic Internet network using GPON technology in almost 300 small towns and villages. Almost UAH 135 million was raised from Slovenia’s SID Bank, a promotional development and export bank.
“The start of construction of the fiber optic network is scheduled for the middle of May. The first connections to the new network will be already in July,” the operator said on Tuesday.
According to the report, the project is designed for two years and will be implemented jointly with the Iskratel telecommunications company. It provides for the construction of more than 3,500 km of fiber optic lines and subscriber access speeds of up to 200 Mbit per second, with the ability to use Internet telephony and interactive television. The partner company was selected based on the results of the tender for a comprehensive solution for the construction of the network, including construction and installation works, supply of equipment and startup works, the company said.
“The loan is secured by the insurance policy of SID bank to cover commercial and non-commercial risks. In this project, SID bank acts as an export credit agency,” Ukrtelecom said.
JSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia saw an 11% fall in net profit in 2018, to UAH 27.135 billion (around $1 billion).
According to the financial statements audited by Deloitte and posted on the company’s website, net revenue in 2018 grew by 5.2%, to UAH 78.97 billion, while gross profit fell by 8.8%, to UAH 38.368 billion.
In 2018, the company saw revenue from sale of natural gas and oil in the amount of UAH 69.825 billion (a rise of 3.7% on 2017), from sale of refined petroleum products – UAH 8.465 billion (a rise of 21.4%), fossil fuel extraction and preparation services – UAH 220.216 million (a fall of 31.6%), and other goods and services – UAH 459.661 million (a rise of 3%).
The royalty for the use of subsoil and other taxes in 2018 was UAH 25.268 billion (a rise of 13.4% year-over-year), depreciation totaled UAH 9.84 billion (a rise of 47.7%), staff costs and social payments came to UAH 3.007 billion (a rise of 34.4%), and other costs – UAH 2.487 billion (a rise of 35.2%).
As reported, Ukrgazvydobuvannia increased production by 1.2% (by 176.2 million cubic meters), to 15.42 billion cubic meters in 2018.
Ukrgazvydobuvannia, fully owned by Naftogaz Ukrainy, is the country’s largest gas producing company, providing about 75% of the country’s total gas production.
