Kyiv-based OTP Bank is planning to increase its loan portfolio by 33.4%, to UAH 37.6 billion, in 2017-2020, OTP Bank Board Chairman Tamas Hak-Kovacs has said. “Our goal is to increase our loan portfolio by 33.4% by the end of 2020 to UAH 37.6 billion from UAH 25.1 billion as of the end of 2016. If we compare Ukrainian and Hungarian banks in terms of the number of branches and employees, Hungarian loan portfolios are five to six times larger than Ukrainian. And if we take German and U.S. [banks] for comparison, they have even much more credits. Thus the key task of OTP Bank is to build up credit financing,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
The banker added that OTP Bank was planning to increase its share in the segment of crediting for medium-sized and large businesses as well as to strengthen its leading positions in consumer crediting.
“Last year the bank introduced on the market its product Agrofactory for financing of medium-sized agricultural producers. At the end of the second quarter we entered the bid guarantee market – the bank issues bid guarantees for clients within just two hours… Our goal in retail business is to take a leading position in consumer crediting. In this context we resumed auto loan financing last year. Today we are working on the development of a new platform for entrepreneurs and microbusinesses,” Hak-Kovacs said.
Apartment building co-owners associations are demonstrating a growing interest in energy efficiency measures in 2018 compared to last year, as evidenced by the results of June, the State Agency for Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving has said. “More than 300 apartment building co-owners associations raised UAH 90 mln in energy efficiency loans this June, which is five times [or 80%] higher than last June. Around 90 associations received UAH 18.5 mln in energy efficiency loans then,” the state agency’s press service reported on July 8, 2018.
The agency also said that the monitoring of the program implementation has shown homeowner associations’ greater interest in getting energy efficiency loans as well as their growing trust and confidence in the mechanism of co-financing energy efficiency measures.
Some 930 homeowner associations raised UAH 260 mln in energy efficiency loans over two and a half months in 2018, which is almost twice as much as UAH 140 mln – the sum of money they received for heat insulation projects throughout 2017.
“The apartment building co-owners associations should continue preparations for the next heating season and insulate their houses with the help of energy efficiency loans,” Chairman of the State Agency for Energy Efficiency Serhiy Savchuk said and added that benefits of the loan program included the opportunities to save the costs of energy efficiency measures, reduce utility bills and increase the value of apartments in modernized buildings.
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
Ukraine exported 3,870 tonnes of cheese in January-June 2018, which was 6.1% less than in the same period in 2017.
According to customs statistics released by the State Fiscal Service (GFS), cheese exports in monetary terms increased by 1.1%, to $14.51 million.
Cheese imports in January-June 2018 totaled 5,460 tonnes, which is 26.3% higher than the same period in 2017. Cheese imports in monetary terms increased by 42.1%, to $ 27.17 million.
Exports of creamery butter from Ukraine in January-June 2018 increased by 40.3%, to 17,210 tonnes. This indicator in monetary terms increased by1.7 times, to $73.99 million. Butter imports grew by 2.2 times, to 516 tonnes ($ 3.4 million).
Exports of condensed milk and cream in January-June 2018 decreased by 25.4%, to 17,400 tonnes. Ukraine shipped condensed milk and cream worth $28.93 million abroad, this is compared to $40.41 million in January-June 2017. Imports of this group of products increased by 1.6 times to 1,000 tonnes ($2.47 million).
As reported with reference to customs statistics, Ukraine in 2017 exported 9,050 tonnes of cheese, which is 12% more than in 2016. Imports of cheese into the country rose by 42%, to 10,000 tonnes.
Ukraine Power Resources and Yuzhne Energy intend to build wind power plants with an installed capacity of 120 and 72 megawatts in the Lymansky district of Odesa region, the press service of the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association (UWEA) has said, following the signing of a memorandum between these companies and Odesa Regional State Administration.
According to UWEA estimates, the total investment in these two projects will be about EUR 270 million.
The press service did not say when the projects would be implemented.
Ukraine Power Resources was founded by American Peter A. Gish and Yuzhne Energy by Lithuanian Egidijus Simutis.
