KYIV. Dec 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The volume of the P2P lending market since the launch of this service in Ukraine has reached UAH 5 billion, Head of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Valeriya Gontareva has said.
“The P2P platform at present has increased by almost UAH 5 billion,” she said at the Vector 17 forum in Kyiv.
At the same time, the NBU head once again warned the P2P platform has no state guarantee of money refunds.
“People need to take a contract, read, who owes them money, and understand there is no bank in the agreement,” Gontareva said.
P2P (Peer-to-Peer) lending is a way of borrowing between persons not related to each other without the involvement of a financial intermediary (a bank, a credit union, etc.). Usually loans are provided through the online platforms of intermediaries that charge a fee for granting loans and credit verification instruments.
PrivatBank (Dnipro) launched the P2P lending service in March 2016.
KYIV. Dec 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The National Bank for the first time has allowed the positive foreign trade balance of Ukraine in the segment of natural gas imports and services for its transit.
“The next year, according to our estimates, could be the first year when revenues from gas transit could exceed expenditure for gas imports,” Deputy Head of the NBU Dmytro Solohub said at a press conference.
As reported, Ukraine in January-November 2016 increased transit of natural gas to Europe and Moldova by 22.3% compared to the same period in 2015, to 73.78 billion cubic meters, while reducing imports of natural gas by 41.2%, to 9.42 billion cubic meters.
According to a source in the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry, Ukraine could in 2017 reduce gas imports from 12 billion cubic meters to 10 billion cubic meters.
KYIV. Dec 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Milk Alliance Group has reported that a first batch of butter with 82.5% fat content in the amount of 140 tonnes has been shipped to the Netherlands.
“Public joint-stock company Zolotonosha Butter Factory made the butter. Examinations confirmed high quality of our butter,” the company said on its Facebook page.
In January 2017 the company will supply 200,000 tonnes more of butter to the Netherlands.
In April 2016 Milk Alliance first among Ukrainian companies shipped hard cheese, milk and butter to Bulgaria after receiving a permit to ship dairy products to the EU.
KYIV. Dec 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine since the beginning of the 2016/2017 marketing year (MY, July-June) and as of December 15, 2016 had exported 20.06 million tonnes of grain.
According to the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food, the country exported about 10.62 million tonnes of wheat, 4.07 million tonnes of barley and about 5.26 million tonnes of corn.
In addition, 165,100 tonnes of flour had been exported on that date.
As reported with reference to the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food, Ukraine in the 2015/2016 marketing year exported 39.487 million tonnes of grain, which is 13.5% more than in the previous season.
According to the ministry’s forecasts, grain exports in the 2016/2017 MY could reach 40 million tonnes.
KYIV. Dec 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – PJSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia plans in 2017 to invest UAH 30 billion in drilling and purchase of new equipment, head of the company Oleh Prokhorenko has said at a press conference in Kyiv.
According to him, it is planned next year to drill about 100 new wells, overhaul 500 existing wells, as well as carry out operations on intensification of production.
Prokhorenko said this would allow in 2017 to increase gas production from 14.6 billion cubic meters to 15.1 billion cubic meters.
As reported, Ukrgazvydobuvannia plans by 2020 to invest $3 billion in purchase and modernization of drilling rigs, as well as attract third-party contractors for work on its fields.
The program includes the purchase of 30 new drilling rigs (by 2020), the modernization of 32 existing ones. In addition, the plan for 2017 is to buy 15 drilling rigs from international contracting companies.
KHARKIV. Dec 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Ukraine Sevki Acuner hopes an agreement on financing subway construction in Kharkiv will be signed in the first half of 2017.
“Now the procedure of due diligence is underway. We are completing preliminary preparations, developing the project. I hope we will be able to finalize it in the first half of next year,” the banker said at a press conference in Kharkiv.
He said EBRD representatives discussed the project at a meeting with Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes on December 13.
“The city supports this project. The EBRD on its part too, therefore we will work on it and achieve results as soon as possible,” Acuner said.
According to him, now the issue is being discussed that the EBRD will issue a long-term loan of EUR175 million and simultaneously the European Investment Bank (EIB) will grant a loan of the same amount for subway construction in Kharkiv. It is expected the money will be spent on building a subway line in the direction of the airport, a depot and rolling stock purchase.
