Business news from Ukraine

UKRAINIAN GOVT PLANNING TO OPEN INVESTMENT SUPPORT AGENCY

KYIV. June 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is planning to establish a state investment support agency.

“We will open an investment support agency under the government soon. It is our home task to create necessary conditions for your investment so that you can do your business easily,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said during the Swedish-Ukrainian Business Forum in Kyiv on Monday.

He added that the government understands the problems investors are facing in Ukraine.

Groysman stressed that the Ukrainian government’s priorities are deregulation and ensuring investors with free access to Ukraine.

SWEDEN AND UKRAINE SEE 20% RISE IN TRADE TURNOVER IN 2015 – AMBASSADOR

KYIV. June 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Trade turnover between Sweden and Ukraine increased by 20% in 2015, Ambassador of Sweden to Ukraine Andreas von Beckerath has said.

“When it comes to trade between Sweden and Ukraine, we saw an impressive rise last year. Trade turnover increased last year,” the diplomat said during the Swedish-Ukrainian Business Forum in Kyiv on Monday.

The ambassador emphasized that such a growth is not a limit for both countries.

He added that Sweden praised the passing of amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine by the Verkhovna Rada and the start of judicial reform.

The diplomat also stressed that the supremacy of law in Ukraine could attract more investors from Sweden.

UKRAINE, GERMANY TO OPEN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY IN AUTUMN 2016 – POROSHENKO

KYIV. June 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that Ukraine and Germany would open a joint chamber of commerce and industry in autumn 2016.

According to the presidential press service, during a meeting with the state secretaries of German federal ministries, who arrived in Ukraine as part of the German government’s mission to provide Ukraine with assistance in reform implementation, Poroshenko thanked Germany for its financial and technical aid to Ukraine.

“The head of state called on German businesses to use benefits from the EU-Ukraine free trade area envisaged by the Association Agreement more actively. He noted that Ukraine takes interest in the strengthening of Germany’s economic and investment presence and expressed the hope that bilateral trade relations would extend,” reads the statement.

The president also stressed that the chamber of commerce and industry of Ukraine and Germany, which is due to open in autumn 2016, would become an important tool for the strengthening of cooperation between the countries.

MARIUPOL SEAPORT TO INVEST UAH 800 MLN IN BUILDING GRAIN HANDLING COMPLEX

KYIV. June 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Mariupol maritime merchandise port seeks to invest UAH 800 million in building a grain handling complex with a projected annual capacity of 2.5 million tonnes. The works will start by the end of this summer.

“Now the project will be submitted for examination. After the examination we will start the works at once. We hope that by the end of summer we will start the works,” the press service of the port told Interfax-Ukraine.

The grain handling complex will be built in two stages: the first one will include 10 silos with a capacity of 5,700 tonnes each and the total storing capacity of 57,000 tonnes and a grain drier with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes a day.

The second stage will have 13 silos with a capacity of 5,700 tonnes each and the total capacity of 74,000 tonnes. The terminal will have eight on-the-spot silos.

Mariupol port is one of the largest ports in Ukraine. The average depth at the port is 8.6 meters, which enables the port to accept vessels with draughts of up to eight meters and lengths of up to 250 meters. Its territory is 77.7 hectares. The length of the berth line is 4.2 kilometers (18 berths).

KYIV INVESTMENT AGENCY LOOKING FOR INVESTORS FOR FIRST PHASE OF TROYESCHYNA INDUSTRIAL PARK PROJECT

KYIV. June 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Representatives of the pharmaceutical market, organic chemistry and small domestic appliances assemblers could place their own production facilities on a land parcel of 30-40 ha near combined heat and power plant six as part of the first phase of the industrial park project being realized in Troyeschyna district of Kyiv, Director of Kyiv Investment Agency Oleh Mistiuk has told Interfax-Ukraine.

“Maybe, the project would not be realized in the scale planned earlier [the land parcel of 270 ha in Desniansky district was reported], but at least several domestic appliances assemblers, organic chemistry, pharmaceutical companies could appear. This is only the first phase. We have divided by at least two phases. The first one is around 30-40 ha… Then it will depend on producers,” Mistiuk said.

Pharmaceutical companies showed the largest interest to the project, but they have some precautions regarding the placement of production facilities near residential areas.

He said that Kyiv authorities will be able to start preparing the industrial park only when the complete pool of investors for the first phase will be created.

Kyiv Investment Agency will thoroughly examine investors and environment polluting production facilities cannot be placed there.

EBRD TO OPEN REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE IN KHERSON – REGION GOVERNOR

KYIV. June 10 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will open a representative office in Kherson that will credit companies with an annual turnover of EUR 1-3 million, Head of Kherson Regional Administration Andriy Hordeyev has told Interfax-Ukraine.

“The permanent representative office of the EBRD for micro-crediting is to open in Kherson. The agreement has been reached with the EBRD managing director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. The bank sees that this is business with EUR 1-3 million turnover. For example, 1,000 ha for irrigation,” he said.

Hordeyev said that the approximate date for opening the office is June 15.

Among top priority projects for crediting are irrigation, alternative energy and infrastructure projects.