KYIV. May 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine seeks to hold negotiations on cooperation with U.S. Boeing Corporation under the Sea Launch program in the course of the first launch of the Antares launch vehicle after its modernization scheduled for July from the Wallops Flight Facility (Virginia, the United States), Head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU) Liubomyr Sabadosh has said.
Commenting on the results of his working visit to the United States on May 23-27, he said at a press conference in Kyiv that he failed to meet with Boeing representatives, but he received a signal that the negotiations on Sea Launch would be organized in July.
Sabadosh said that Boeing has not yet formed the final position for the project.
“I know that the interest of investors to continue the project exists. Negotiations are underway,” he said, adding that representatives of investors visited Ukraine and Pivdenmash (Dnipropetrovsk) to discuss the possibility of making Zenit launch vehicle under the Sea Launch project in Ukraine.
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in September 2015 satisfied a claim filed by Boeing against RSC Energia of Russia and Pivdenne Design Bureau, saying the partners breached their contract obligations by not reimbursing Boeing for Sea Launch expenses.
The shareholders of the Sea Launch consortium, which was created in 1995 to carry out commercial satellite launch from the sea launch site in the Pacific Ocean, were Boeing with 40%, RSC Energia with 25%, Ukrainian-based Pivdenne Design Bureau and state-run enterprise Pivdenmash with a combined share of 15% and the Anglo-Norwegian Engineering and Construction Кvaerner Group with 20%.
After reorganization in 2010, a total of 95% of shares are now owned by Energia Overseas Limited (EOL), a ‘granddaughter’ of RSC Energia, while a 3% stake belongs to U.S. Boeing, 2% to Norwegian Aker Solutions. The headquarters of Sea Launch AG are in Nyon (Switzerland).
KYIV. May 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine and the United States continue negotiations on cooperation in the missile engine building sphere. Ukraine still pins hopes to join the project on the creation and production of a new liquid missile engine for the United States to replace Russia’s RD-180 engine, Head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU) Liubomyr Sabadosh has said.
He said at a press conference on Monday in Kyiv that the prospects of expansion of technological and industrial cooperation in the aerospace area, in particular, cooperation in the missile engine building sphere, were discussed during the negotiations with U.S. partners during the working visit of Sabadosh to the United States on May 23 through May 27.
“Our U.S. partners understand that this task is complicated, but we can cope with it,” he said.
He said that the talks would continue at the level of sector specialists. The design terms, tests, conditions of cooperation and expenses are to be discussed.
“We are confident that jointly with U.S. partners we would be able to realize the project more quickly. I think it would be cheaper,” he said, adding that the next round of the negotiations is scheduled for November.
He said that the possibility of lobbying for Ukraine’s interests in the implementation of the project to create an alternative liquid missile engine to Russia’s RD-180 for the U.S. Air Force was discussed with Senate committee office on Armed Services, chaired by U.S. Senator John McCain.
Ukraine hopes to given preference in participating in the project, Sabadosh said.
KYIV. May 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The opening of Reforms Office in Kyiv is scheduled for early summer 2016, Director of Kyiv Investment Agency Oleh Mistiuk has told Interfax-Ukraine.
“I hope that in May an order of the mayor to create the Reforms Office, the strategic reforms board and the advisory reforms board in Kyiv would be signed,” he said.
Mistiuk said that the Reforms Office will not be part of Kyiv City Administration’s structure. It will be directly coordinated by the city mayor.
The organization structure of the Reforms Office would consist of strategic and advisory reforms boards. The creation of the office is intended to increase Kyiv city’s investment attractiveness, improve its borrowing capacity and boost efficiency of the city council via introduction of legislative and organization changes.
Mistiuk said that the strategic board’s members would be Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, Secretary of Kyiv City Council Volodymyr Prokopiev, First Deputy Mayor Hennadiy Plis and Deputy Mayor Oleksiy Reznikov. The board would also include at least four representatives of the most famous nongovernmental organizations that forward reforms in Ukraine and at least four representatives of donor and international financial institutions (IFIs).
The advisory board would have people of Michael Bloomberg caliber as members, as well as foreign and Ukrainian experts and businessmen.
KYIV. May 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman expects a 20% rise in revenues from customs to the national budget of Ukraine due to the elimination of barriers to export-import clearance of goods.
He made such a forecast at a meeting with industrialists in Kyiv.
“We can get a 20% growth, not less, due to equal conditions for goods clearance, transparent conditions of determining the value of goods… The question of restoring order at customs is one of the priorities,” the official said.
The premier stressed the Cabinet of Ministers had made the decision, limiting intervention of law enforcement agencies in the process of goods clearance at customs.
“You know what the situation with nuts was… The company tried to register the load, but it was shown a letter, for example, from the SBU, saying there is something wrong with the cargo. And this “something wrong” could last endlessly, until a bribe is given… According to independent experts, “shadow” customs officers received $8,000-12,000 for one car,” he said.
Groysman emphasized such a practice would be stopped.
KYIV. May 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Public joint-stock company Ukrhydroenergo increased electricity production by 18.6% in January-April 2016, compared to the same period in 2015, to 3.115 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), the press service of the company has said.
According to its data, the plan for the three months was exceeded by 19.4%, or 506.488 million kWh.
In April this year, Ukrhydroenergo hydroelectric and pumped storage plants produced 1.136 billion kWh of electricity, which is 95.5% more than in April 2015.
As reported, Ukrhydroenergo plans in 2016 to increase electricity production by 24.6% compared to 2015, to 8.008 billion kWh.
Production of electricity by nine Ukrhydroenergo power stations in 2015 decreased by 26.2% compared to 2014, to 6.426 billion kWh.
Ukrhydroenergo in 2015 saw net profit rise by 2.3 times compared to 2014, to UAH 1.091 billion, net income by 1.7 times, to UAH 4.469 billion, EBITDA by 64.7%, to UAH 2.688 billion.
Ukrhydroenergo operates all of the major hydroelectric power plants on the Ukrainian sections of the Dnipro and Dniester rivers. Their total electricity generating capacity comes to five gigawatts. The state owns 100% of the shares of the company.
KYIV. May 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Metinvest, the largest Ukrainian mining and metal holding, in 2015 was 40th in the list of largest global steel producers with 9.65 million tonnes smelted last year, compared to the 33rd position in 2014 with 11.18 million tonnes of steel made.
According to an annual report published by World Steel Association, the largest steel smelting company in 2014 was ArcelorMittal with 97.14 million tonnes. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation was second with 49.3 million tonnes smelted, followed by Hebei Group (47.75 million tonnes), NSSMC (46.37 million tonnes), POSCO (41.97 million tonnes) and Baosteel (34.94 million tonnes).
Metinvest is the only Ukrainian company amongst the 50 largest global steel manufacturers. Industrial Union of Donbas (ISD) was 44th in 2013 and produced 7.9 million tonnes, but did not make the list last year and this year.
Worldsteel said that Ukraine produced 23 million tonnes of steel in 2015, ranking 10th (27.2 million in 2014, 10th). Apparent consumption totaled 3.3 million tonnes (4.3 million tonnes), and consumption per capital reached 74.7 kilograms (kg, 94.8 kg in 2014).
Globally, average apparent consumption totaled 208.2 kg per person, South Korea with 1,113.6 kg per person, Taiwan with 750.6 kg, the Czech Republic (627.4 kg), Japan (497. 3 kg) and China (519 kg) showed the best results.
In 2015, Ukraine was seventh among largest steel exporters. The country sold 17.7 million tonnes of steel products on foreign markets. China was first with 111.6 million tonnes and Russia was fifth with 29.7 million tonnes.
Ukraine was fourth in net exports of steel in the world with 16.9 million tonnes (20.3 million tonnes in 2014, fourth). China was first with 98.4 tonnes and Japan was second with 34.9 million tonnes.
The largest importers of metal last year were the European Union (EU) with 37.7 million tonnes (the European Union was 28th in 2014 with 32.4 million tonnes).
Metinvest Group is a vertically integrated group of steel and mining companies that manages every link of the value chain, from mining and processing iron ore and coal to making and selling semi-finished and finished steel products. It comprises steel and mining production facilities located in Ukraine, Europe and the US, as well as a sales network covering all key global markets.
