KYIV. April 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk has discussed cooperation between Ukraine and Germany in the sphere of trade and investment with deputies of Germany’s Bundestag, as well as the internal situation in Ukraine and international security.
The press service of the Cabinet of Ministers reported on Wednesday that Foreign Policy Speaker of the CDU/CSU Jürgen Hardt and Head of the Parliamentary Commission for Bundeswehr missions abroad, former defense Minister of Germany Volker Rühe took part in the meeting.
“The deputies of the Bundestag highly appreciated Yatseniuk’s contribution to the process of political stabilization in Ukraine and economic recovery. During the conversation they talked about the plans of cooperation between the two countries, particularly in trade and investment,” the press service said.
The meeting participants also discussed the political situation in Ukraine and the pressing international and regional challenges.
“Yatseniuk thanked the members of the German Parliament for their support of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and security, as well as for providing financial, technical and humanitarian assistance to our country,” the press service said.
KYIV. April 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Metallurgprom Association (Dnipropetrovsk) and the Federation of Metal Companies of Ukraine have sent a list of top-priority anti-crisis measures to resolve problems of Ukrainian exporters of the metal and mining sector jeopardizing Ukraine’s economic and industrial growth potential. The problems require urgent attention by the relevant national Ukrainian authorities.
The letter, a copy of which has been forwarded to Interfax-Ukraine, was sent by Head of Metallurgprom Oleksandr Kalenkov and Head of the Federation of Metal Companies Serhiy Bilenky to the president, prime minister, parliamentary speaker and head of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC).
Exports problems should be resolved to stabilize the critical situation in the economy, especially in the metal and mining sector.
The associations’ heads believe that the exports duty on scrap metal is to be increased from EUR 10 to EUR 35 per tonne and a zero rate for imports of scrap metal is to be introduced. This would help increasing payments to the budget from the exports duty, improve the situation with scrap metal supply to metal companies and boost production of goods with high added value, increase exports and exports income by $150 million a year.
The associations propose that an investment project of Ukrzaliznytsia to improve the through-put capacity of railways towards Mariupol on the Kamysh-Zoria-Volnovakha section to 22 freight trains a day is implemented in 2016. This will help to load metal companies in the region and add around $1 billion of currency income every year.
Metal companies said that the issues of legal and economic functioning of Ukrzaliznytsia on the territory that is not under control of the Ukrainian government should be settled. This would stabilize raw materials and product shipments, including coal and limestone.
The tariff for gas transportation by trunk and distribution pipelines for industrial consumers should be cut to the average European level ($10-12 per cubic meter). This would support competitiveness of Ukrainian exporters on the European market compared to European producers.
The associations back the bringing of port fees in Ukraine (today $2-3.5 per tonne) to the justifiable level comparable to the fees at rival ports – China, Turkey, Russia, Australia and Brazil ($0.8 per tonne). A moratorium on indexation of tariffs for shipment by rail should be introduced at least in 2016 and return the amendments to the railways tariff collection proposed by the Infrastructure Ministry for revision, as they would significantly worsen the situation with freight owners.
Metal companies also proposed to resume VAT refunding to companies that are re-register from the territory that is not under control of the Ukrainian government and pay taxes to the Ukrainian budget, to refund all VAT debt in April-May 2016 and extend land utilization benefits for mining companies.
KYIV. April 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – U.S. Honeywell International Inc. will ensure the supply of avionics for a new multipurpose An-132D aircraft with a load capacity of 9.2 tonnes built by Antonov state enterprise (Kyiv) in the framework of a contract with Saudi Arabia signed in April 2015.
The press service of the plant told Interfax-Ukraine that the supply of Primus Epic 2.0 avionics for the new transport aircraft would be provided under a contract recently signed by Antonov and Honeywell. The start of equipment deliveries is scheduled for April 2016.
As reported, state enterprise Antonov has completed the large scale assembly of a new multipurpose An-132D aircraft. The plant expects the supply of PW150A engines for the airplane by Pratt & Whitney Canada in April. A cooperation agreement with the Canadian company under the An-132 program was signed in October 2015. The prototype of a new An-132 is to be completed by the end of 2016. After performing a series of test flights, the aircraft will be presented to potential customers in Saudi Arabia.
KYIV. April 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – American investment company Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) and state-controlled Oschadbank (Kyiv), with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have launched a program of lending to social enterprises, providing for total crediting in the amount of UAH 100 million over the next three years.
According to a state bank press release, the source of funding loans is the USAID technical assistance program worth $30 million, whose executive is WNISEF.
“The program guarantees that the rate on loans for conventional social enterprises (whose activities are focused exclusively on resolving social issues) will not exceed 5% per annum and for those who spend a significant part of their profit on financing social enterprises or socially useful activity no more than 10% per annum,” reads the report.
According to the report, the amount of one loan varies from UAH 250,000 to UAH 2.5 million. It is envisioned that from150-300 loans will be issued.
TOKYO. April 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has invited Japanese businessmen to make investments into Ukraine.
“One of the aims of my visit is to invite Japanese business to Ukraine. I’m asking you to be more courageous and in full measure use those opportunities, which already exist, in particular due to the reforms and FTA with EU,” the president said delivering a speech at the Japanese National Club in Tokyo on Wednesday.
According to him, Ukraine may become a new portal for Japanese investments into Europe, namely FTA of Ukraine with EU opens additional opportunities to set cheap production capacities in Ukraine involving highly qualified Ukrainian personnel.
“Japanese business will acquire a unique opportunity to sell almost duty-free goods produced in Ukraine,” he said.
KYIV. April 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ekspansia LLC (Vyshneve, Kyiv region), the operator of Fozzy Cash&Carry hypermarkets, has won a tender to select food supplier to long-haul trains of public joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia.
Ukrzaliznytsia will officially notify all tender bidders on the decision made in the manner prescribed in Ukrainian law.
Ukrzaliznytsia on December 12, 2016 announced an open and transparent tender to select the supplier of food to sell it to passengers of long-haul trains. The main criterion to select the supplier is guaranteed high quality of food.
Fozzy Group has been working in Ukraine since 1997. The group includes Silpo supermarkets, Le Silpo premium format stores, Fora and Bumi convenience stores, Fozzy hypermarkets, Bila Romashka pharmaceutical supermarkets, the Bud Zdorov pharmacy chain, and the ringoo personal electronics chain.
As it was reported earlier WOG Retail was selected the operator for the provision of food services in high-speed trains.
