KYIV. Aug 25 (Ukraine-Ukraine) – Ukraine and Egypt have agreed to deepen cooperation between the customs agencies, which will simplify export and import operations and customs clearance, as well as liberalize the customs procedures in Ukraine for Egypt-made farm produce, the Ukrainian Economic Development and Trade Ministry said.
The agreement was made at a meeting of Ukraine’s Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister, who is also Ukraine’s Trade Representative, Natalia Mykolska and Egypt’s Minister of Industry and Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour during Mykolska’s visit to Egypt on August 18-19.
Mykolska drew attention to the fact that Egypt had used safeguards against Ukrainian steel bars and might also increase import duties on this type of products, which may become a considerable obstacle to sales of the Ukrainian produce on the Egyptian market.
The sides also discussed the possibility of arrange joint economic business forums for both countries entrepreneurs and the establishment of a dialogue between the Federation of Industrialists of Egypt, the Egyptian Chamber of Commerce and their Ukrainian peers. In particular, the sides decided to exchange information before September 15 about ways to implement potential projects to facilitate further cooperation.
Mykolska also met with the head of the Association of the Egyptian Chambers of Commerce to consider the possibility of the creation of joint projects in shipbuilding (modernization and retrofitting of the industrial fishing fleet), cosmetic medicine, production of pharmaceuticals, machine-building, cooperation in research and engineering. What is more, the sides touched upon the introduction of innovation technologies in medicine, the sector of IT services and tourism.
KYIV. Aug 25 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Аccor Group, Europe’s largest hotel group and one of the top hotel groups in the world, has opened its second Ibis chain hotel in Ukraine: Ibis Styles Lviv Center.
A representative of the hotel told Interfax-Ukraine that the hotel opened on August 22 in the historic center of Lviv.
According to a post on the website of the hotel, the new three-star plus hotel is for both tourists and business travelers. The prices per room start from EUR 42 (UAH 990). The hotel has 77 rooms, including seven suites and two rooms for guests with disabilities.
The first hotel of the international brand in Ukraine – Ibis Kiev Shevchenko Boulevard – was opened on August 15, 2011.
The Ibis international hotel brand belongs to France’s Accor Group, which unites travel agencies, restaurants, casinos and over 4,000 hotels, including 831 under the Ibis brand, in 90 countries.
KYIV. Aug 25 (Interfax-Ukraine) – If there is no military escalation in eastern Ukraine in the near future the country could recover economic growth, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has stated.
“Economic growth could recover in the coming months. It will only be due to no military escalation,” the president said at the celebrations on occasion of the Independence Day of Ukraine.
The head of state also said the government is now looking for opportunities to carry out indexation of wages and pensions.
According to the president, there are cautious grounds for believing that the economy has overcome the deep stress the war has brought.
“Businesses are adapting, finding new markets to replace the Russian one that was completely closed for us. Russia is continuing the economic war against us, seeking to exhaust us,” Poroshenko said.
He noted the country’s leadership is looking for opportunities to carry out the key reforms in the country, including law enforcement and judicial systems, the reform of the prosecutor’s office and power decentralization.
“After a week the Verkhovna Rada is likely to adopt at first reading constitutional changes in part of decentralization, and the lion’s share of power and responsibility will be passed to local authorities, territorial communities and executive committees,” the president said.
He also noted the importance of providing the holding of fair local elections scheduled for this fall.
KYIV. Aug 21 (Interfax) – Ukraine bought fresh nuclear fuel worth $208.119 million in January-June 2015, the Ukrainian state statistics service reports.
Ukraine bought only Russian-made nuclear fuel for its nuclear power plants in the first half of 2015.
In 2014, Ukraine bought nuclear fuel worth in total $628.18 million, including $588.83 million worth of nuclear fuel from Russia and $39.35 million from Sweden.
Energoatom, the Ukrainian state enterprise operating the four nuclear power plants, purchases nuclear fuel under contracts with the Russian company TVEL and Sweden’s Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB.
Energoatom operates 15 nuclear power units equipped with water-cooled reactors with an aggregate installed output of 13.835 GWt.
KYIV. Aug 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ukrainian government has approved a draft joint letter with the National Bank of Ukraine to the World Bank to raise a loan of $500 million under the Second Financial Sector Development Policy Loan (FSDPL2).
According to cabinet resolution No. 830 of August 12, the Finance Ministry is responsible for the preparation of the project in general, and the Individuals’ Deposit Guarantee Fund and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) are also attracted to work on the project.
Among the goals of the project are strengthening the operation, financial and regulatory ability of the Deposit Guarantee Fund to regulate insolvent banks, increasing the solvency of the banking system via the fulfillment of bank recapitalization and restructuring plans, and reinforcing the legal and institutional basis to increase the stability and effectiveness of the banking system.
As reported, the World Bank approved FSDPL1 of $500 million in August 2014 and it was closed in late November 2014. It was planned that FSDPL2 would be provided in early 2015.
However, the agenda of the World Bank’s board for August-September has not yet included the FSDPL2 project.
KYIV. Aug 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is organizing a syndicated financing facility of $130 million to Nibulon (Mykolaiv), one of the largest Ukrainian producers and exporters of grains and oilseeds.
“The new facility will consist of an A loan of up to $45 million for the EBRD’s own account and a B loan of up to $90 million, which will be syndicated to commercial banks,” the bank said on Friday.
EBRD Principal Adviser for External Affairs Anton Usov told Interfax-Ukraine that the bank has signed all the documents required, although the syndicate is being organized by other institutions.
The EBRD said that the facility would help secure the company’s seasonal needs for working capital to carry out trade transactions.
The bank said that it has been successfully working with Nibulon since 2010. It has organized the financing of almost $200 million under various projects for the company.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. As of July 1, 2015, the bank had a total cumulative commitment of EUR 11 billion in 345 projects in the country.
Nibulon was created in 1991. It is one of the largest operators in the grain market. The company has a total silo capacity of more than 1.7 million tonnes, as well as its own transshipment terminal in Mykolaiv.
