KYIV. June 24 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Health Ministry seeks to intensify cooperation with the World Bank in the healthcare reform sphere under a joint project Serving People, Improving Health Project being realized in Ukraine since 2015 in eight regions.
The press service of the ministry reported that the issue was discussed at a meeting of acting Health Minister Viktor Shafransky with representatives of the World Bank on Wednesday.
The sides agreed the tighter meeting schedule to discuss the problematic issues and joint actions under the project, intensified work in the regions, attraction of World Bank representatives to working groups of the key directions of reforms.
“We intend to accelerate the implementation of the project at the central and regional levels alike. It is important to plan and coordinate actions between all sides, clearly set tasks and terms and control their implementation. The result is important, not the process,” Shafransky said.
In March 2015, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $214.73 million loan provided by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to implement Serving People, Improving Health Project. The project will seek to develop medical infrastructure and improve the quality of health services in eight regions across the country: Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Zakarpattia, Zaporizhia, Lviv, Poltava and Rivne regions.
KYIV. June 24 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said that all legislative and regulation base should be approved by the end of 2016 and the Energy Efficiency Fund is launched from 2017.
The fund would help to send a part of subsidies to energy saving and increase investment in this sector and reduce subsidies in the future.
“Our task is to transform subsidies into investment in energy efficiency,” he said, opening the Ukrainian Energy Efficiency Forum on Thursday.
He recalled that from 2014 the government launched the mechanism of ‘warm’ credits via state-run banks. They allow citizens to receive partial (from 30% to 70%) compensation for the cost of construction materials and energy equipment in energy efficiency projects. He said that with around 300,000 Ukrainian citizens invested in these projects, investment reached some UAH 3 billion, and the 2016 national budget foresees UAH 700 million for this purpose and this could be not enough.
Groysman said that the specifics of the new tool that would be launched via the Energy Efficiency Fund, would be sending a part of subsidies to energy saving.
The prime minister said that the energy efficiency sector could create some 50,000 jobs and strengthen Ukraine’s energy independence.
The prime minister pointed out the importance of transparent work of the fund and curbing any corrupt influence in the energy sector. In this regard, he called on Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Regional Development, Construction Housing and Utilities of Ukraine Hennadiy Zubko to involve experts and civil society in the creation of the fund and its supervisory board.
The prime minister also expressed hope that in synergy with Ukrainian MPs it will be possible to work out the necessary legislation that could be approved by parliament no later than the third or fourth quarters of this year. It will enable the fund’s operation from 2017.
KYIV. June 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Eastern European Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership Fund (E5P) will allocate EUR 60 million for the implementation of energy efficiency projects in Ukraine.
“The E5P Board of Directors has approved the allocation of EUR 60 million,” E5P Fund Chairman Anders Lund said at a briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday.
He added that EUR 15 million will be spent on the implementation of the IQ Energy program, which is aimed at making residential houses more energy efficient.
Lund noted that the program is designed until 2019, but may be extended.
As reported, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) intends to provide EUR 75 million to Ukraine for Ukraine Residential Energy Efficiency Financing Facility (IQ Energy) program.
KYIV. June 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has signed the law on amendments to some legislative acts of Ukraine concerning the abolition of mandatory state registration of foreign investment (No. 1390-VIII).
According to the presidential press service, the law provides for the creation of more favorable conditions for attracting investment by simplifying the procedure.
“We introduce a declarative principle of state registration of investments, according to which presentation of statistical reports on foreign investments will be carried out by enterprises with foreign investment and banking institutions,” the report says.
The introduction of these changes will bring Ukrainian legislation closer to EU standards, simplify the procedure for attracting foreign investment and help restore the country’s economy.
As reported, on May 31, 2016 the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine with 259 votes adopted as a whole the bill on amendments to some legislative acts of Ukraine concerning the abolition of mandatory state registration of foreign investments (No. 2763).
KYIV. June 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – NP Logistic, part of Nova Poshta Group, providing warehousing and fulfillment services, seeks to double cargo handling in 2016, to over 2 million orders.
NP Logistic Director Oleksandr Lisovets told reporters that the company has two fulfillment centers with a gross area of 10,000 square meters. The company services more than 30 clients.
He said that the fulfillment service is targeted at online shops and other businesses. Among the company’s clients are Allo, Rozetka, Garnamama, Philip Morris, Nestle, WOG and others.
Lisovets said that according to a study of the Ecommerce Europe association, in 2015 Ukraine became the most quickly growing market in Europe with 35% growth. He said that 95% of Ukrainian online shops carry out the whole complex of logistics operations themselves, which is ineffectively in most cases.
NP Logistic accepts goods, stores them, packages and delivers to end consumers. For clients of online shops that use fulfillment services this means an additional advantage. A client places the order on the website of the online shop in the evening, the shop quickly transfers the order for fulfillment to NP Logistic and the goods arrives to the client next day, he said.
Lisovets said that with transferring of own warehouse for outsourcing, the online shop can focus on sales and marketing.
NP Logistic can handle 10,000-15,000 orders a day. In 2015, the company handled 1.2 million orders and 650,000 in January-May 2016.
The company intends to develop logistics infrastructure in Kyiv region and the branch network in cities with over one million of population.
KYIV. June 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Lozova Machinery (the brand of tillage machines made by UPEC Group’s enterprises, Kharkiv region) at the Agro 2016 exhibition held in Kyiv in June have signed contracts to supply agricultural machinery worth over UAH 50 million, Vice President for Marketing and Sales of UPEC Group Roman Girshfeld has told Interfax-Ukraine.
“We have signed contracts to supply tillage tools worth UAH 35 million to Ukrainian companies. Contracts to supply machinery worth over UAH 10 million to dealers from Eastern Europe, as well as machinery also worth over UAH 10 million to Moldova and Transnistria,” he said.
He did not specify the names of the companies.
He said that demand on Lozova Machinery is large, as the company has realized some innovative solutions.
Ducat disk harrows, for example, allow saving up to 30% of fuel and increase efficiency by 1.5 times compared to usual disk harrows thanks to application of spring tines and HARP Bearing Agro Units.
He said that the company seeks to expand the line of disk harrows and cultivators.
