KYIV. Dec 28 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The many-year process of transferring barges of Europe-IIb type to ownership of Ukrainian Danube Navigation (Odesa region) was finished on December 13 in Vienna, the press service of Ukrainian Danube Navigation has reported.
Twenty seven years ago, in 1989, Sovkomflot signed a contract with Austria’s BAWAG leasing GmbH to build Europe-IIb type barges. When the USSR dissolved, Ukrainian Danube Navigation became the legal successor of liabilities of Sovkomflot.
Under the agreement, the advance payment of 15% of the cost of the barges was paid, and the rest of the sum was to be paid under a schedule. However, there were breaks in the schedule during more than 25 years and then payments were stopped due to financial difficulties of the enterprise over the UN embargo against Yugoslavia, war in this country and destruction of bridges on the Danube River.
As of December 2014, the debt for building the barges was over EUR 7 million and around EUR 2 of interest.
“After long talks Ukrainian Danube Navigation managed to arrange the reduction of the debt by 90% in 2015 with BAWAG leasing GmbH and Österreichische Kontrollbank AG (OeKB) acted as a guarantor of the Austrian government. The debt was cut to EUR 1.5 million if it is paid under the schedule before November 30, 2016,” the company said.
The debt was settled on November 24, and on December 13, 60 barges were transferred to ownership of Ukrainian Danube Navigation in Vienna.
Ukrainian Danube Navigation performs over 30% of the transportation on the Danube River. The company’s fleet includes nearly 400 self-propelled and towed river vessels, and 30 seagoing vessels.
KYIV. Dec 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – European Travel Insurance (ERV, Kyiv) has signed an agreement with PrivatBank to provide travel insurance services to holders of bank cards, the insurance company has said in a press release.
Under the agreement the insurer has been providing the possibility of getting a one-year travel policy when clients register payment cards for the clients and their families since December 2016.
“Ten insurance programs with various insurance coverage sums will be offered to clients of PrivatBank – from basic Classic that includes mandatory insurance for people travelling abroad to the Diamond premium package covering over 45 risks, including the cancelation of a trip, delay of flights, loss of luggage and other risks each traveller can face before and during his or her trip,” Sales Department Head Oleksandr Vishtaliuk said.
The company said that insurance sums depend on the program and vary from EUR 30,000 to EUR 100,000. Programs for children of card holders and relatives aged under 80 are foreseen.
Insurance programs are effective in all countries, apart from Ukraine during one year if the length of each trip does not exceed 60 days. All insurance programs cover urgent medical care, in-patient and out-patient treatment, repatriation. Euro-Center Holding SE assistance company provides for 24-hour assistance to the client if insurance events occur.
ERV Board Chairman Myroslav Boichyn said that personal insurance companies would allow expanding the range of services for the clients of the bank and will stimulate them to use banking cards more actively.
ERV was founded in 2006. It is a leading company on the Ukrainian tourist insurance market.
KYIV. Dec 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a draft agreement with the European Commission on financing the annual program on nuclear safety 2015, according to the governmental online portal.
The corresponding decision is stipulated in government resolution No. 1001-r dated December 21, 2016.
According to the press service of the government, the budget foreseen by the agreement is EUR4.5 million.
The program is aimed at streamlining Ukrainian and European legal framework, providing technical support for the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine.
KYIV. Dec 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on December 26 signed an agreement with Electroavtotrans (Ivano-Frankivsk) municipal public transport operator providing a loan of up to EUR 8 million for the acquisition of 35 new low-deck trolleybuses, the rehabilitation and modernization of a trolleybus depot and the extension of the existing electric transport network, the press service of the EBRD has reported.
“The EBRD is extending more resources to support the renewal of rolling stock in municipalities across Ukraine in the context its Ukraine Public Transport Framework. The latest project under the facility, which was approved in 2015 and designed to help replace ageing municipal transport infrastructure, is a loan of up to EUR 8 million to Electroavtotrans, the municipal public transport operator in the western Ukrainian municipality of Ivano-Frankivsk,” the bank said.
The loan will be supported by a grant of up to EUR 1 million by the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund.
“The new trolley buses, which will be purchased in 2017 following a transparent procurement process, will be 25 per cent more efficient than the current ones, most of which have reached the stage of full depreciation. The new fleet will also be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly,” the bank said.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. To date, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost EUR 12 billion through 369 projects since the start of its operations in the country in 1993.
KYIV. Dec 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia in the draft consolidated financial plan for 2017 foresaw earnings from operations in the amount of about UAH 84 billion, which is 10.9% more than the expected data for 2016, while income from freight and passenger traffic is projected at the level of UAH 75.2 billion, and the share of revenues from transportation is almost 90%.
The press service of the company told Interfax-Ukraine income from operations for 2016 are expected in the amount of UAH 75.7 billion, which is 3.5% less than the target, while income from traffic is set at UAH 61.6 billion, which is 7.5% less than the plan. This decrease in revenues is expected mainly due to the non-fulfillment of transit traffic volumes (a 36.5% fall).
“As a consequence, the activity of PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia in 2016 is expected to have positive financial result. This figure is affected by the hryvnia devaluation, which leads to additional costs for exchange differences on foreign currency liabilities,” Ukrzaliznytsia said.
As reported, with reference to Ukrzaliznytsia chairman Wojciech Balczun, Ukrzaliznytsia over the year will reach profit in the range of UAH 300 million.
KYIV. Dec 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – MetaBank (Zaporizhia) is increasing charter capital by UAH 60 million, or 49.97%, to UAH 180.063 million by issuing additional shares, the bank said in the information disclosure system of the National Commission on Securities and the Stock Market.
According to the report, the bank’s shareholders at a general meeting on December 26 decided to increase charter capital.
Shares will be placed at par value, which amounts to UAH 34.75 per share, with the market value being UAH 12.43 per share.
MetaBank was founded in 1993.
The main shareholders of the bank on January 1, 2016 were Larysa Nosyk (32.49%) and Meta-Metalurg LLC (24.6%).
The bank ranked 65th among 100 operating banks in the country on October 1, 2016 by total assets (UAH 647.974 million), according to the National Bank of Ukraine.
