KYIV. Oct 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) – New car sales in Ukraine (including light commercial vehicles) in 2016 could total 45,000-50,000 units against the expected sales figure of 40,000 units, director for the development of AIS group of companies Serhiy Borovik has said.
“Our expectations for the next year are as follows: if the hryvnia to U.S. dollar exchange rate is at the promised level of UAH 23 per $1 and GDP growth stands at 2%, we expect the market to reach 45,000-50,000 cars against 40,000 cars expected this year,” he said at a press conference.
Borovik said that in comparison with 2014 (when about 99,000 passenger and commercial cars were sold) the car market this year will be reduced by 55-60%.
Borovik stressed that for an objective assessment of the car market to be ensured the passenger and commercial cars segments must be combined.
“The concept of commercial vehicles today includes such cars as, for example, Fiat Doblo or Renault Kangoo. But these are conventional passenger cars, while in analytical statistics they are mentioned as commercial,” the expert said.
According to CEO of the Ukrainian Association of Auto Importers and Dealers (VAAID) Oleh Nazarenko, taking into account the cancellation of special duty on imports of passenger cars with petrol engines of 1-2.2 liter and a number of other factors, a small revival in the car market should occur in the fourth quarter.
KYIV. Oct 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Economic Development and Trade Ministry of Ukraine has proposed that a possibility of selling a minority stake of shares in Antonov State Enterprise to a foreign strategic investor to promote the company to the competitive global markets is considered.
This is stipulated in the analytical report “Top 100 largest state enterprises” published on the ministry’s website.
The ministry said that the sale of shares in Antonov could attract investment, which could also come from the state via the increase of the share capital or the long-term loan on the beneficial conditions.
According to the report, the company should change the marketing strategy to improve sales of Ukrainian aircraft on the global market, including the search for new opportunities of leasing and expansion of the servicing change of the company in the world.
The ministry said that the stable inflow of new orders would help saving funds thanks to growth of production and improve the financial state and liquidity of Antonov.
The ministry said that the reduction of production could be overcome thanks to the creation or expansion local production facilities (own or via investment in other state enterprises, for example, Pivdenmash) and the attraction of foreign (not Russian) suppliers.
The ministry said that Antonov could optimize expenses thanks to abandoning non-profile assets and the revision of the model range of aircraft with the purpose of focusing on promising models, including An-158 and potentially An-178 and An-70.
KYIV. Oct 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – As of October 1, Ukraine had exported 5.452 million tonnes of wheat, according to the website of the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry.
Total exports amounted to 9.824 million tonnes of grain, while 430,000 tonnes were loaded onboard ships, in particular corn exports totaled 1.448 million tonnes, barley – 2.908 million tonnes, other grains – 16,000 tonnes.
As reported, the agricultural ministry forecasts that grain exports in the 2015/2016 marketing year (July-June) will reach 36.8 million tonnes. The harvest in 2015 will be 58-60 million tonnes.
Grain exports from Ukraine in the 2014/2015 marketing year, according to preliminary data, amounted to 34.805 million tonnes, including corn in the amount of 18.837 million tonnes. Some 11.234 million tonnes of wheat, 4.46 million tonnes of barley and 280,000 tonnes of other grains were supplied to foreign markets.
KYIV. Oct 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Farmers in Ukraine have sown 3.7 million hectares out of 7.4 million hectares planned to sow with winter grain, the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry has said.
This includes 3.5 million hectares of winter wheat and triticale, or 56% of the forecast, 109,000 ha of rye (70%) and 136,000 ha of winter barley (13%).
The ministry said 568,000 ha of winter rapeseed crops have been sown with the forecast of 823,000 ha.
As reported, the ministry projects that winter crops will be sowed on 7.4 million ha, which is 17.5% down on 2014.
KYIV. Oct 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The facilitation of the procedure for commissioning heating supply facilities which consume sustainable energy and the stimulating tariff for heating generation using sustainable energy ensured that boilers with the capacity of 740 MW were installed in 2014 and the first half of 2015, Head of the State Agency for Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine Serhiy Savchuk has said.
“In 2014, boilers consuming sustainable energy with the total capacity of around 450 MW were installed, which is equal to the half of a reactor’s capacity. In H1 2015, similar boilers with the capacity of 290 MW were installed in H1 2015,” the agency said in a press release, citing Savchuk.
Savchuk added that in general, thanks to administrative and stimulating measures, in the past heating season (from October 2014 to April 2015) Ukraine managed to cut gas consumption by some 12% or 2.4 billion cubic meters.
KYIV. Oct 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Economy, Trade and Industry Shigeki Iwai presented a plan for Ukraine’s energy policy at a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk, which was drawn up with the help of Japanese experts.
The information and public relations department of the secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine said that at the meeting, Iwai confirmed that the Japanese government plans to deepen its cooperation with Ukraine, first of all, on energy, and will also introduce relevant innovative technologies.
The meeting participants discussed Ukrainian-Japanese energy projects and the prospects of cooperation on responses to emergencies at nuclear power plants, reads the report.
The National Science and Technology Association of Ukraine told Interfax-Ukraine that as a part of the visit of the parliamentary delegation from Japan, which was headed by Chairman of the Japan-Ukraine Friendship Parliamentary League Eisuke Mori and included Japanese businessmen, ended on October 1, and meetings with Ukrainian Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Groysman, Energy and Coal Industry Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Demchyshyn, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Dmitry Shymkiv, Managing Director of ICU financial group Makar Paseniuk and Deputy Infrastructure Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Omelyan were held.
At the later meeting, the association presented the project entitled “Odesa Transport and Logistics Cluster. Ukrainian Gates for Japanese Goods to Europe.”
The Japanese delegation also visited Chornobyl NPP and the Ukrainian-Japanese center of the National Technical University of Ukraine KPI.
