Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

U.S. HONEYWELL WILL SUPPLY AVIONICS FOR NEW MULTIPURPOSE ANTONOV PLANE

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.

OSCHADBANK, WNISEF LAUNCH UAH 100 MLN LENDING PROGRAM

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.

POROSHENKO INVITES JAPAN BUSINESSMEN TO INVEST INTO UKRAINE

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.

FOZZY CASH&CARRY OPERATOR TO SUPPLY FOOD TO LONG-HAUL TRAIN PASSENGERS

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.

UKRSPYRT POSTS 4.5-FOLD RISE IN EXPORTS IN Q1 2016

KYIV. April 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – State enterprise Ukrspyrt in January-March 2016 saw a 4.5-fold rise in exports of its products, to 70,000 decaliters.

The company said in a press release, 174 applications were placed in Ukrainian trade missions of different countries to expand exports geography.

Ukrspyrt has contracts with Georgia, Azerbaijan, Poland and the Dominican Republic. Negotiations with clients from other countries are being held.

Ukrspyrt Deputy Director Serhiy Bleskun said that a large obstacle in developing exports was the fact that the enterprise has been operating without a director for more than one year.

“Foreign clients who need stability and guarantees do not understand how it is possible to do with the state-run enterprise,” he said.

Ukrspyrt is subordinated to the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry.

The main volume of spirit was sold on the domestic market in 2015. Around 150,000 decaliters of ethyl spirit were sold on foreign markets. Exports accounted for 2% of total sales.

ARTYOMSOL SEEKS TO RAISE SALT SUPPLIES TO EU BY 15% IN 2016

KYIV. April 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – State-run enterprise Artyomsol seeks to increase supplies of its products to the EU countries by 15% in 2016, to 425,300 tonnes and open logistics centers in Ukraine and the EU.

“We plan to open logistic centers in Ukraine and the EU. This would help to resolve the problem of delivering cargos from producers to consumers in the shortest terms. It would bring our products closer to end consumers, increase the company’s profit thanks to avoiding intermediaries,” the enterprise said on its website.

A pilot project could be realized in Kyiv in the near term. Artyomsol specialists in March 2016 visited warehouses and industrial premises for placing a logistics center to handle, store and distribute salt on the territories adjacent to the ports of the Danube River in Galati (Romania) and Ruse (Bulgaria).

A representative office in the EU allows the company to take part in European salt procurement tenders.

Artyomsol shipped 367,800 tonnes of salt to the EU in 2015.

Artyomsol is the largest enterprise engaged in the production and sale of salt (NaCl) in Central and Eastern Europe.