The weighted average price of land in Ukraine in January-September 2023 increased by 10.4% to 38.5 thousand UAH/ha, according to a report on the state of the land market in Ukraine, prepared by experts of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) with the support of the USAID AGRO Program.
Analysts noted that 31.1 million hectares of land in Ukraine are privately owned, so a 10.4% price increase is equal to an increase in the capitalization of the agricultural land market by UAH 115.1 billion, which corresponds to about a tenth of the country’s general budget revenues in 2023.
“In September 2023, the weighted average price of one hectare of all agricultural land amounted to UAH 38.45 thousand. At the same time, the weighted average price of land designated for commercial agricultural production was higher than the average and amounted to UAH 39.0 thousand per hectare. This means that “commodity” land is valued by the market somewhat more than other types of agricultural land in Ukraine,” the study says.
According to KSE experts, the highest prices for agricultural land are observed in Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Volyn and Ternopil regions, as well as Kyiv and Poltava regions. The lowest prices are in the areas affected by hostilities and in the frontline regions.
According to the study, in the third quarter of 2023, 21.4 thousand transactions of sale and purchase of agricultural land covering 43.5 thousand hectares were carried out, which is slightly different from the second quarter, when 44.0 thousand hectares of farmland were sold under the same number of sale and purchase agreements. At the same time, in the second and third quarters of 2023, the land market was significantly more active than in the first quarter, when 15.7 thousand transactions with a total area of 32 thousand hectares were concluded.
In the fourth quarter, the land market may grow even more, as after the harvest is over and additional resources are released for land purchases, buyers are expected to become more active and demand for land plots is expected to increase, KSE predicts.
In January-September 2023, the insurance company “Knyazha Life Insurance Group” (Kyiv) collected UAH 46.04 million of insurance payments, which is 7.66% more than in the same period of 2022.
This is reported on the website of the rating agency Standard-Rating, which affirmed the company’s financial strength rating/credit rating at uaAA+ for the first nine months of 2023.
The volume of insurance payments and reimbursements made by the company for the first nine months of 2023 amounted to UAH 26.172 million, which is 2.69 times higher than the volume of payments for the same period in 2022. Thus, the insurer’s claims ratio increased by 34.10 p.p. to 56.85%.
The insurer’s acquisition expenses for the three quarters of 2023 decreased by 19.71% to UAH 6.263 million compared to the same period of 2022. According to the results of the reporting period, the company’s operations were profitable. In particular, the insurer’s net profit increased to UAH 11.124 million.
As of October 30, 2023, the company’s assets increased by 5.92% to UAH 785.635 million, equity showed an increase of 13.03% to UAH 128.557 million, liabilities increased by 4.64% to UAH 657.078 million, cash and cash equivalents amounted to UAH 2.625 million (a decrease of 95.01% due to an increase in current financial investments).
Thus, as of the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2023, equity capital covered 19.56% of the insurer’s liabilities, and 0.4% of its liabilities were secured by cash and cash equivalents.
At the same time, RA notes that as of October 1, 2023, the insurer formed a portfolio of financial investments in the amount of UAH 741.204 million, which included bank deposits (UAH 168.9 million) and investments in government bonds (UAH 572.304 million). Thus, as of the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2023, liquid assets (cash and cash equivalents, bank deposits and government bonds) covered 113.20% of the insurer’s liabilities.
RA emphasizes that a high level of external support for the company is provided by its shareholder, the international insurance group headquartered in Austria, Vienna Insurance Group Wiener Städtische Versicherung AG, which is represented by 50 companies in 30 countries and is the leader in the insurance market of Central and Eastern Europe.
Raiffeisenbank (Kyiv) earned UAH 6 billion 135.77 million in net profit in January-September this year, while in the same period of 2022 this figure was UAH 2 billion 394.84 million, according to the bank’s quarterly report.
According to the report, Raiffeisenbank’s net profit for the third quarter amounted to UAH 3 billion 17.11 million, which is 2.8 times higher than in the second quarter and 1.7 times higher than the net profit for the comparable period last year.
According to the report, the bank’s net interest income increased by 41.1% year-on-year to UAH 12.4 billion in January-September 2023. In particular, for the third quarter, this figure amounted to UAH 4.4 billion compared to UAH 3.9 billion in the second quarter and UAH 3.6 billion for the third quarter of 2022.
It is emphasized that the bank’s income from operating activities in January-September amounted to UAH 22.3 billion, which is 37% higher than the result of the previous year.
According to the information provided, Raiffeisenbank received UAH 4.8 billion (or 21% of total income) from interest income on certificates of deposit (CDs) and interest rate swap agreements with the National Bank. At the same time, interest income on domestic government bonds refinanced by the NBU brought the bank UAH 2.5 billion, which is 11% of total income.
The bank reminded that for 9 months of 2022, interest income on DS and interest rate swap transactions amounted to UAH 2.3 billion (or 14% of total income).
“Most of the income from external customers is generated by transactions with residents of Ukraine. Most long-term assets are concentrated in Ukraine,” the financial institution emphasized.
It is noted that net fee and commission income increased by 30.3% to UAH 1.8 billion in the first nine months of this year compared to the results of 2022. However, in the third quarter, this figure was 30% less than in April-June this year, and 33% less than in the third quarter of 2022 – UAH 495 million.
According to the report, since the end of 2022, the bank’s assets have increased by UAH 15.8 billion and reached UAH 182 billion as of September 30. This growth is primarily due to a significant increase in the volume of securities – from UAH 25.4 billion to UAH 41.8 billion.
The amount of cash decreased from UAH 8.2 billion to UAH 7.4 billion, while cash on current accounts with the NBU and other banks increased by 9.2% and 66.5%, respectively, to UAH 12.7 billion and UAH 11.8 billion.
Loans and advances to customers grew slightly compared to the previous quarter, by 6.3% to UAH 53.5 billion, but still remain below the previous year’s level of UAH 61.7 billion. Meanwhile, the debt of other banks increased by 3.5% to UAH 43.7 billion and remains above the 2022 target of UAH 39 billion.
In July-September, the financial institution managed to increase its customer accounts from UAH 146.4 billion to UAH 152.6 billion, while at the end of last year they were at the level of UAH 143.6 billion. Banks’ funds, on the contrary, decreased by UAH 220.5 million to UAH 2.2 billion in the first nine months of 2023.
It is noted that the total amount of the bank’s capital has increased by 36% since December 2022 and reached UAH 23.2 billion, including retained earnings – 4 times, to UAH 6.2 billion. At the same time, Raiffeisen’s liabilities increased from UAH 149.2 billion to UAH 158.9 billion.
The bank spent UAH 2.8 billion on salaries, bonuses, other incentive payments and payroll taxes, compared to UAH 2.6 billion last year.
Raiffeisen Bank was registered in Ukraine in 1992 and is the largest bank with foreign capital in Ukraine. In October 2005, the bank became part of the Austrian banking group Raiffeisen Bank International AG. Currently, Raiffeisen Group owns 68.21% of the bank’s shares, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development owns 30%.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of September 1, 2023, Raiffeisenbank ranked 4th (UAH 132.9 billion) among 64 banks operating in the country in terms of assets.
The plants of Ostchem nitrogen holding, which unites Group DF’s nitrogen business, produced 1.57 million tons of mineral fertilizers in 9M2023, up 92% year-on-year, Group DF said in a press release on Tuesday.
“At the same time, we have not yet managed to reach the pre-war level: the utilization of the main capacities of the plants did not exceed 70-80% during the year. The reason for the underutilization is a critical increase in fertilizer imports to Ukraine,” said Sergey Pavlyuchuk, Head of Ostchem’s nitrogen business.
According to him, the production plans for January-September were fully met, and the plants’ capacities were loaded more evenly than last year. During the reporting period, Cherkasy Azot increased production by 148% year-on-year to 1.22 million tons, while Rivne Azot increased production by 7% to 347.3 thousand tons.
According to the company’s release, urea (up 3 times), UAN (up 2.5 times) and ammonium nitrate (up 89%) were the most dynamic in terms of production. At the same time, production of UAN decreased by 72% to 36.9 thousand tons.
“Our plants operated smoothly and fulfilled contracts with Ukrainian farmers on time. In the future, the utilization of our plants will depend on the demand for mineral fertilizers. We are ready for the peak demand in November-December and the start of procurement for the spring planting season in 2024,” emphasized Pavliuchuk.
Ostchem cited high consumer activity in the spring and summer of 2023, when mineral fertilizers were more affordable, as one of the main factors influencing the mineral fertilizer market in Ukraine, which satisfied a significant part of consumer demand.
At the same time, according to the leading fertilizer producer, the market is experiencing a decline in the purchasing power of farmers due to the suspension of the grain deal and low prices for agricultural products amid a sharp increase in imports from countries friendly to Russia.
“The volume of imports is growing, which hurts the domestic chemical industry. In the third quarter of 2023, the increase in imports of mineral fertilizers was 46.6%. Since the beginning of the year, the total volume of fertilizers imported to Ukraine amounted to 1.71 million tons. This means that imports exceed domestic production. Fertilizers continue to be imported from countries that are “friendly” to Russia – repackaged Belarusian fertilizers are brought to Ukraine via Poland and Romania. Imports of urea from Turkmenistan are growing at a critical pace,” said Oleg Arestarkhov, Director of Corporate Communications at Group DF, as quoted by the holding’s press service.
He emphasized that often the selling price of fertilizers from post-Soviet countries, including logistics costs, “contradicts all market laws.” “There is reason to believe that fake certificates of origin for fertilizers from Russia and Belarus are entering Ukraine,” the top manager added.
In addition, Group DF pointed out that Ukrainian producers are losing the urea market. The company cited data from Derzhzovnishinform and the State Customs Service of Ukraine, according to which 22.7 thousand tons of urea were imported from Turkmenistan in 2021, 55 thousand tons in 2022, and 230 thousand tons in 9 months of 2023.
“In two years, the volume of urea imported from Turkmenistan has increased almost 12 times. At the same time, the largest Ukrainian chemical companies producing urea have been idle for two years. This shows the quality of the industrial policy, which needs to be urgently adjusted to stimulate production growth,” explains Arestarkhov.
Group DF consolidates Dmitry Firtash’s assets in the gas distribution, chemical, titanium and port industries, as well as in agriculture and media.
Ostchem is Group DF’s nitrogen holding company that unites the largest mineral fertilizer producers in Ukraine. It includes Rivne Azot, Cherkasy Azot, as well as Sievierodonetsk Azot and Stirol, which are not operating and are located in the occupied territories.
More than 9,900 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to figures announced at a UN Security Council briefing on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
“According to the latest estimates, more than 9,900 civilians have been killed since the beginning of the invasion. To put this in perspective, this is equivalent to nearly 16 civilians being killed every day,” said Ramesh Rajasingham, Director of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at the beginning of the meeting.
He emphasized that the figures he cited were outdated and did not reflect the current situation in Ukraine. According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the actual civilian casualties are considered to be higher than the reported figures.
The Director of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who spoke first, also noted that about 80 million people in Ukraine are currently in need of some form of humanitarian assistance. Rajasingham noted that this is more than 40% of the total population of Ukraine.
In particular, according to his data, 10 million Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes and have refugee status in other countries or internally displaced persons within Ukraine.
ADONIS Medical Group has become a member of the ONOVA Ukraine Recovery Project.
According to the medical group, the joint project of ONOVA and the ADONIS Medical Group provides, in particular, for the restoration of the ADONIS maternity hospital in Buzova (Kyiv region), which was seriously damaged by an aggressor missile on February 28, 2022.
The Adonis network has eight branches in Kyiv and the region, providing services in more than 65 medical areas. During the war, the branches with surgical units continue to help patients by providing quality medical care to military and civilians.
The ONOVA League of Renewal of Ukraine is a platform for uniting and interacting with representatives of various fields of activity to restore and renew Ukraine.
