The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has authorized CRH Ukraine B. V. (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) to acquire shares of PrJSC “Dickergoff Cement Ukraine”, which will provide it with more than 50% of the votes in the supreme management body of the acquired asset, according to the AMCU website. The AMCU also authorized the implementation of measures that impede competition provided for in the sale and purchase agreement (subparagraph 16.1 of paragraph 16 of the share purchase agreement concluded between Dyckerhoff GMBH, CRH Ukraine B. V. and CRH Nederland B. V.”), which must be made within 24 months after the transaction is completed.
As reported, in July 2024, the AMCU announced the terms of the possible acquisition of Dyckerhoff Cement Ukraine assets by CRH Group, namely the transfer of 25-28% of the shares of the PrJSC to an independent investor with a veto right.
It is expected that this investor will be the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as in December 2023 CRH signed a mandate letter with it on the joint acquisition of the assets of the Italian company Buzzi in Ukraine.
CRH Ukraine B.V. has announced its intention to acquire a 99.9775% stake in the authorized capital of PrJSC Dickergoff Cement Ukraine, which owns two cement plants in Rivne and Mykolaiv regions. The company posted the relevant notice in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) on August 12, 2024.
In June 2023, Italian cement producer Buzzi, listed by the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption as an international war sponsor, reached an agreement through its subsidiary Dyckerhoff GmbH to sell part of its Eastern European business to the Irish CRH group, including its Ukrainian assets in the form of two cement plants: “Volyn-Cement (Zdolbuniv, Rivne region) and Pivden-Cement (Olshanske, Mykolaiv region). As of the summer of 2023, the purchase price was estimated at EUR 100 million.
The AMCU has been considering CRH’s application for concentration since September 2023.
CRH has been operating in Ukraine since 1999. Since November 2021, its cement enterprises in Ukraine have been operating under the Cemark brand: Podilskyi Cement JSC (Khmelnytskyi region), Cement LLC (Odesa) and Mykolaivcement PrJSC (Lviv region).
CRH is the world’s leading manufacturer of building materials. The company employs about 71 thousand people at its 3,200 facilities in 28 countries. It is the largest manufacturer of building materials in North America and Europe. The company is also represented in Asia. CRH American depositary shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The main tasks of the agrarian sector are the formation of deep processing, increasing the production of raw materials for it, expanding the geography of exports of agro-products and food security, Vitaliy Koval said even before his appointment as Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food at a parliamentary session on Thursday.
“As a candidate for the post of Minister of agrarian policy and food I guarantee that the agricultural sector – it will be a sector of deep processing, and the Ukrainian land will be the foundation for us to grow products on it, products processed, exported to the maximum number of countries, ensure food security, and the agricultural complex has become truly agro-industrial ”, – he said.
Koval urged MPs to support all initiatives aimed at transforming Ukraine into an agro-industrialized country, so that “agrarian of Ukraine” would sound proudly around the world”.
Among the greatest challenges facing the agrarian sector, he named ensuring foreign currency earnings, growth of the agro-economy and restoring the confidence of agrarians in the government.
“The programs that we approved with you, we must fill not only with budgetary funds, but also with the funds of our partners so that the products were competitive and we could ensure food security on all continents,” Koval stressed.
At the same time, he promised to restore the subjectivity of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy so that the agro-industrial complex would be a driver of development of the entire economy, especially in related machine-building and industries that will allow import substitution.
Koval emphasized that he would pay special attention to the livestock sector.
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada on Thursday appointed as Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food ex-head of the State Property Fund Vitaly Koval. His candidacy was supported by 251 people’s deputies. Before that, since September 9, 2019, he headed the Rivne regional state administration, and from February 24, 2022 he headed the Rivne regional military administration.
Demand for food potatoes is growing rapidly in Ukraine, according to analysts of the EastFruit project. Market participants attribute the price increase to the high demand for potatoes from local wholesalers and retailers. At the same time, the excitement in this segment is fueled by rumors of a shortage of quality potatoes this season.
Thus, Ukrainian farmers are currently offering potatoes for sale at 12-18 UAH/kg ($0.29-0.44/kg), which is on average 16% more expensive than at the end of the previous working week.
According to the producers themselves, the growth in sales was also facilitated by the decline in potato production in the country. The abnormal drought this year in the main producing regions has led to a significant decline in potato yields. In addition, unfavorable weather conditions had a negative impact on the quality of potatoes.
It is worth noting that currently the wholesale price of potatoes in Ukraine is on average 2 times higher than in early September 2023. At the same time, many market participants do not expect the weakening of trading activity in this segment in the near future.
You can get more detailed information about the development of the potato and other fruit and vegetable market in Ukraine by subscribing to the operational analytical weekly – EastFruit Ukraine Weekly Pro. More information about the product is available here.
Source: https://east-fruit.com/novosti/ocherednoe-povyshenie-tsen-na-kartofel-v-ukraine/
JSC OTP BANK sold domestic government bonds (OVDP) from its own portfolio for UAH 573 million in equivalent to its individual customers through the OTP Bank UA application. This was reported by Valeria Ovcharuk, product owner of OTP Bank.
“The bank offers ample opportunities to purchase government securities and allows you to choose the optimal bond rate and maturity. You can buy government bonds in the app at any convenient time. This is an effective tool that allows not only to support the financial stability of Ukraine in times of war, but also to diversify your savings and receive additional income in both hryvnia and foreign currency,” said Ms. Ovcharuk.
The service is available in the OTP Bank UA application to all individuals who have opened a securities account in any branch of the Bank. The easy-to-use interface allows you to make a reliable and profitable investment in your future in just a few clicks, as the repayment of government bonds is 100% guaranteed by the state.
In total, since the beginning of 2024, OTP Bank’s individual clients have purchased government bonds for almost UAH 3.7 billion.
It should be reminded that the service of purchasing government bonds from its own portfolio in the OTP Bank UA application was launched at the end of May 2024. At the same time, the Bank allows its customers to buy bonds directly at auctions of the Ministry of Finance through the app.
To learn more about investing in domestic government bonds, please follow the link.
The Superhumans Center for Prosthetics and Rehabilitation will open in Dnipro on the basis of a reconstructed building of one of the city’s clinics, with a capacity to rehabilitate about 600 patients a year and employ at least 40 doctors.
According to the Ministry of Health on its website on Wednesday, after the renovation of the hospital building, the center will cover an area of about 2,000 square meters and will include a rehabilitation area, a prosthetics laboratory, and an inpatient department for complex cases.
As reported earlier, Superhumans Center announced plans to open centers in Odesa and Mykolaiv.
The first clinic of the Superhumans Center project was opened in April 2023 in Lviv on the basis of a local hospital. Earlier, the first stage of this center was opened – a prosthetic workshop and part of a rehabilitation center. It is planned to treat about 3 thousand patients annually.
Investments in the launch of the Superhumans rehabilitation medical center in Lviv are estimated at $54 million. Funds for the project are raised in Ukraine and abroad through fundraising.
The Superhumans clinic focuses on prosthetics for adults and children, surgical operations to reconstruct and restore disfigured body parts, including the face, and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
A memorandum of cooperation was signed between Superhumans and the Ministry of Health. The project was initiated by Ukrainian businessman Andriy Stavnitser. Another founder of the project is Stavnitser’s business partner Philip Grushko.
