Oschadbank has increased the loan portfolio of the agribusiness and agricultural trade sector by 91% since the beginning of 2022 and doubled the number of clients, the state bank said on Wednesday.
“As of today, Oschadbank occupies about 14% of the market of working loans of the agrarian sector,” the press release said.
According to Yuriy Katsion, deputy head of the bank’s board responsible for corporate business, such a rapid increase is caused by the objective need of businesses to attract external financing, which is related to losses caused by the war and the unpreparedness of many commercial banks and international organizations, unlike the state bank, to lend during the war without insurance guarantees.
Katsion also stressed the importance of state support for the agricultural sector during a full-scale war, particularly through the introduction of state guarantees, the “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%” program, and support for exporters through ECAs.
According to Oschadbank, the agribusiness sector leads in lending from the banking sector: the volume of working loans as of April 1, 2023 exceeds UAH 144 billion, or 31.2% of the total loan portfolio. Wholesale trade (21.6%) and energy (10.5%) follow.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of June 1, 2023, Oschadbank ranked 2nd in terms of assets (UAH 313.65 billion) among 65 banks operating in the country, and as of midtin this year had the largest number of branches in the country – 1183.
Stock indices of the largest countries of Western Europe in the course of trading on Wednesday show a positive mood on the data on weakening inflation in the UK and the eurozone.
The composite index of the largest European companies Stoxx Europe 600 increased by 0.4% to 462.45 points by 12:02 Q2.
German indicator DAX from the market opening rose by 0.2%, French CAC 40 – by 0.6%, British FTSE 100 – by 1.5% (to the maximum for a month). Italian FTSE MIB and Spanish IBEX 35 added 0.15% each.
Consumer prices in the UK in June rose by 7.9% in annualized terms – this is the minimum rise since March 2022. Inflation thus slowed from 8.7% in May.
The consensus forecast cited by Trading Economics had called for inflation to weaken to 8.2% in June.
Consumer price growth in Britain in monthly terms slowed to 0.1% in June from 0.7% in May. Analysts had expected an increase of 0.4%.
Consumer prices in the euro zone rose at a 5.5% annualized rate in June, according to final data. This is the weakest rise since January last year. Inflation was 6.1% in May.
The June figure matched both the preliminary estimate and the average forecast of experts.
Dutch manufacturer of chip equipment ASML Holding NV reduced net profit by 1% in the second quarter, but improved its revenue growth forecast for the current year. Quotes of the company’s shares are up 0.5%.
The price of securities Kering SA soared by almost 6%. The French holding company, which owns famous fashion brands, announced the departure of Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri, who held the post since 2015. The brand will be led on an interim basis by group managing director Jean-François Palus.
Swedish access control systems maker Assa Abloy increased its second-quarter net profit by 13.3% to 3.57 billion kronor ($349 million) and revenue by 17% to 34.47 billion kronor. Analysts polled by FactSet had on average forecast 4.13 billion crowns and 33.68 billion crowns, respectively. The company’s shares are up 0.2%.
Stock prices of oil producers are also rising: BP Plc and Shell – by 1.1%, TotalEnergies – by 0.5%.
Meanwhile, the value of Volvo is down 1.7%. The Swedish truck maker reported a 5% rise in deliveries in the April-June quarter, but new orders fell 10%.
Antofagasta shares are down 1.1%. The company increased copper production by 2.5% in the second quarter relative to January-March to 149.6 thousand tons. However, the forecast for the whole current year was lowered to 640-670 thousand tons from previously expected 670-710 thousand tons.
USAID’s Economic Support for Ukraine project has purchased weighing equipment for weighing railroad and road transport and transferred it to one of the largest operators in Ukraine’s grain market, JV Nibulon LLC (Mykolaiv), the grain trader’s press service reported.
“Providing Nibulon’s elevators with modern weighing equipment will speed up weighing of road and rail transport, provide automation and restore previously cut off capacity to the Izmail investment project. Thanks to this, we expect to restore the capacity of supply chains and speed up operations on acceptance and shipment of grain products. Additional weighing complexes will increase the turnover in conditions of increased load on land transportation”, – said the director on interaction with authorities and issues of sustainable development of “Nibulon” Mikhail Rizak.
According to the company, the weighing equipment will be used at four elevators of the company – in Mykolayiv, Poltava and Cherkasy regions.
With the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Nibulon was forced to reorient its export chains and compensate for the lack of river navigation on the international inland waterway E-40. The priority was the investment project of the river port in Izmail and strengthening the logistic potential of the company in the use of land routes, recalled the press service of the grain trader.
Currently, Nibulon uses combined routes that combine transportation by truck and transshipment by rail with subsequent transshipment to water transport in Izmail.
USAID’s assistance to agroexporters is part of the Agricultural Sustainability Initiative in Ukraine, which is implemented by the U.S. Agency for International Development. It aims to help Ukraine increase its capacity to produce, store, transport and export grain.
JV Nibulon LLC was established in 1991. Before the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and complexes for receiving agricultural crops, capacity for one-time storage of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugboats), and owned the Nikolaev shipyard.
“Nibulon” before the war cultivated 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries.
The grain trader exported the maximum 5.64 million tons of agricultural products in 2021, reaching record shipments to foreign markets in August – 0.7 million tons, in the fourth quarter – 1.88 million tons and in the second half of the year – 3.71 million tons.
Nibulon’s losses from the full-scale military invasion of the Russian Federation reached $400 mln. Currently, the grain trader is operating at 30% of its capacity, has created a special unit for demining agricultural land and started production of the first vessel for demining international waterways at its shipyards in Mykolayiv.
The grain trader recently raised EUR27m from the Danish Export Investment Fund (EIFO) to increase the capacity of the Bessarabsky branch in Izmail, where an elevator and a flour mill will be built.
Bratislava Mayor Mateusz Vallo has offered Kiev assistance in attracting world experts in consulting in the restoration of infrastructure, development of the transportation system, said Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko after a meeting with his Slovak counterpart.
“Our cities are linked by twinning relations… We agreed on further assistance from Bratislava, in particular in setting up a rehabilitation center for the military, which Kiev is creating. We also discussed the future restoration of Ukraine and Kyiv,” Klitschko wrote in Telegram on Tuesday evening.
Also, according to him, Bratislava will soon hand over 25 city buses to Kiev as aid. Now they are being prepared for shipment, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital said.
Number of applicants per vacancy (comparison) as of 01.06.2023
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Leaders of several more African Union countries will visit Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told African journalists in an interview.
“I am happy that the (African) delegation was here. Frankly speaking, I think we could expand such meetings. And I expected that more states could come to us. And indeed they are planning to. And we expect some more states to come, some more leaders. They will be in Ukraine,” the President said.
According to him, “it is important to communicate with these leaders, so that we look each other in the eyes, because it is important for them to see with their own eyes what is happening here and the consequences of the war. To listen, to hear. Not over the phone, not through the media, not through Lavrov.”
“When African leaders receive information about Ukraine through the Russian Foreign Ministry, it is wrong. We don’t have any mediation, we don’t have any dialog with the RF. We are at war with them. I would like you (Africans) to perceive information about Ukraine through yourselves, through your journalists,” he said.
The head of state also noted that he would like to be able to hold meetings with all the leaders of the African Union states and within the framework of the recent visit of the African delegation to Kiev he offered to hold such an extensive meeting on the territory of any of the African countries.
“We had several presidents sitting in our circle (as part of a previous meeting with a delegation from Africa). And we communicated about different things, about the consequences of this war, about the causes … We did not have enough time. We talked for 2.5 or 3 hours. And it was already quite a lot, but we lacked time and contacts,” – said Zelensky.
“And I believe, and I insisted on this very much, I really wanted to have the opportunity to meet with all the leaders. Why we suggested that it should be my meeting on the territory of any state of the African continent, where leaders can come? Because it is important that the society of your states can see us, can listen to us, can ask us, can get an answer. Not because of any media, but directly. And then they found the strength and courage to come to Ukraine and see what is happening here. To draw conclusions. This is very important,” he added.
During communication with journalists, the President also noted that the Ukrainian people deserve to trust in relations with the peoples of African states.
“And I would very much like to strengthen our relations, but it requires both sides to be ready for it,” summarized Zelensky.
