Liquidity of banking system of Ukraine, bln UAH
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Ukrainian online cab service Uklon has announced the entry into the market of Uzbekistan, will begin its work in the country from the capital city of Tashkent, the press service of Uklon said on Thursday.
The company told the agency that it plans to begin providing services in the new market as early as the end of June.
According to the release, Uklon will provide solutions for online booking of cars in Uzbekistan, including Uklon App – an application for passengers and Uklon Driver App – an application for drivers. The company will also provide delivery service.
It is specified that entering the market of Tashkent is an important step in the strategy of expansion of the Ukrainian IT-company.
Uklon – Ukrainian IT-product company, the developer of the eponymous online service call for cars. For 13 years of work Uklon has significantly expanded its geographical coverage in Ukraine and today works in 27 cities of the country and mobile application Uklon downloaded more than 12 million times.
As reported on May 3 this year Uklon announced the entry into the market of Azerbaijan.
Twelve communities in the Kyiv region are conducting technical design and procurement of contractor services for critical infrastructure rehabilitation projects supported by the European Union and Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO).
“In December 2022, the European Union and NEFCO announced cooperation to reconstruct and repair critical municipal infrastructure in Ukraine. Currently, the first activities are underway in all 12 communities: technical design and procurement of contractor services by the communities with the support of NEFCO. Several tenders are under evaluation, and the first construction work is expected to begin soon,” NEFCO said in a Tuesday news release.
According to the report, EUR50 million has been allocated for the reconstruction program. The funds are allocated to restore and repair infrastructure in the Kyiv region’s heavily war-affected communities: Borodyanka, Borshchagivka, Dymere, Dmytrivka, Gostomel, Irpen, Ivankiv, Kalynivka, Nemeshayiv, Peskivka, Slovutych and Velyka Dymerka.
The works include repair and modernization of heating systems, wastewater treatment systems, and repair of water supply systems. It is expected that 245 thousand Ukrainians will feel the effect of the projects.
“We have already started preparatory work in all the selected communities and aim not only to repair, but also to improve municipal service delivery systems and introduce more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions. Construction work on the first projects is in the early stages,” NEFCO Senior Advisor and Program Coordinator Ronnie Nilsson was quoted as saying in a press release.
In addition to NEFCO, the organization’s partners, CES-Clean Energy Solutions together with iC Consulenten, and the Urban Technology Alliance (UTA) are providing technical assistance for the projects to the municipalities.
NEFCO is an international financial institution which finances the expansion of Nordic green solutions into world markets. It was founded in 1990 by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. In Ukraine, projects have been implemented in over 100 municipalities.
NEFCO currently manages five other EU-funded programs in Ukraine, in addition to a critical infrastructure rehabilitation project. They concern the modernization of water supply systems, the introduction of energy efficiency measures in public buildings and street lighting networks, and the construction, repair, and reconstruction of public buildings to house internally displaced persons.
The U.S. dollar is getting cheaper against the euro and the pound sterling in trading on Tuesday, stable against the yen.
The ICE-calculated index, which shows the dollar’s movement against six currencies (euro, Swiss franc, yen, Canadian dollar, pound sterling and Swedish krona), is losing 0.24%; the broader WSJ Dollar Index is down 0.21%.
The euro to dollar was up 0.4% to $1.0954 as of 3 p.m., compared with $1.0909 at the close of the previous session.
The euro was supported on Tuesday by statements from European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde, who made it clear that the regulator is unlikely to end its monetary tightening cycle anytime soon.
“It is unlikely that in the near future we will be able to state with absolute certainty that rates have peaked,” Lagarde said during an ECB forum in Sintra on Tuesday.
According to Lagarde, the effects of the 400 basis points (bps) rate hike since last July have not yet fully materialized.
“However, our work is not over yet. If the economic outlook does not change significantly, we will continue to raise rates in July,” Lagarde said in a statement posted on the ECB’s website.
The pound rose in trading to $1.2732 from $1.2714 the day before.
The dollar-yen exchange rate is 143.52 yen against 143.5 yen at Monday’s market close.
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki on Tuesday called the sharp weakening of the yen seen in recent weeks “one-sided and precipitous” and said the government would “take the necessary measures” in case of excessive fluctuations.
The dollar-yuan exchange rate fell during trading to 7.2099 yuan from 7.2376 yuan the day before. Investors reacted positively to the statement of Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of China, that the authorities still expect to achieve the goal of 5% growth of Chinese GDP in the current year and are ready to take stimulating measures.
According to the results of the spring sowing season 2023 in Ukraine, farmers increased the areas under grain crops, particularly corn, and reduced the areas under oilseeds, particularly sunflower, and will get 61.4 million tons of gross crop of these crops, according to the website of the Ukrainian Club of Agrarian Business (UCAB) on Tuesday.
It is specified that such changes are fixed compared to the previous UCAB forecast, but not to the previous year. The forecast also raised yield expectations for winter crops.
UCAB estimates that the 2023 crop area will be 10.1 million hectares (4.4 million hectares of wheat, 3.8 million hectares of corn and 1.4 million hectares of barley). As a result, it is expected to harvest 42.5 million tons of cereals, of which 16.3 million tons of wheat, 21.1 million tons of corn and 4.2 million tons of barley.
Experts estimate the area under oilseeds at 8.9 million hectares, including 5.7 million hectares of sunflower, 2 million hectares of soybeans and 1.2 million hectares of rape. It is noted that Ukraine can expect to get the gross yield of oilseeds at 18.9 million tons, including 12.2 million tons of sunflower, 3.8 million tons of soybeans and 2.9 million tons of rapeseed.
“According to preliminary estimates, this harvest will fully meet domestic demand and get the export potential at 43 million tons of grains and oilseeds,” forecasts UCAB.
Analysts attributed the lion’s share of last year’s corn harvest, which was in high demand, to the positive factors of the current season. The expansion of area under this crop will contribute to the world tendency to reduce prices for fertilizers, which will be felt in Ukraine as well and this will provide maize with their sufficient quantity.
They advised to remember that the introduction of corn production has certain technological difficulties for farmers: the current high saturation with oil-bearing crops, the possible further disease pressure, increased load on combines because of the overlap of harvest periods of other crops, the lack of quality seeds of other crops, etc.
The UCAB also pointed out that since the beginning of the war, the main consumers of oilseeds were EU countries, primarily neighboring countries. However, because of the temporary restrictions on imports of some grains by them, further increase of areas sown with oil-bearing crops looks risky.
According to analysts, Ukraine managed to survive the Russian energy terror and adapt to the new realities, gives hope to the ability of farmers to withstand a possible repetition of the situation.
U.S. investors are gearing up for six initial public offerings this week, with four of them expected to exceed $100 million.
There were no IPOs in the U.S. last short week, and the announcement of six offerings at once gives the market hope for a rebound in activity in the segment, MarketWatch writes.
In particular, Korean restaurant chain Gen Restaurant Group will go public. The company hopes to raise about $33 million and repeat the success of the Cava Group Inc. chain specializing in Mediterranean cuisine, which floated shares in mid-June at $22 a share — and now its securities are worth $42.95.
Such a rapid rise in quotations was a clear positive signal for the restaurant sector, said Bill Smith, head of Renaissance Capital. Renaissance is the operator of exchange-traded funds that invest in IPOs and conducts industry research.
The company estimates there have been 46 equity offerings in the U.S. since the beginning of the year, totaling $7.6 billion – almost double the amount for the same period last year.
The biggest deal this week could be the IPO of Vesta Real Estate, a Mexican industrial property fund. The company plans to raise about $400 million and get a valuation in the neighborhood of $2.6 billion. The firm will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “VTMX.”
Natural gas compression firm Kodiak Gas Services, which operates in leading shale plays in the U.S., wants to raise $353 million and expects a valuation of $1.7 billion.
Also planned this week is the IPO of Savers Blue Village, North America’s largest chain of thrift stores. The offering could be about $300 million, and the company will be valued at about $2.8 billion, according to Renaissance.
Fidelis Insurance Holdings, a Bermuda-registered reinsurance company, expects to raise $298 million at a valuation of $2.1 billion. In addition, a small IPO is planned by vinyl records, movie discs and consumer electronics distributor Alliance Entertainment Holding.
