The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) could provide a senior secured long-term loan of up to $20 million to finance working capital of Astarta agricultural holding. According to a report on the bank’s website, the decision could be made on June 18.
The project will support the company in development and implementation of cooperation with local universities and schools, contributing to improved access to training and employment opportunities for young people.
In addition, the project is expected to contribute to significant efficiency and productivity gains through introduction of modern IT solutions and farming techniques as well as to support development of stronger backward linkages to local suppliers.
The total cost of the project is $242 million.
As reported, the EBRD in October 2017 provided a $25 million loan for seven years to build and buy sugar and grain storage facilities.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in Poltava, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky, Ternopil, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Cherkasy and Kharkiv regions.
Public joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia plans to create a separate rail car company, which in 2018 and 2019 would buy 3,500 cars each year using a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), acting Board Chairman of Ukrzaliznytsia Yevhen Kravtsov said at the UZ: Investor Day 2018 conference in Odesa on Wednesday.
“This project will be implemented via the creation of a specialized rail car company, which would receive gondola cars bought for borrowed funds to its balance sheet.
According to a posting on the EBRD’s website, the project was pending approval of the bank’s board on May 23. The bank told Interfax-Ukraine that the consideration of the issue was postponed, and the new date will be announced later.
It is planned that the EBRD would provide a $150 million loan. The total cost of the project is $240.7 million. Some of the sum would be financed by Ukrzaliznytsia and thanks to grants under technical cooperation programs.
The bank said that it is planned to acquire around 6,500 gondola cars with the total need of the company of around 24,000 gondola cars.
Kravtsov said that if a separate company is created, the cars could be used on the market as a private fleet and earn more than the rolling stock of Ukrzaliznytsia.
“For us, these will be unprecedented conditions of work, when we are able to set real tariffs for transportation, which will allow us to talk about the payback of rolling stock and profit for investors. This project gives a signal to other potential investors to invest in Ukrzaliznytsia’s projects and show, how one can earn on them,” Kravtsov said.
He also added that to implement these projects, Ukrzaliznytsia is already negotiating with international companies that operate in the U.S. and European markets.
Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Ukraine Sevki Acuner on June 1 will finish his work on the post and will transfer to the London office of the bank, Senior Adviser of the EBRD Anton Usov has told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Managing Director of the EBRD in Eastern Europe and Caucasus Francis Malige will be also responsible for EBRD operations in Ukraine,” Usov said, commenting on the new management structure.
As reported, the EBRD in April 2013 appointed Acuner director in Ukraine from June 1. Acuner, who previously held the position of EBRD Deputy Country Director for Turkey, replaced Andre Kuusvek, who has been appointed Director of Local Currency and Capital Markets Development at the EBRD’s headquarters in London and who had been Director for Ukraine since 2008.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the bank’s operations in the country in 1993, its total liabilities have reached EUR 12 billion.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has met with President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Suma Chakrabarti, the presidential press service has reported.
“We have a great history of cooperation between Ukraine and the EU. Today, the Beskydsky tunnel was opened – the largest infrastructure project in Ukraine, implemented with the help of international partners, including the EBRD. I am sure that every year we can jointly implement a number of major projects in different spheres,” the president of Ukraine emphasized.
The two discussed the state and prospects of Ukraine-EBRD partnership development. The Ukrainian president called on the president of the EBRD to double the funding of the projects and expand the scope of their implementation in Ukraine.
The presidents paid special attention to the implementation of reforms in the banking, energy and energy efficiency spheres.
They noted that the meeting of the National Investment Council to be held on May 25 should be an important event for presenting the results of the reforms to foreign investors and attracting investments for Ukraine’s economic development.
The president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development expressed willingness to continue supporting Ukraine on the way of implementation of structural reforms in the economy.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), following the results of a tender, has attracted the National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade (NatLaw) as an external adviser for the development of the warehouse receipt market in Ukraine.
The press service of the National Commission on Securities and the Stock Market said the regulator and NatLaw this week will hold a number of meetings with representatives of the capital market and specialists of state bodies to discuss supervision over the circulation of warehouse receipts in Ukraine, the certification and standardization of activities of depositories, the formation of guarantee funds, etc.
“Following the meetings, proposals will be developed to improve the legislation on warehouse receipts and recommendations how to improve the effectiveness of such a system will be made,” the document says.
The regulator said the system of warehouse receipts is a very important element in the efficient functioning of commodity exchange markets. At the same time, this instrument currently has limited application in Ukraine due to its functional shortcomings and is used only in the agricultural sector.
NatLaw is an American non-profit organization. In particular, it is engaged in providing consultations on regulatory reforms.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has left unchanged its forecast for Ukrainian economy growth in 2018 at 3% and expects that the same pace would be retained in 2019, the bank has said in a survey on its website. The bank said that large foreign exchange debt repayments by the public sector falling due in 2018-20 and the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections cycle in 2019 represent important risks to the growth outlook.
Continuation of the IMF (the International Monetary Fund) programme is uncertain due to the lacking commitment on the part of the authorities to meet key reform requirements, the bank said.
The EBRD said that the growth of Ukrainian economy remains subdued.
As reported, the World Bank remained unchanged its forecast for Ukraine’s GDP growth in 2018-2019 at 3.5% and 4% respectively.
However, the bank said that if reforms are delayed, growth could drop below current levels in an uncertain macroeconomic environment as financing risks rapidly increase and GDP growth could slow to 2%.
The IMF retained its forecast for Ukraine’s GDP growth in 2018 at 3.2%, while it reviewed downwards the forecast for 2019 to 3.3% from 4%.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) predicts that Ukraine’s GDP would accelerate in 2018 to 3.4% from 2.5% in 2017 and slow to 2.9% in 2019-2020.
