The Ukrainian Corporation for Viticulture and Winemaking “Ukrvinprom” and the state-owned “Ukrgasbank” have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at supporting the development of the Ukrainian wine industry, implementing joint projects, developing wine tourism, and introducing modern financial instruments for companies in the industry, the corporation reported.
As Ukrvinprom CEO Volodymyr Kucherenko stated in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine, the goal of the agreement is to create opportunities for further cooperation and provide winemakers with access to the bank’s financial instruments.
The agreement does not specify a fixed amount of funding. Industry enterprises will have access to the bank’s financial instruments as needed and within the framework of specific projects, in accordance with the terms of the bank’s programs.
“It is important to us that this particular agreement opens up an additional tool to support our winemakers and industry enterprises. You will see concrete results in certain areas of this cooperation, I think, in the very near future—even before the end of this year,” he said.
According to Kucherenko, the collaboration will also encompass the development of wine tourism and the preservation of Ukraine’s winemaking cultural heritage.
“We see the need to revive, preserve, study, and restore the so-called Mazepa Wine Cellar. We also see other areas that we are currently exploring. We hope that with the help of ‘Ukrgasbank’ and other patrons, we will be able to revive our Ukrainian winemaking heritage. And not only revive and preserve it, but also build upon the achievements of our winemakers,” Kucherenko noted.
He added that “Ukrvinprom” is open to cooperation with all market participants. In the first phase, the corporation plans to help its members gain access to special programs developed jointly with the bank, as well as to inform market participants about available opportunities.
The agreement was signed on September 18 during the 5th International Forum “Ukrainian Wine—Part of the World’s Cultural Heritage: From Trypillia to the Present Day” in Kyiv. One of the forum’s topics was financing opportunities for investments in winemaking and wine tourism.
According to Fixygen, Siroko Finance LLC, which provides factoring services and extends loans to individuals—and in which Serhiy Tihipko, one of the largest shareholders in the Ukrainian financial market, indirectly controls 20% of the shares—has fully placed a UAH 50 million Series C bond issue without conducting a public offering.
As indicated in information on the website of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), the commission registered the report on the results of the issuance on August 18 of this year, although the issuance had originally been registered on July 17 of this year.
The face value of each bond is 1,000 UAH. Information on other parameters of the Series “C” issue is not yet available.
In July 2025, the NSSMC registered a report on the issuance of the debut series of five-year Series “A” bonds “Siroko Finance” Series “A” bonds totaling 20 million UAH with a six-month offer period and an interest rate of 17% per annum during the first six months of circulation, with quarterly interest payments. The list of 141 participants in the bond offering included 132 individuals, among them: Oleksandr Bandurko, Serhiy Belashov, Ihor Voronin, Anatoliy Holubchenko, Andriy Gubskyi, Rajiv Gupta, Oles Dovgyi, Volodymyr Dubey, Volodymyr Zhmak, Volodymyr Zagoriy, Vyacheslav Kapustin, Oleksandr Katsuba, Serhiy Koretskyi, Ihor Nikonov, Lev Partskhaladze, Illia Rybchych, Serhiy Tihipko, Heorhiy Tsagareishvili, Pavlo Tsaruk, Oleksandr Shlapak, and Mykhailo Shelemba.
In February 2026, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) registered a report on the issuance of “Siroko Finance” Series B five-year bonds in the amount of 30 million hryvnias, also with a six-month maturity and an interest rate of 17% per annum for the first six months of circulation, with quarterly interest payments. Several companies were listed among the participants in the placement, including those from the “TAS” group.
The resolutions on the issuance of these two series stated that the funds raised were to be used to provide loans, including on the terms of a financial loan. For subsequent periods, the rate was maintained at 17% per annum.
According to data from YouControl, in the first half of 2026, “Siroko Finance” increased its revenue 2.5-fold compared to the same period in 2025—to 138.01 million UAH—and its net profit grew by 49.9%—to 10.09 million UAH.
As of the end of August this year, Natalia Gordienko held a 49.96% stake in the company, while Roman Katerynchyk held 30.04%. Tihipko indirectly controlled 20%.
Raiffeisen Bank has launched financial leasing for business clients in Ukraine and has signed its first agreement under this new initiative with one of Ukraine’s leading agricultural producers, the bank’s press office reported.
Under the first agreement, the agricultural producer will upgrade its fleet of machinery. Going forward, the bank’s clients will be able to use financial leasing to purchase agricultural machinery and equipment, passenger and cargo vehicles, commercial vehicles, and other fixed assets.
“Businesses today need solutions that allow them to continue investing, modernize production, and plan for growth even amid a full-scale war. The launch of financial leasing expands these opportunities for our clients,” said Natalia Gurina, Chair of the Management Board of Raiffeisen Bank.
The bank plans to develop this service for Ukrainian and international companies operating and investing in Ukraine.
The launch of this new instrument draws on the experience of the international Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) group, where financial leasing is already in use in other European markets. Harald Kröger, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Raiffeisen Bank and Head of Structured Finance and Investment Banking at the RBI group, assesses the potential for its development in Ukraine as significant.
As previously reported, in late 2024, the then-Chairman of the Management Board of Raiffeisen Bank, Oleksandr Pysaruk, announced in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency the financial institution’s intention to resume plans to develop its leasing business in Ukraine. According to him, even before the full-scale war, the bank had already reached an agreement with its shareholder to ramp up the leasing company’s operations and was preparing a corresponding business plan.
At the time, Pysaruk expressed hope that the bank would be able to resume implementing these plans as early as 2025.
Raiffeisen Bank is the largest Ukrainian bank with foreign capital. Since October 2005, the bank has been part of the Austrian banking group RBI. Currently, the Raiffeisen Group owns 68.21% of the bank’s shares, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development holds 30%.
According to the National Bank, as of August 1, 2026, with total assets of 282.37 billion UAH, it ranked fourth among Ukraine’s 59 banks.
Ferrexpo, a mining company with its main assets in Ukraine, has secured a $15 million credit line from Fevamotinico SaRL, a company owned by Minco Trust, whose ultimate beneficiary is businessman Konstantin Zhevago.
According to a stock exchange announcement, Ferrexpo plc has entered into a loan agreement with its largest shareholder, Fevamotinico, which will provide an unsecured credit line in the principal amount of $15 million.
The purpose of the loan is to provide the company with immediate access to liquidity until the completion of the capital raising process totaling approximately $100 million, as announced on September 4, 2026, as well as to support working capital needs and production operations, which resumed on September 7. The loan effectively serves as an advance payment of a portion (approximately $40 million) of the funds that Fevamotinico has committed to contribute as part of the capital raising.
It is specified that interest on the loan is accrued at a rate of 9.75% per annum; the maturity date is 12 months after the date the funds are disbursed. Repayment of the loan, together with accrued interest, will be made by offsetting the amounts that Fevamotinico is required to pay to Ferrexpo under the share subscription agreement following the company’s listing. This loan is subordinated; therefore, claims under it will be satisfied after the claims of the company’s existing unsecured creditors.
If the general meeting to be held on September 21, 2026, does not approve the capital raise or if the placement agreement is terminated, the company may decide to repay the loan by issuing new common shares at the placement price (or, if the fair market value is lower than the placement price, at such lower price as agreed upon by the company and Fevamotinico), subject to compliance with all legal or regulatory requirements regarding such issuance of shares, including obtaining prior approval from independent shareholders.
In addition, as long as the loan remains outstanding, the loan agreement restricts the group members’ ability to raise debt or provide collateral for obligations, except for those falling within specified permitted categories (in particular, a potential credit line to finance trade transactions, as well as certain agreements entered into in the ordinary course of business or between group companies) .
The terms of the loan provide for certain standard events of default that entitle Fevamotinico to demand early repayment of the loan. However, Fevamotinico has agreed not to take any action to collect the loan debt in cash prior to its maturity date. The loan agreement also contains a standstill provision, under which Fevamotinico undertakes not to make any claims against Ferrexpo or to initiate proceedings for its liquidation, external administration, or any other insolvency-related proceedings, nor to facilitate such actions by other parties.
If the fundraising does not take place and the placement agreement is terminated, the principal amount of the loan, together with accrued but unpaid interest, will be due for repayment in cash on the maturity date, unless the alternative repayment mechanism described above—involving the transfer of shares—is successfully implemented. If Ferrexpo is unable to repay the loan in cash by the specified deadline, and the alternative repayment mechanism involving shares is not implemented, the company will have to raise additional financing or negotiate other terms for settling the debt with Fevamotinico.
Fevamotinico is a related party of Ferrexpo under the UK Listing Rules, as it is a significant shareholder of the company and has the right to vote (or control the exercise of voting rights) with respect to 49.27% of the votes at the general meeting of shareholders. Accordingly, the granting of the loan is considered a related-party transaction.
The company’s directors consider the terms of the loan to be fair and reasonable in the interests of the shareholders. The Board of Directors received appropriate advice from BDO LLP, which acts as the company’s sponsor. In providing this advice to the directors, BDO LLP took into account the commercial assessment of the loan conducted by the directors themselves.
Ferrexpo owns a 100% stake in Yeristovsky GOK LLC, a 99.9% stake in Bilanivsky GOK LLC, and 100% of the shares in Poltava GOK PJSC.
As of August 24, the volume of lending to Ukraine’s agricultural sector had increased by 25 billion hryvnias compared to the same date in 2025—reaching 105 billion hryvnias, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky announced at a briefing on Friday.
“An additional 2 billion hryvnias in loans were issued over the past week. Overall, looking at the total as of today, the figure stands at 105 billion hryvnias as of August 24. This is 25 billion more than on the same date last year. Lending options are expanding,” he said.
As previously reported, according to Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1012 dated August 13, 2026, agricultural producers are now able to obtain preferential loans under the government’s “5-7-9%” program for up to 90 million hryvnias to finance their operations, without the requirement that the funds be used for investment purposes.
Previously, loans to replenish working capital were capped at 5 million hryvnia.
As reported, the Ukrainian Maritime Corridor ceased operations on July 22 following enemy attacks. Farmers appealed to the government for assistance due to a sharp drop in market prices, difficulties with exporting their products, and the need for additional funds for storage.
Since the beginning of the year, 6,864 agricultural enterprises have raised 46.29 billion UAH under the state program “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%,” according to the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.
The program was most actively utilized in the Odesa (6.14 billion UAH for 817 agricultural enterprises), Kyiv (4.49 billion UAH for 577 agricultural enterprises), Kirovohrad (4.26 billion UAH for 817 agricultural enterprises), Vinnytsia (4.12 billion UAH for 731 agricultural enterprises), and Kharkiv (3.17 billion UAH for 402 agricultural enterprises) regions.
In total, since the beginning of the year, 11,887 agricultural enterprises have secured over 105.63 billion UAH in loan funds through all financing programs.
In 2025, 15,574 agricultural enterprises received 131.47 billion UAH in bank loans for development.
Under the state program “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%,” 7,978 farms were financed in the amount of 53.76 billion UAH.
agricultural enterprise, agricultural sector, FINANCING, LOAN, MINISTRY OF AGRARIAN POLICY
