Smart Energy Group plans to invest about UAH 1 billion in increasing natural gas production in 2019, director general of the group of companies Serhiy Hlazunov has said at a press conference in Kyiv.
“Investments are foreseen for drilling new wells – we have plans to drill four new wells this year. We also plan to overhaul both our wells and those of Ukrgazvydobuvannia located in our fields,” he said.
According to him, the company as a whole expects to overhaul five wells this year. Of the four wells planned for drilling, one could be put into operation before the end of 2019.
Commenting on gas production plans, he added that the company expects a 10% growth (about 30 million cubic meters), to 325.2 million cubic meters.
In 2018, the group of companies increased natural gas production by 31% compared with 2017, to 296.7 million cubic meters, gas condensate output by 40%, to 25,700 tonnes, that of liquefied gas by 49%, to 6,900 tonnes.
KSG Agro plans to build a sow farm for UAH 11 million at its pig complex in 2019, the press service of the company has told Interfax-Ukraine. “In 2019, the construction of a new sow house for 714 heads is planned, the planned investments are UAH 11 million,” the company said.
According to the company, in 2018, KSG Agro began the reconstruction of infrastructure facilities adjacent to the pig complex. In particular, the company began construction of a sewage pumping station, investing UAH 2.5 million in equipment. Also, the agricultural holding in 2018 invested UAH 1 million in equipment for the agricultural waste incinerator for securely disposing of pig waste.
According to KSG Agro, infrastructure investments have allowed the company to increase sales of pig products in monetary terms to UAH 403 million (a rise of 6.3% compared with 2017).
“The stake on the reconstruction of pig-breeding capacities hit the target. Throughout last year, the volume of consumers’ applications steadily exceeded our production capacity. As a result, the average sales price exceeded the same indicator in 2017 by 16.5%, amounting to about UAH 44 per kg,” Board Chairman Serhiy Kasianov said.
At the same time, in quantitative terms, the agricultural holding reduced sales to 93,000 heads (in 2017 it was 106,500 heads). According to the company, the average annual number of pigs in 2018 at the pig farm in the village of Nyva Trudova in Dnipropetrovsk region there was about 55,000 pigs.
KSG Аgro is a vertically integrated agricultural group, working in almost all the segments of the agricultural market, including the production, storage, processing, and sale of agricultural products.
The investment of the Norwegian company Scatec Solar in the construction of a solar power plant with a capacity of 150 MW in Mykolaiv region will amount to EUR180 million. Framework agreements for the participation of Norwegian developers in the construction of solar and wind power plants in Ukraine were signed during the Norwegian-Ukrainian Business Forum in Oslo on January 28.
Scatec Solar during the forum signed an agreement on the purchase of the relevant project with the Ukrainian company SM Invest & Construction.
The Dutch company SM Invest & Construction B.V., which is owned by Ukrainian citizen Roman Sotsky, owns Progresova Solar B.V. LLC and a number of other companies in Mykolaiv region. Sotsky and Oleh Mozgovy signed the memorandum on behalf of the Ukrainian side.
Norsk Solar, in turn, during the Oslo forum, signed a memorandum on the construction of a solar power station in Kyiv region for EUR9.2 million with Pro-Energy LLC, owned by Ruslan Delidon and Dmytro Osypov.
During the forum, a memorandum on the participation of the Norwegian company NBT in the installation of 742 MW wind power stations in Zaporizhia region was also signed. The project is designed until 2022 and is estimated at EUR1 billion.
Ovostar Union, one of the leading producers of eggs in Ukraine, will invest EUR85 million in egg production in Latvia until 2026, Arnis Veinbergs, the chairman of the board of Gallusman LLC from Ovostar Group, has said. According to him, Gallusman ordered equipment from Big Dutchman for EUR 26 million. This equipment will provide the company with opportunities for exports, as the demand for eggs laid by hens not in cages is growing.
The construction of the enterprise is scheduled for the second half of 2019, the likely location is Tukums or Ogre. It is planned to keep up to 8 million hens at the Gallusman enterprise, a feed production workshop and a biogas station are also envisaged.
Gallusman’s largest owner is Ovostar Union N.V. PLLC, a company registered in the Netherlands. Its beneficiaries are citizens of Ukraine Borys Belikov and Vitaliy Veresenko. The agro-industrial group of companies Ovostar Union is one of the leading manufacturers of eggs and egg products in Ukraine.
Top managers of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) at a meeting of the National Investment Council of Ukraine in Davos (Switzerland) has confirmed their readiness to consider investment in the capital of state-owned Ukrgasbank, Head of the Office of the National Investment Council Yuliya Kovaliv has said.
As reported, in November 2017, Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance agreed on cooperation with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in the process of privatization of Ukrgasbank. The memorandum of cooperation also envisaged a possibility of entering the capital of the bank by IFC to support its sale. The investment will depend on several factors, including the outcome of the due diligence of the bank.
Ukrgasbank was established in 1993 and as of January 1, 2017 the state represented by the Ministry of Finance owned 94.9% of its shares. Since 2015, the bank has been included in the list of state-owned facilities of strategic importance for the economy and national security.
Horizon Capital, a U.S. private-equity firm investing in high growth and export-driven companies in Ukraine and the near region, has announced the final closing of its third fund, $200 million Emerging Europe Growth Fund III LP, far surpassing the $150 million target size announced in 2017.
“EEGF III’s investment strategy is focused on fast-growing, export-oriented companies that leverage Ukraine’s cost competitive platform to generate global revenues primarily in IT, light manufacturing, food and agriculture. The Fund will also pursue investments in select, high-growth domestic market segments, including e-commerce, healthcare and pharma, consumer goods and financial services,” Horizon Capital said in a report on Wednesday.
According to the press release, investments will range from $5-20 million and be made over the next two or three years.
Horizon Capital said that EEGF III has made six investments to date, five in the core sectors driving Ukraine’s export boom and best-positioned to access global markets, including IT, light manufacturing and food and agro. The Fund has backed Genesis, global IT product company; Intellias, fast-growing large IT services company; Yarych, leading biscuits producer; MAIB, No. 1 bank in Moldova, and others.
According to the press release, in what marks the largest private equity fund raised for Ukraine in a decade, Horizon’s EEGF III received strong backing from existing and new investors, attracted by the excellent value, fast growth and abundance of opportunities that Ukraine offers.
“Our fundraising success should send a strong signal that Ukraine offers tremendous rewards for those willing to look past the headlines,” Horizon Capital’s Founding Partner and CEO Lenna Koszarny said.
According to the press release, EEGF III was launched with an anchor commitment from Western NIS Enterprise Fund and attracted investments from the EBRD, FMO, IFC, PROPARCO, DEG, and IFU with over one-third of capital raised from institutional investors, foundations, family offices and other private investors.
Horizon Capital said that the new fund enjoys strong backing from existing investors of Horizon Capital’s prior funds, who contributed over 55% of total commitments. U.S. and Europe-based investors contributed roughly 35% each of total capital raised, with the remainder from other international investors.
Horizon Capital was established in 2006. It manages private equity funds Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF, established in 1994 with a seed capital of $150 million), Emerging Europe Growth Fund, L.P. (EEGF, established in 2006 with a seed capital of $132 million) and EEGF II (EEGF, established in 2008 with $370 million seed capital). The money of these funds is invested in projects in Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus.
