Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ukraine as equity capital as of late 201, was $32.29 billion, which was 2.2%, or $0.69 billion, up on the beginning of the year, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine said. According to the retrospective data, which the authority also announced, the inflow of FDI last year exceeded the figure for 2017, when it amounted $0.38 billion, whereas before this, for three years, FDI fell by a total of $22.47 billion.
In 2018, nonresidents increased investment in Ukraine by $2.87 billion, while disinvesting $0.97 billion, it said. Some $1.22 billion FDI was written off due to the change of the cost and the exchange rate, losses and reclassification.
This is slightly better than in 2017 when residents increased investment in Ukraine by $2.51 billion and disinvested $0.76 billion.
According to previously published data, quarterly inflows of FDI in Ukraine last year were recorded in the first and fourth quarter, $1.15 billion and $0.32 billion respectively, while in the second and third quarters their outflow was recorded – $0.66 billion and $0.12 billion respectively.
The Netherlands was the leader in FDI in 2018 – $951.5 million or more than one third of all investment, followed by Russia and Cyprus – $495.6 million and $477.6 million respectively.
FDI from Austria accounted for $203.7 million, France – $110.9 million, the U.K. – almost $98.7 million, and from Poland – $90.6 million.
Nonresidents invested $1.215 billion in financial and insurance activities, or 42.3% of all FDI, $599.4 million in wholesale and retail trade, $405.3 million in transactions with property, $302.1 million in industry and $119.4 million in IT and telecom.
The UkraineInvest Office at the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is currently accompanying investment in Ukraine in the amount of around $2 billion, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said. “Our UkraineInvest Office is accompanying around $2 billion of investment. It is extremely important that these are real projects being implemented or that will be implemented in Ukraine and new jobs will be created,” he said at a government meeting in Kyiv on Wednesday.
The UkraineInvest Office was created on October 19, 2016 aiming at boosting foreign direct investment (FDI) thanks to cooperation with investors, who want to enter the Ukrainian market. Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) finances the UkraineInvest Office.
The reform support team at the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine has reported on the results of a preliminary feasibility study for a project to restore the runway and build a terminal at Bila Tserkva airport with an estimated investment of EUR59 million. “Getting the status of international by Bila Tserkva has already been initiated, which is expected next year. The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine provides comprehensive support and assistance in realizing the potential of the Bila Tserkva aerodrome, which is provided for by the Aviation Strategy of Ukraine until 2030,” adviser to the relevant minister Oleksandr Klitin said.
The report also states that the reform support team has already held talks on the development of the airport based on the results of the feasibility study with Finpoint, Millennium Capital, Capital Times and the airport management.
The feasibility study for the airport of Bila Tserkva was developed by independent international consultants under the technical assistance program of the European Commission for Ukraine. According to the evaluation of experts from the ASSIST project, the total cost of priority investments to restore the runway and build the terminal will be about EUR59 million. The modernization of Bila Tserkva aviation complex is a pilot project of this program. ASSIST is a research project co-funded by the European Commission DG MOVE under FP7 (the EU’s Seventh Framework Program for Research). The ASSIST project has been lasting for more than 30 months, starting in April 2011. Scientific research is carried out by a consortium of six partners with the participation of NEA (the Netherlands), TRT (Italy), ProgTrans (Switzerland), FOMTERV (Hungary), CNRS-LET (France), and Fraunhofer-ISI (Germany).
Construction of new grain and oilseeds transshipment facilities at the Mykolaiv seaport will start in the rear of berth eight. Private investment will total over UAH 1.2 billion, the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority has reported. “We are investing our own funds and are actively cooperating with port operators and private businesses. This is the development of the berth and rear infrastructure of berths zero and eight. This will increase the capacity of the Mykolaiv port for processing grain by more than 2 million tonnes per year, oil – by 750,000 tonnes per year,” Head of the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority Raivis Veckagans said during a working visit to the Mykolaiv seaport.
The Ukrainian Sea Port Authority refused to name investors, adding that this would be a new cooperation for the port. The Ukrainian Sea Port Authority plans to allocate UAH 350 million within the framework of fulfilling the company’s obligations under a public private partnership project for the construction and dredging of berth eight. At the same time, private investment in infrastructure will amount to over UAH 1.2 billion.
According to the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority, the planned grain complex will have a storage capacity of 96,000 tonnes, a warehouse – 40,000 tonnes, as well as other support facilities. Earlier, the Infrastructure Ministry reported that COFCO (China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation) is ready to invest up to $30 million in the berth capacity of the Mykolaiv port and river logistics.
Seaside Terminal intends to invest about UAH 120 million in the reconstruction of the Mykolaiv-Vantazhny railway station in order to increase its capacity.
FACILITIES, GRAIN, INVESTMENT, MYKOLAIV, OILSEEDS, SEAPORT, TRANSSHIPMENT
The World Bank by February 2019 plans to launch the project entitled “Accelerating Private Investment in Agriculture Program,” the press service of the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine has reported. “The project will be implemented in many sectors by the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry, Infrastructure Ministry, Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry, Economic Development and Trade Ministry. The approximate cost of the project is $753 million, including the World Bank’s commitment of $200 million,” the ministry said.
According to the ministry, the project is aimed at harmonizing Ukrainian legislation in accordance with EU requirements, improving the government agricultural support system, diversifying the production of the agricultural sector, developing rural areas, strengthening the capacity for food safety, solving logistical issues, improving land use quality, and improving management of water resources, improving access to agricultural resources, improving access to financial resources and risk management tools.
The project coordinator is the Finance Ministry, which will receive a previously agreed loan amount and distribute it among the implementing ministries.
The UFuture Group of businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky plans to attract around $150 million of investment in the Bila Tserkva 2 industrial park registered by the Economic Development and Trade Ministry last week, creating a food industry cluster on its territory, Director of Bila Tserkva industrial park Volodymyr Khmurych has said. “But this [the amount of investment] is no more than forecasts. It is difficult to predict which customer will enter,” he told the Interfax-Ukraine, commenting on the need to create a second industrial park in the territory of the Shakrivka Village Council of Bila Tserkva district, where in April 2018 the first Bila Tserkva industrial park of the UFuture group was registered.
According to Khmurych, the decision to create a second park was dictated by the interest of food industry companies.
“We see the intentions of food processing companies. Today, two memorandums have already been signed, and we want to place these clients separately in the food cluster, taking into account the fact that they have special requirements for the sanitary zone and environmental requirements. And since we have a vacant land parcel, we have decided create a new industrial park on it,” he said.
As reported, the first Bila Tserkva industrial park in the territory of the Shakrivka Village Council was registered by the Economic Development and Trade Ministry in April 2018, the construction of the first plant for the production of Plank Electrotechnic electrical installation systems is currently being completed on its territory.
Khmurych said that if the main focus of the second park is the food industry, then the first one will be focused on other industries.
“Of course, if some customers of the food industry will meet the conditions of the first park, we will not deny them, but we will offer the second one first of all,” he said.
He also said that in the first Bila Tserkva park, in addition to completing the construction of Plank Electrotechnic, the signing of an agreement with another client is at the final stage, but he did not name it.
“Activity is high, almost every day meetings with new clients are held, but projects are complex and decisions are not made quickly,” the park director said.
According to him, it is planned to attract at least $100 million of investment in both parks.
“Only for buildings: this is 10–15 hectares of 35 hectares of the park’s area. This is already $50 million, and plus equipment and other things,” Khmurych said.
BILA TSERKVA 2, INDUSTRIAL PARK, INVESTMENT, UFUTURE, VASYL KHMELNYTSKY
