Businessman Rinat Akhmetov in Mariupol, where Metinvest’s metallurgical plants are located, announced his intention to continue investing heavily in the modernization and development of this largest Ukrainian mining and metallurgical holding.
“We continue to build, we continue to invest. This year, Metinvest will invest $1 billion in new production,” he said.
“We will build a new university, we will do everything in our power to ensure that there is a decent job in Mariupol, a decent salary, and most importantly, a happy life for people,” Akhmetov added.
The meeting is also attended by MP Vadim Novinsky, who is a co-owner of Metinvest.
Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov said that a decision, which had been made this year earlier than usual, to increase the holding’s salary by 10% on average from March 1 is made.
Ryzhenkov said that Metinvest has currently planned its investment program at $1.3-1.5 billion per year over the next three or four years, further investments will depend on how the company develops the green metallurgy.
The decarbonization trend is focusing on the steel industry, he said. However, there are already well-studied low-carbon technologies for direct reduced iron (DRI) and electrometallurgy (electric arc furnaces). Metinvest’s efforts in the field of decarbonization are connected not only with the climate, but also with renewal and entry into new markets (in terms of efficiency and product quality).
The updated technology strategy that the company continues to develop suggests different scenarios, but each of them includes a transition to low-carbon operations. The strategic goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 90% by 2050 using a phased approach with key milestones in 2030 and 2040. The final stages of the strategy are expected to include the use of hydrogen.
Metinvest is the largest mining and metallurgical holding in Ukraine. The group’s enterprises are located mainly in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Metinvest’s main shareholders are the SCM group (71.25%) and Smart Holding (23.75%), which jointly manage the company.
Germany has confirmed its intention to provide financial assistance for green energy initiatives in Ukraine, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“The German Chancellor confirmed Germany’s intention to fill with specifics and financial assistance initiatives for green transformation, decarbonization and development of renewable energy in Ukraine. Our state is ready to offer great prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of green energy,” he said at a joint briefing with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Kyiv on Monday.
Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain José Manuel Albares Bueno will pay a visit to Ukraine on February 8-9 at the invitation of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
According to the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the ministers will hold talks, the key topics of which will be support and containment of the Russian Federation from further aggression. The parties will also discuss the increase in trade and investment between Ukraine and Spain.
On Wednesday, February 9 at 10:20, the ministers will hold a joint online press conference.
Creative States office solutions service company plans to open new locations in Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv in 2022, doubling the total area of office space to 30,000 sq m, the press service of the company told the Interfax-Ukraine agency.
“We continue to scale Creative States in Ukraine. Five locations, more than 15,000 sq m and 2,500 residents. We are ready to “double” because we see from the response of tenants that the format of flexible offices, service support and access to the community remains the most in demand on today,” Creative States CEO and founder Ilia Kenigshtein said.
The first of the openings of 2022 was the finalized second building of Arsenal with a total area of more than 2,500 square meters, designed for 500 residents.
The company recalled that in October 2021, the first floor of the facility was launched with the format of business studios designed for teams of up to 15 people and with a separate entrance to them from the internal Mardi Gras square. In January, the rest of the office infrastructure was launched: fixed offices (32), a hot-desk zone, meeting rooms (8) and skype rooms (12), business suites (6) and executive suites for teams. In addition, in the second Arsenal residents have access to a special noir room for relaxation with ambient music, completely isolated from extraneous noise. There are also common areas: an enlarged kitchen with appliances and services of a chef, bathrooms with showers, a children’s room, a lounge with a bar, and a two-level parking lot.
The total footage of the entire Creative States office complex at Arsenal has reached 10,000 square meters, including two separate architectural objects and the internal Mardi Gras square. This is a fully equipped office and lifestyle infrastructure designed for more than 1,200 residents. In the near future, the company plans to continue expanding this facility and increase it by another 300 seats.
Creative States positions itself as a network of premium class flexible workspaces with a full range of operational services. Today, the network includes three locations in the capital: in the Senator business center, the Gulliver business center, Creative States of Arsenal, and Creative State of Dnipro in Dnipro. In May 2021, Creative States presented a franchise aimed at both Ukrainian million-plus cities and the West.
Great Britain, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States are planning to create a fund at the end of January 2022 to help Ukraine with financing of GBP 35 million over three years.
“We are talking about the creation of an international fund ‘Partnership for a Strong Ukraine.’ This is a common initiative of Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Switzerland and Sweden. The official start of the work of the fund is planned this month. The agreement is to be signed on January 31,” the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine press service said.
The goal of the fund is to support long-term sustainable development and increase the resilience of the communities affected by Russian aggression, prevent further escalation and prepare for a smooth and unhindered social, economic and political reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories.
According to the statement, the main projects to be implemented in 2022 with the help of the Fund will be: projects on energy efficiency, strengthening and viability of communities.
PrJSC Centravis Production Ukraine, part of Centravis Ltd., intends to invest EUR 10 million in the renewal of production and expansion of capacities in 2022, as well as in improving energy efficiency, while in 2021 it used EUR4 million of investments, Yuriy Atanasov, the CEO of Centravis, said during an online press conference. According to him, capital investments in 2020 amounted to EUR2 million. “For 2021, it was planned to invest EUR 7.5 million, but used EUR 4 million. We implemented several landmark projects – we were able to launch our own boiler houses to provide steam and heat production, thanks to which gas costs halved. We also invested in the renewal of pickling sites – we are leaving from aggressive technologies, plus a reduction in energy costs. Some of the projects have been transferred to 2022. We also intend to invest in additional capacities,” Atanasov explained.
The company in 2021 received income in the amount of EUR140 million, for 2022 the plan is EUR200 million. At the same time, the CEO specified that the growth in income is mainly due to rising prices.
The top manager pointed to three important factors that took place in 2021: a sharp recovery in the market and a “hysterical” increase in demand.
“Markets have moved into a state of activity very quickly since the end of 2020. And it was difficult – we were not ready for this. The second factor – a sharp unwinding of inflation, rising prices for energy resources, for materials, for our raw materials – there was a catastrophically sharp increase in prices. And we had to take this into account in our work. The third factor is how we work to expand our capacities. We did not use an extensive method, we did not increase hiring of personnel, but went along the path of increasing efficiency. And we are directing investments towards systemic expansion of capacities. This determined our actions last year,” the CEO explained.
The head of the enterprise noted that the company is optimistic about 2022 and the future.
“Centravis strengthened its position as a reliable supplier. And the markets are diversified – Europe, Asia, and the Russian market is less and less,” Atanasov stated.
Centravis is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of seamless stainless pipes, founded in 2000. Its production facilities are located in Nikopol (Dnipropetrovsk region). It is included in the top ten global players. The company employs more than 1,400 people.
