Business news from Ukraine

PRESIDENT ZELENSKY: UKRAINE GUARANTEES PROTECTION OF INVESTMENT FROM ISRAEL

Ukraine is waiting for the arrival of investors from Israel and guarantees the protection of their investments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“Ukraine is waiting for Israeli investors, and the government and I personally guarantee the protection of all their investments. In addition, Ukraine is interested in studying and using Israel’s significant experience in the field of innovation,” Zelensky said during joint statements with Israeli President Isaac Herzog to the media.
He added that Israeli campaigns, in turn, can use Ukraine’s colossal potential as a new European technological hub.
Zelensky noted that today the volume of direct Israeli investments in Ukraine does not meet the potential of the two countries.
“New technologies, innovations, cybersecurity, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, space programs, banking, finance, construction, agriculture are just some promising areas for the development of investment cooperation between Ukraine and Israel,” the President of Ukraine said.
Zelensky also said that the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Israel opens up new opportunities for strengthening bilateral economic interaction. The countries intend to increase trade volumes to the level that had been before the spread of COVID-19.

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PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE MEETS WITH BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES AND POTENTIAL INVESTORS IN NEW YORK

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky met with business representatives and potential investors (American Jewish Committee) in New York, the presidential press service reported. The Head of State noted that Ukraine is carrying out large-scale transformations aimed at implementing European and Euro-Atlantic standards.
“The support of partners and allies, first of all the United States, is extremely important for us,” Zelensky said.
The President stressed that the development of economic and investment cooperation is one of the most important priorities for further deepening the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States.
“I invite you to become part of the process of transformation of Ukraine,” the President said.
Zelensky said that Ukraine had developed an ambitious plan for change in the country.
“We are counting on the support of partners, especially the United States, which will allow us to conduct a transformation in the short term. I urge you to join the implementation of this plan,” he said.
The President briefed the investors on the security situation in Donbas and the challenges in the energy sector in the context of the Nord Stream 2 project, the press service said.
The President noted that Ukraine is preparing for mourning events on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy and called for joining these events.
Zelensky expressed gratitude to the Jewish community of the United States of America, which has historical ties with our country and has made a significant contribution to the development of strategic relations between Ukraine and the United States.
As reported, on the evening of September 20, Zelensky arrived in New York to participate in the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. The annual debate runs until September 27.
Zelensky is expected to speak at the general debate of the UN General Assembly on September 22.

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CHINA DEMANDS UKRAINE RESPECT RIGHTS OF ITS INVESTORS

Beijing demands from Kyiv to protect the legitimate interests of Chinese investors in connection with the decision to nationalize Motor Sich enterprise (Zaporizhia), more than 50% of which is owned by Chinese companies, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian has said.
“China demands that Ukraine, in accordance with the law, protect the legitimate interests of Chinese enterprises and investors,” Lijian said.
Earlier Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov said that PJSC Motor Sich would soon be legally returned to the ownership of Ukraine.
The Chinese shareholders of Motor Sich initiated an arbitration against the state of Ukraine in December 2020 seeking to recover $3.6 billion. They claim that the Ukrainian authorities expropriated their investments, as well as violated their other rights stipulated by the intergovernmental agreement on the encouragement and mutual protection of investments between Ukraine and China from October 1992. The international law firms WilmerHale, DLA Piper, and Bird&Bird are representing Chinese investors’ interests in the claim.
According to a source in the Ukrainian government, currently about 75% of Motor Sich’s shares are already owned by a group of Chinese owners, and some part of the disputed block of shares acts as collateral for financing provided, among other things, by China Development Bank.
PJSC Motor Sich is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of engines for aviation equipment, as well as industrial gas turbine units. It supplies products to more than 100 countries around the world.

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UK AND FINNISH INVESTORS PLAN TO BUILD POTATO PROCESSING PLANT IN UKRAINE

Potato producer Central Plains Group Ukraine (CPG) intends to build a waste-free potato processing plant in Hlyniany (Lviv region) with a capacity of 40,000-50,000 tonnes per year.

This is stated in a posting on the website of the Lviv Regional State Administration.

“We grow potatoes and cooperate with the Frito-Lay company, which produces chips. Now every sixth pack of chips of this company is made from our potatoes, and in general, this is every tenth pack in Ukraine. Ambitious plans are that every fourth pack in Ukraine was from our potatoes,” member of the Board of Directors and a representative of the Finnish Investment Fund Oleh Drin said.

According to the administration, investors from CPG Ukraine and Governor Maksym Kozytsky discussed the working aspects of the project, in particular the permits for the construction of a potato processing plant. CPG also discussed the possibility of repairing the Zastavne-Hlyniany road in 2021 with the regional administration.

The administration said that the company, founded by a group of farmers from the U.K. and Finland, plans to invest about $7 million in a project for waste-free processing of potatoes (including starch) and create about 50 jobs.

“For the profitable operation of the plant there is a great need for raw materials. We plan to establish cooperation with local farmers and build an effective process for growing and supplying raw materials to the plant. We plan to cooperate with USAID on the development of farming and in the future to establish a process for purchasing potatoes from farmers,” Drin said.

According to the administration, CPG in 2020 grew 15,000 tonnes of potatoes in Kamianka-Buzka and Sambir districts of Lviv region on a total area of 700 hectares.

Last year, the company put into operation the first stage of potato storage facility with a capacity of 11,000 tonnes with refrigeration equipment. This year, CPG plans to build a second stage of the potato storage facility with a similar capacity.

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FOREIGNERS WHO INVESTED OVER $100,000 WILL HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY FOR IMMIGRATION PERMIT IN UKRAINE

Foreigners and stateless persons who have invested over $100,000 in enterprises established by them in Ukraine will have the opportunity to apply for an immigration permit in Ukraine.
The relevant resolution was adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers at a meeting on Wednesday without discussion, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent said.
According to the draft document posted on the government’s website, such investments must be confirmed by a certificate from the bank on the receipt of such an amount to the immigrant’s investment account and its use for foreign investment in the Ukrainian economy. Or a bank certificate on the transfer of such an amount to the current account of the enterprise from the personal foreign account of the immigrant.
In turn, the State Migration Service of Ukraine, in accordance with the document, checks in the bank before making a decision whether these investments have not been returned.
In addition, the government has included persons who have served in the Armed Forces for more than three years in the list of those who are subject to immigration quota and who are eligible to apply for Ukrainian citizenship.

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GERMAN INVESTORS CONSIDER COURTS, NOT CORRUPTION AS MAIN PROBLEM IN UKRAINE

German investors believe that the main problem in Ukraine is not corruption, but the work of the judicial branch of power, German Ambassador to Ukraine Anka Feldhusen has said.
“What German investors really need is the same rules for everyone. What always scares our investors is bad examples when even large German companies in Ukraine are under pressure from law enforcement agencies, like the State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The reason for this is not clear to us. Companies just want to work quietly in Ukraine, to give jobs and make a profit. This is closely related to the judicial reform. Our investors tell me that corruption is no longer such a big problem,” the ambassador said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to her, in order to attract German small and medium-sized businesses to Ukraine, they need to be given good examples that they can invest in Ukraine and be calm.
“When I used to work in Ukraine, there was always the issue of VAT refund, now it is not. Now the problem is the possibility that competitors go to court for completely incomprehensible reasons, and for large German companies it is still possible, because they have lawyers, money and time. Very often they win lawsuits, but it lasts a long time. The German economy is a medium and small business, and in order to attract them to Ukraine, they need to give them good examples that they can invest in Ukraine and be calm,” Feldhusen said.
At the same time, the ambassador said that a German pharmaceutical company recently bought the Biopharma plant in Bila Tserkva, Kyiv region. “This is a good example, because it did not happen in Kyiv, not in Kharkiv, not in Dnipro. This is a small city and it will be good for people,” she said.
“Another example is the Kostal company, which produces automotive electronics. They are already working in Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, and now they are opening a plant near Boryspil (both cities are located in Kyiv region). In this case, the question was about connecting the plant to the infrastructure. It is not at all clear why it was so difficult. They solved it with the help of the Ukrainian government. There will be a new plant and many new jobs,” the ambassador said.
Feldhusen said that German business has a desire to invest in Ukraine, only more good examples are lacking.

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