Ukraine’s Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko has signed a EUR50 million grant agreement with the German state development bank KfW to compensate for the interest rate costs for small and medium-sized businesses under the state program “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%,” the ministry’s press service said on Thursday.
“The funds will be used to refinance the costs of the Affordable Loans 5-7-9% program, which will allow small and medium-sized businesses to continue to have access to preferential lending,” Marchenko said and expressed gratitude to the German government for its cooperation and systemic support of Ukraine.
He emphasized that the allocated EUR 50 million will make a significant contribution to the improvement of existing business financial support programs.
The Minister also noted that the Entrepreneurship Development Fund (EDF) is a key institution of affordable financing for Ukrainian business aimed at restoring and developing entrepreneurship under martial law.
“The German government continues to support the Ukrainian side and facilitates further grants,” said Ulrike Hopp-Nishanka, Head of the Headquarters for Ukraine at the Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ).
She reminded that last year KfW provided EUR 150 million for the 5-7-9 program.
“These funds are an important component of German-Ukrainian development cooperation, the total amount of which in 2023 alone was more than EUR 600 million,” Hopp-Nishanka said.
The Credit Institution for Recovery (KfW) transferred EUR 150 million to the state budget of Ukraine on Friday for a 15-year loan with a five-year grace period, the Finance Ministry said.
“Today, another loan from the Credit Institution for Recovery (KfW) in the amount of EUR 150 million was transferred to the state budget of Ukraine. These loan funds were provided as co-financing of the Additional Financing of the Development Policy Loan in the Conditions of Emergency Economic Situation of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development,” — The Finance Ministry announced on its website on Friday.
The funds raised will be directed to social spending and spending in education and health, the ministry said.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a draft loan agreement for EUR 150 million between the government of Ukraine and the KfW bank (Frankfurt am Main) to support entrepreneurship.
According to Taras Melnichuk, representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada, the government made the corresponding decision at a meeting on Tuesday.
The Cabinet of Ministers intends to sign several additional agreements between the government, the Ukrainian Social Investment Fund (USIF) and the German state bank KfW on the development of social infrastructure in the country for the amount of EUR 36.5 million.
The relevant draft documents were adopted at a government meeting on Wednesday.
In particular, a draft supplementary agreement to the agreement dated April 19, 2018 signed with KfW for UAH 9 million was approved for the Promotion of Social Infrastructure Development Project; a draft supplementary agreement to the agreement dated May 20, 2019 signed with KfW for the amount of EUR 14.45 million for the Promotion of Social Infrastructure Development. Improvement of Rural Basic Health Project; a draft agreement with KfW for the amount of UAH 13.1 million for the Promotion of Social Infrastructure Development Project.
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov was authorized to sign the documents.
National Energy Company Ukrenergo plans to attract another EUR 24.5 million from Kreditanstalt Fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW, Germany) to implement a project to increase effectiveness of electricity transmission, which is the third phase of reconstruction and automation of the company’s substations.
According to a company’s press release, the relevant intentions were recorded in the protocol on the results of the intergovernmental negotiations held on May 20 in Kyiv with the participation of the company.
“This will significantly improve the reliability of power transmission and ensure the technical compliance of equipment and network operation with the standards and requirements of ENTSO-E [the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity],” the press service reported, citing Ukrenergo Deputy Director for investment Volodymyr Kudritsky as saying.
In general, KfW announced its readiness to provide more than EUR 80 million for the implementation of reforms in a number of sectors of the Ukrainian economy.
During the meeting, Ukrenergo spoke about the implementation of a roadmap for the integration of the Ukrainian power grid with ENTSO-E. In this direction, the company cooperates with the German transmission system operator 50 Hertz, which is now a key partner of Ukrenergo in the process of integrating networks.
Germany’s state-run development bank (KfW) could provide EUR 60 million to Ukraine for the completion of construction of a breakwater and dredging works at the Odesa seaport and EUR 90 million for overhaul of H08 Zaporizhia-Mariupol highway and restoration of H32 Pokrovsk-Bakhmut-Mykhailivka road.
“Negotiations with KfW on a loan: EUR 60 million to complete the construction of a breakwater in the port of Odesa and EUR 90 million to overhaul H08 Zaporizhia-Mariupol roads,” Deputy Infrastructure Minister of Ukraine for European integration Viktor Dovhan wrote on his Facebook page.
At the same time, according to a posting on the website of the Infrastructure Ministry, Minister Volodymyr Omelyan confirmed Ukraine’s interest in borrowing from the Federal Republic of Germany in the amount of EUR 150 million (the KfW loan) provided for the restoration of transport infrastructure in the eastern regions of Ukraine. In particular, the Infrastructure Ministry plans to implement the following projects: the construction of a breakwater and the implementation of works to deepen the water area of the port of Odesa; repair works at the national road N08 Boryspil-Dnipro-Zaporizhia (through Kremenchuk)-Mariupol on the Zaporizhia-Mariupol road section and the restoration and improvement of the transport and operational condition of the H32 Pokrovsk-Bakhmut-Mykhailivka state-sustained highway.
According to the Infrastructure Ministry, Germany also expressed interest in participating in the modernization of the electric locomotives of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia and in electrifying the railways, in particular, in the south of Ukraine, near the ports.
In addition, as a result of negotiations with Germany, Ukraine will receive an additional 20,000 bilateral permits for road haulage, which will be valid until the end of January 2019.
In addition, the parties agreed to consider the possibility of increasing the quota of permits for 2019.
