Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

PrivatBank provides UAH 100 mln loan to Slobozhanshchyna Agro

Slobozhanshchyna Agro, a subsidiary of IMC, has raised UAH 100 million under the government’s soft loan program Affordable Loans 5-7-9% from PrivatBank (Kyiv).
“Since the beginning of the war, financing agricultural production has become a priority for us. The bank systematically supports and will continue to support Ukrainian agribusinesses operating in the frontline and de-occupied regions,” Yevhen Zaigraev, Board Member for Corporate Business and SMEs, said in a press release.
It is noted that the financing will allow Slobozhanshchyna Agro to maintain its business activities in the frontline region of the country for a year.
Zaigraiev added that the company continues to operate in the Sumy region, where there are still high military risks.
“Thanks to this, the company received a more favorable interest rate under the guarantees of the CMU (Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine – IF-U),” the release said.
“MK is an integrated group of companies operating in Sumy, Poltava and Chernihiv regions (north and center of Ukraine) in the crop production, elevators and warehouses segments. The company’s land bank is about 120 thousand hectares in Poltava, Chernihiv and Sumy regions, with storage capacity of 554 thousand tons for the 2023 harvest of 1.002 million tons.
This year, the company purchased 140 Ukrainian-made railcars, and in early August, for the first time, it shipped its products to ports in its own grain cars. According to Privat, the company ships 60-70 thousand tons of grain to ports by rail every month.
In the first half of 2024, IMC Agro Holding increased its net profit by 2.4 times year-on-year to $21.52 million, while its revenue increased by 51% to $108.32 million, while the share of exports decreased slightly to 81.3% from 81.9% a year earlier.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of August 1 this year, PrivatBank ranked first in terms of total assets (UAH 895.26 billion) among 62 banks operating in the country. The financial institution’s net profit last year amounted to UAH 37.76 billion.

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“Nova Poshta” obtains $20 mln loan to expand Lviv hub

Nova Poshta LLC has taken out a $20 million loan from Credit Agricole Bank to buy out a cargo and postal terminal in Lviv region to improve the company’s logistics capacities in western Ukraine.
“The loan term is five years. The money will be used to develop a logistics hub in Lviv,” Nova Poshta said in a statement on Monday.
It is specified that the loan funds will also be used to automate and install new modern sorting lines, which will triple the hub’s capacity.
“This is not the first loan to Nova Poshta from Credit Agricole, and the new agreement is a consistent development of our strategic cooperation. When the time comes to finance large-scale international projects, we want to have a reliable credit reputation with leading European banks,” Petro Fokov, CFO of NOVA Group, said in the release.
Nova Poshta LLC, the largest logistics operator in Ukraine from the NOVA group, intends to acquire Nova Development LLC (Sokilnyky village, Lviv district, Lviv region), whose main activity is the lease and operation of its own or leased real estate.
As reported, at the end of February this year, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine granted Nova Poshta permission to purchase more than 50% of Nova Development, the legal successor of Best Logistics Group, which was engaged in the construction and leasing of logistics complexes and was part of the full-cycle development holding Globus.
“Best Logistics Group has already cooperated with Nova Poshta during the construction of a sorting terminal in Lviv in 2019, with investments of almost EUR 10 million, with Nova Poshta’s investment of approximately EUR 4 million. According to Vyacheslav Klimov, co-founder of NOVA Group, Nova Poshta was responsible for the equipment, while Best Logistics Group was responsible for the construction of the building.
The authorized capital of Nova Development, according to the state register, is UAH 186.4 million, while that of Best Logistics Group was UAH 1 million. Volodymyr Fenyk is listed as a beneficiary through the corporate venture investment fund Magistrate Invest.
According to Nova Poshta’s report for the first half of 2024, its debt to banks as of the middle of this year amounted to UAH 3.4 billion, including UAH 489.2 million to a subsidiary of a French bank, UAH 1 billion 474.6 million to an Austrian bank, UAH 420.3 million to a Hungarian bank, and UAH 4.4 million to a German bank, as well as two loans from a Ukrainian bank worth UAH 747.7 million.
In the first half of 2024, Nova Poshta LLC increased its unconsolidated net income by 20.1% to UAH 20.12 billion, but the company’s net profit decreased by 38.1% to UAH 1.49 billion.

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Scholz: Germany will provide Ukraine with 50 bln euro loan

Germany, together with the G7 countries, will provide Ukraine with a 50 billion euro loan, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday.
“Germany is and remains the strongest supporter of Ukraine in Europe. And we are continuing our support with a €50 billion loan that we are launching with the G7. This will allow Ukraine to buy weapons on a massive scale. It can build on this,” the Federal Chancellor wrote on the social network X.
As reported earlier, G7 leaders approved an agreement to transfer $50 billion of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.

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Oshchadbank grants loan for 2.5 MW gas reciprocating power plant

State-owned Oschadbank (Kyiv) has signed the first loan agreement for UAH 28.7 million at 9% per annum under the Affordable Loans 5-7-9% program for the installation of a 2.5 MW gas reciprocating power plant, the financial institution’s website reports.
“The client, which supplies raw materials to many Ukrainian producers of essential goods, will receive a loan of UAH 28.7 million for a period of 5 years. The capacity of the plant is 2.5 MW; this will secure production in case of a prolonged power outage,” the press release says.
The bank did not disclose the name of the company.
As reported, in the second decade of July, the government launched lending to entrepreneurs and businesses under the Affordable Loans 5-7-9 program for the purchase and installation of gas turbine, gas piston or biogas generating units. The maximum loan amount is up to UAH 150 million and the loan term is up to 10 years.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), as of June 1, 2024, Oschadbank ranked 2nd (UAH 415.82 billion) in terms of total assets among 63 banks in the country. Last year, the financial institution’s net profit amounted to UAH 5.98 billion.

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“Energoatom” takes out £181 mln loan to buy enriched uranium

Last week, Energoatom signed a loan agreement for 181 million pounds with a consortium of international banks, including Deutsche Bank and Barclays Bank, the company said in a telegram on Tuesday.

The loan proceeds under the contract between Energoatom and Urenco will be used to finance the supply of nuclear materials – enriched and natural uranium hexafluoride.

The loan is for five years. The guarantee is provided by the UK government through the UK Export Finance (UKEF) export credit agency. No state guarantees are provided by Ukraine.

As reported, in November 2023, Energoatom and Urenco signed a contract for the supply of enriched uranium product for Ukrainian NPPs until 2035, with the possibility of its extension until 2043.

In addition, the parties have two contracts in place until 2025, under which NNEGC supplies the British company with nuclear materials.

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EBRD may provide EUR 140 mln in guarantees to PrivatBank for EUR 400 mln in loans

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) plans to provide EUR140 million in guarantee financing to state-owned PrivatBank (Kyiv), which will cover up to 50% of the credit risk on new loans of EUR400 million in equivalent.

According to information on the bank’s website on Thursday, its board of directors intends to consider this project on July 24, 2024.

It is specified that the guarantee funding will be provided to PrivatBank in two equal tranches, each of which will provide partial coverage of risks under new loans worth EUR 200 million, while only one tranche has been agreed upon so far.

The project also provides for a sub-limit of up to EUR 60 million to finance long-term investments by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to modernize technologies and equipment in accordance with EU standards, including investments in sustainable and green technologies (70% of the sub-limit), thereby increasing the competitiveness of enterprises.

It is noted that eligible sub-borrowers will also receive EU-funded technical assistance and grant support in the form of investment incentives after the completion of investment projects.

According to the EBRD website, the financing is intended primarily to support Ukrainian companies in primary and secondary agriculture, as well as other critical sectors necessary to ensure the country’s energy security.

“At the same time, priority will be given to MSMEs and corporate borrowers investing in projects that increase energy security and efficiency in Ukraine,” the release says.

As reported, EBRD Vice President Matteo Patrone and PrivatBank CEO Gerhard Bösch signed a letter of intent to start working on a risk-sharing agreement during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin on June 11-12.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of May 1, 2024, PrivatBank ranked 1st in terms of assets (UAH 857.00 billion) among 63 banks operating in the country. The financial institution’s net profit last year amounted to UAH 37.8 billion. The EBRD notes that the state-owned bank’s network currently includes 1,200 branches across the country, 6,800 ATMs and 1,040 terminals.

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