The state-owned Ukreximbank (Kyiv) has opened a long-term credit limit for Centravis Production Ukraine, part of Centravis Ltd., in the amount of EUR 35 million, which is equivalent to UAH 1.177 billion.
According to Centravis press release published on Thursday, March 4, the company is going to use these funds to produce new types of seamless pipes, introduce environmental and energy-saving technologies and further upgrade the production.
“The bank opened a credit limit of EUR 35 million for five years to maintain the high competitiveness of products in world markets as well as to ensure timely and full implementation of the investment program aimed at developing sales of high value-added products,” Director of Corporate Banking Department (private enterprises) at Ukreximbank Oleksandr Isniuk said, who is quoted by the press service.
In turn, Centravis CFO Alexandre Joseph added that raising funds in Ukreximbank would strengthen the company’s financial stability and would provide the opportunity to annually invest at least EUR 7 million in the development and output of new products.
“Since we work with world top brands, we need to be proactive and maintain focus on efficiency and customer service. We believe that cooperation with Ukreximbank is a classic win-win story for Ukraine. Our company exports over 98% of its products. The foreign exchange earnings amount to about EUR 150 million. This helps to improve the foreign trade balance of Ukraine and strengthen the ‘made in Ukraine’ presence in the world market,” Joseph said.
The press release recalled that despite the tailspin due to the coronavirus pandemic, Centravis maintained a stable position among the world’s best manufacturers of seamless pipes over 2020. The production volume amounted to 19,050 tonnes. The company doubled its EBITDA compared to 2019 — to EUR 14 million.
Centravis is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of seamless stainless steel pipes, founded in 2000. Its production facilities are located in Nikopol (Dnipropetrovsk region).
Centravis is one of the world’s top ten players, supplies products to ThyssenKrupp, BMW, Alstom, Linde, Samsung, Volkswagen and other companies. The company employs over 1,400 employees.
Ukreximbank, the sole owner of which is the state, was established in 1992. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2021, in terms of total assets (UAH 246.877 billion), Ukreximbank ranked third among 73 banks operating in the country.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide additional financing, namely a EUR 20 million loan, to be on-lent to local private businesses with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), expanding the increase the funding limit to EUR 280 million.
“The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed an agreement with the State Export-Import Bank of Ukraine (Ukreximbank) to increase the funding limit of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) Support Facility project to EUR 280 million,” the EIB said in a press release on Friday.
“Additional financing, namely a EUR 20 million loan, will be provided via a parallel cross-currency swap in Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH) and will be on-lent to local private businesses with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),” the EIB said.
The operation is part of Team Europe’s overall response to the COVID-19 crisis, which aims to support the sustainable social and economic recovery of the region.
“Improved access to affordable finance in local currency is one of our main priorities, especially at a time when SMEs need strong support to overcome the challenges and the liquidity shortfall created by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Head of the EIB Resident Representation for Ukraine Jean-Erik de Zagon said.
Chairman of the Management Board of Ukreximbank Yevhen Metsger said that the bank has a clear goal to direct additional financing to meet the specific and urgent needs of Ukrainian companies.
The EIB is an EU institution. It is owned by the EU member states. The EIB provides long-term financing.
The EIB has been operating in Ukraine since 2007. The country accounts for 60% of the bank’s lending activities in the Eastern Partnership countries.
Ukreximbank, the sole owner of which is the state, was established in 1992.
The net loss of state-owned Ukreximbank (Kyiv) in 2020 amounted to UAH 5.6 billion against a net profit of UAH 63.62 million in 2019, chairman of the bank’s board Yevhen Metsger has said in a column published by the Interfax-Ukraine agency.
According to him, in the fourth quarter of 2020, the bank’s net loss amounted to UAH 3.4 billion, which is 1.5 times more than in the corresponding period of 2019 (UAH 2.21 billion).
Metsger explained that Ukreximbank entered 2020 with a number of problems, in particular, a structural deformation of the balance sheet, a weak foreign exchange position, a significant amount of overdue debt, a pool of expensive borrowings in foreign markets, which led to the formation of a loss.
According to him, these problems were caused by political factors, and in the context of the pandemic, they were intensified by macroeconomic challenges.
In addition, the banker said that the bank’s operating model was set to automatically generate losses, in particular, the volume of loan bookings regularly exceeded operating income by an average of 50%.
“And this accumulated portfolio of toxic assets caused constant pressure on the financial result. Firstly, a sufficient level of reserves was not formed for it, and secondly, it does not generate interest income for the bank. Over 2020, expenses to cover expected losses from the credit risk of non-performing assets amounted to UAH 4.3 billion,” Metsger explained.
The state-owned Ukreximbank (Kyiv) has provided the Antonov State Enterprise with almost UAH 3 billion of loan for the construction of three An-178 aircraft for the Ukrainian army, Chairman of the Management Board Yevhen Metzger said.
“The state-owned Ukreximbank signed a loan agreement with […] the Antonov State Enterprise for almost UAH 3 billion, which will go to the construction of three new An-178 aircraft for the Ukrainian army,” he wrote on Facebook.
It is indicated that a state contract for ordering aircraft was concluded with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for four years in the presence and with the assistance of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
As reported, in late December, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Antonov State Enterprise signed a memorandum of cooperation in the construction of aircraft for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
State-owned Ukreximbank (Kyiv) plans to reduce its presence in small towns and focus on interaction with large clients, Chairman of the bank’s board Yevhen Metsger said.
“We will focus on the model of optimizing our castes. This is a decrease in presence in small towns. We will remain in regional centers in order to participate and interact only with large clients,” he said during the Ukrainian Investment Roadshow on Tuesday.
As reported with reference to Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Yuriy Heletiy, the Cabinet of Ministers on December 9 plans to approve the strategy of Ukreximbank.
The state-owned Ukreximbank (Kyiv) and the Export Credit Agency (ECA) have signed a cooperation agreement to stimulate the export of goods, works and services of Ukrainian origin, the bank’s press service said on Monday, November 16.
“For the first projects under this agreement, we plan that the bank will provide Ukrainian exporters with financing of operating capital in the amount of up to UAH 5 million and for a period of up to two years for the production of goods and the sale of works and services for export purposes,” the press service quotes chairman of the board of the bank Yevhen Metsger.
According to him, within the framework of the project, exporters will go through an accelerated decision-making procedure, they will be subject to reduced collateral requirements, which, among other things, can be ECA insurance coverage for up to 85% of the loan or limit.
“The conditions for implementation of insurance compensation by the agency will be determined separately for each insurance contract after the assessment of the project. It is assumed that insurance rate size will be set depending on the loan term and may also be included in the export loan amount,” chairman of the ECA board Ruslan Hashev said.
Ukreximbank was established in 1992, the state is the only owner.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of October 1, 2020, Ukreximbank ranked third in terms of total assets (UAH 226.634 billion) among 74 banks operating in the country.
