Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

“Astarta” receives 40 grain cars from USAID

Astarta Agro-Industrial Holding, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, has received 40 grain railcars from the USAID Economic Support for Ukraine program, the donor organization’s press service reported on its Facebook page.

“They will increase the annual export of Ukrainian grain by 44 thousand tons, which will help feed the world. USAID assistance will also allow Astarta-Kyiv to offer better terms and more favorable prices to Ukrainian agricultural producers, which will directly improve their well-being,” the statement said.

USAID is confident that such assistance not only strengthens Ukraine’s economy through higher export revenues, but also helps Ukrainian farmers and plays an important role in ensuring global food security.

“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding company operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It comprises six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220 thousand hectares and dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, an oil extraction plant in Globyno (Poltava region), seven elevators and a biogas complex.

In 2023, Astarta Agricultural Holding reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR618.93 million.

As reported, in 2024, the Karpaty Research and Mechanical Plant (Lviv region) will produce 300 grain carriers by order of the USAID Economic Support for Ukraine project, which will account for 45% of the company’s annual workload. The donor organization has already provided a number of Ukrainian agricultural holdings with railroad rolling stock, including 50 hopper cars to Nibulon, 10 units to IMC, 15 units to Cygnet, 25 units to AR Boryspil LLC, a member of the Agro-Region Group, and 25 units to grain traders Almeida Group and Louis Dreyfus, respectively.

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OTP Bank receives $2.8 mln USAID grant to finance MSMEs

The USAID Business Sustainability Investment Project has awarded a second grant of $2.76 million to OTP Bank (Kyiv) to expand access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), the bank’s website reports.

“More than 100 companies have already been financed under the first tranche. The new tranche of $2.76 million will bring the total grant amount to $4 million. The funds will be used to compensate for part of the interest rate for borrowing companies,” the website says.

It is noted that the grant program provides for business lending at an interest rate of 9.9% per annum in the first year of the loan agreement, and the difference with the market rate will be compensated by grant funds.

In the second year and thereafter, clients are obliged to pay interest on the use of credit funds at the rate of UIRD3m+5% per annum.

Under the terms of the program, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises with annual revenues of up to EUR 50 million and up to 250 employees belonging to one of the following target groups: relocated or affected by hostilities, companies in critical industries, and companies with female co-owners can receive financing on such terms.

The maximum loan amount that a company or a united group of companies can apply for is UAH 20 million, and the minimum is UAH 1 million.

“The grant program also applies to factoring agreements, under which the bank’s clients can receive up to 90% of the cost of supplies in the amount of UAH 2 million to UAH 20 million. Special conditions will apply to agricultural producers if they use the funds received under the grant program to purchase products from OTP Agro Factory’s partners,” the press release said.

The press service reminded that during the first stage of the program, which started in 2023, more than 100 Ukrainian enterprises were provided with financing.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), as of July 1, 2024, OTP Bank ranked 11th (UAH 114.55 billion) in terms of total assets among 62 banks in the country. The financial institution’s net profit for 2023 amounted to UAH 3.71 billion.

Source: https://www.otpbank.com.ua/about/news/477052/

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USAID AGRI-Ukraine has raised $860 mln to support Ukrainian farmers

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has raised more than $510 million from the private sector and international donors to support Ukrainian agricultural producers over two years as part of the Agricultural Resilience Initiative in Ukraine (AGRI-Ukraine), with the U.S. government contributing another $350 million to the program, the donor organization said.
“AGRI-Ukraine, founded in July 2022, has already helped more than 14 thousand Ukrainian farmers, which is 32% of registered agricultural producers in the country, to obtain the necessary resources, such as seeds, fertilizers, plant protection products, access to storage facilities and financial resources. This made it possible to harvest crops and provide additional income of more than $90 million due to an increase in corn and sunflower production by 430 thousand tons,” the statement said.
When Russia tried to block the export of Ukrainian agricultural products through the Black Sea ports, AGRI-Ukraine helped to prepare alternative export routes, in particular through ports on the Danube River and land border crossings.
Thanks to these measures, 62 million tons of agricultural products were exported, bringing more than $17 billion to the Ukrainian economy, USAID stated.
According to the donor organization, contributions of $510 million provided by the private sector and international donors tripled the original target set by USAID.
“In 2023, AGRI-Ukraine expanded its circle of partners to include 26 Ukrainian agricultural companies, the American seed company Gowan Seed, international financial institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the governments of the Republic of Korea and Japan.
“USAID and its partners remain committed to supporting Ukraine’s agricultural sector and the export of Ukrainian agricultural products, which will help mitigate the global food crisis that is deepening as a result of the war unleashed by Russia,” the donor organization assured.

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USAID to launch GROW project to support Ukrainian credit unions

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched a new GROW project to support Ukrainian credit unions, according to the USAID website.

“Through a partnership with the World Council of Credit Unions, USAID will expand support for Ukrainian credit unions, enabling them to provide more loans to businesses and individual entrepreneurs,” the report said.

The initiative begins this month and will last for the next four years. The initial investment of resources will be $5 million.

The GROW project will work closely with credit unions in Ukraine to create products and partnerships that will maximize credit union outreach to Ukrainians and positively impact local communities and local economies. The project will also increase access to finance for Ukrainians seeking to start their own businesses and businesses wishing to expand their operations, particularly for micro, small and medium enterprises, cooperatives and agro-producers in rural areas of the country.

In addition, the project will support Ukraine’s long-term priorities for further integration and EU accession, in particular harmonization of the regulatory framework for credit unions with relevant EU requirements.

 

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“Ukrgasvydobuvannya” received 103 diesel generators from USAID

In March-April, Ukrgasvydobuvannya JSC received 102 diesel generators funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the company’s press service said on Friday.

According to the press service, they are used as emergency stationary power sources to provide electricity to production facilities and repair bases, as well as administrative buildings. The diesel generators can also be used as mobile power sources for field crews for maintenance, repair and construction of UGV facilities.

“USAID is helping Ukraine prepare for the next winter in this way. Every day our company overcomes many challenges related to the war. In this difficult time, assistance from international partners is very important for us,” said UGV CEO Oleg Tolmachev.

In turn, the press service of Naftogaz clarified that USAID will also provide additional means of protection for the group’s gas production facilities from Russian attacks.

“We are very grateful to the international partners who have provided us with this assistance, as it is extremely important to support Ukrainian production in the face of the destruction of the country’s energy infrastructure,” said Oleksiy Chernyshov, the group’s CEO.

As reported, in 2022, Ukrgasvydobuvannya produced 12.5 bcm of natural gas (commercial), which is 3% less than in 2021. In 2023, the company produced 13.224 bcm of commercial gas, which is 0.679 bcm more than in 2022.

NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine owns 100% of Ukrgasvydobuvannya shares.

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USAID delivers autotransformers to Ukraine

Samantha Power, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has announced the delivery of seven autotransformers to Ukraine, which will help provide electricity to millions of people.

“Following Russia’s brutal attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, Ukraine needs critical assistance to keep electricity flowing to millions of Ukrainians across the country. USAID recently completed the delivery of seven autotransformers, a step toward expanding their energy capacity,” Power wrote on social media site X.

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