The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a EUR 20 million senior secured loan to Winner Imports Ukraine LLC, Ukrainian importer and retailer of several well-known international vehicle brands. The money will be invested in sustainable dealerships for Renault and Volvo.
As reported on the bank’s website on Tuesday, the loan was approved by the EBRD’s board of directors on May 18. Financing will focus on green economy transition and circular economy through investments in dealerships, expansion of client’s logistic capacities, distribution and service infrastructure for vehicles, including electric.
“All building financed by the Bank will obtain BREEAM or EDGE sustainable certification. Project contributes to the adoption of advanced green practices in a country where such standards and practices are still uncommon, for instance, according to the latest data, only 12 BREEAM certificates have been issued in Ukraine to date with only one certificate issued in the retail category,” the EBRD said.
The total cost of the project is EUR 43 million, but the sources of co-financing are not given.
Winner Imports Ukraine LLC, part of Winner Group, is the official importer of Ford, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche and Bentley, SAIC Motor vehicles in Ukraine.
In addition, in 2020, the company became an official dealer of the Renault auto brand, since the spring of the same year it began to provide services for cars of this brand in its multi-brand center Winner Automotive, and has planned to open a Renault concept dealership this year.
Winner Group Ukraine has been operating in the Ukrainian market for over 28 years, during this time more than 140,000 cars have been sold and more than 50 dealer centers have been opened in Ukraine.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has entered the capital of Scalarr Inc (Delaware, the United States) a company with operations and development center in Ukraine, as part of $7.5 million financing round, the bank has said on its website.
According to the report, the project was approved in September 2020. Today, all the required documents have been signed. The details of the deal are not available.
The EBRD said that Scalarr, a technology company with operations and development in Ukraine, provides the antifraud software solution for mobile application developers. Scalarr’s software, using its proprietary technology such as neural networks, unsupervised and semi-supervised machine learning allows the application developer to detect and prevent fraudulent application installs and avoid marketing expenses spent on purchase of the fraudulent traffic.
Scalarr said on its website that it saved its clients $22 million in ad fraud refunds in 2020.
The project was implemented under the Venture Capital Investment Programme (VCIP) II of the EBRD, which is a dedicated framework facility of EUR 50 million and is a continuation of EBRD’s existing programme, VCIP (EUR 100 million). The bank aims to invest in early and growth stage technology companies via equity and equity-linked instruments (investment size up to EUR 15 million).
In Ukraine, Scalarr Inc established Scalarr Ukraine LLC (Kharkiv) in September 2020. Its beneficiaries in the public register are the head of the company Inna Ushakova with 33.34%, as well as Andriy Ushakov and Yuriy Yashunin with 33.33% each.
Techcrunch publication earlier said that Scalarr’s Series A was led by the EBRD, with participation from TMT Investments, OTB Ventures and Speedinvest. Among other things, the company planned to use the money to expand its presence in Asia and continue developing the product.
Forbes Ukraine included Scalarr in the list of 30 best startups in Ukraine in the April issue of this year, valuing the company at $ 20-40 million, investment in it at $8 million, and the staff of 40 people.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko met with a delegation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) headed by Odile Renaud-Basso, where the sides discussed further cooperation in the implementation of environmental and infrastructure projects in the Ukrainian capital.
“This year, we plan to complete the repayment of loans under the 2007 loan agreements, which allowed us to purchase 202 new trolleybuses, some 185 buses and 50 metro cars,” Klitschko said on the klichko.org website on Tuesday.
In addition to the urban transport renewal program, the meeting also discussed a project worth EUR 140 million to modernize the heating system of the Ukrainian capital. The EBRD provided a loan for the implementation of the project to the city within the Green Cities program.
Renaud-Basso stressed the interest of the EBRD in cooperation with the municipality of Kyiv.
She said the EBRD officials see the same priority areas of cooperation: roads, bridges, transport and environmental infrastructure. They are ready for closer cooperation, as well as they are ready to continue to provide support and attract investments to contribute to the sustainable development of the city in the face of global challenges.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting with President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Odile Renaud-Basso invited a financial institution to join the development of infrastructure projects and privatization in Ukraine, according to the website of the head of state.
“It is very important to support infrastructure projects in Ukraine, because high-quality roads, bridges and social infrastructure are important for every Ukrainian. Thanks to infrastructure projects, we created 190,000 jobs at a time when many were losing their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Zelensky said.
The head of state also added that “privatization is one of the priorities today” and invited the EBRD to join this direction.
In addition, issues of development of the agricultural sector of Ukraine were discussed at the meeting. “It is advisable to invest in agriculture. Ukraine needs a lot of investment in the modernization of irrigation infrastructure. Its restoration will be a powerful step in the development of agriculture and Ukraine as a player in the international agricultural market,” Zelensky said.
In addition, Zelensky informed Odile Renaud-Basso about the continued implementation of the reform of law enforcement agencies, about the signing of a law in Ukraine on the creation of the Bureau of Economic Security. The interlocutors also discussed the reform of the energy sector, they talked about the implementation of energy efficiency programs, in particular, the introduction of energy-saving technologies in housing.
In addition, the negotiating parties discussed the continuation of the reform of the financial and banking sectors of Ukraine.
“Ukraine and the EBRD have good relations and many important projects in which Ukraine puts its soul, and the EBRD – its faith and money. We consider you one of the strategic financial partners. These relations are very important for us,” Zelensky said.
In turn, the EBRD President welcomed the reforms that are being implemented in various sectors of the Ukrainian economy.
The meeting was attended by Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko, Deputy Head of the President’s Office Yulia Svyrydenko, Advisor to the head of the President’s Office Tymofiy Mylovanov, and Head of Ukravtodor Oleksandr Kubrakov.
The State Agency for Roads of Ukraine (Ukravtodor), within the framework of a joint anti-corruption project, will reconfigure its management and procurement practices in accordance with the recommendations of the consultants of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
On Tuesday, March 12, a kick-off meeting was held on the development and implementation of the Anti-Corruption Action Plan for the road industry of Ukraine within the framework of the specified joint project, Ukravtodor said on its Telegram channel.
The loan agreement between Ukravtodor and the EBRD worth EUR 450 million, signed in December last year, provides for the implementation of four important reforms for the road industry: procurement reform, improved traffic safety, development of infrastructure for electric transport and anti-corruption reform.
“We highly appreciate the initiative of Ukravtodor to implement this project, because it should result in a completely updated management system for the road industry. In case of a successful launch of an anti-corruption pilot project in Ukravtodor, this experience can be scaled up to other business entities and public sector organizations who are partners of the EBRD in Ukraine,” head of transport projects of the EBRD Andriy Tsokol is quoted as saying in the message.
The Basel Institute on Governance (Switzerland), an international non-profit anti-corruption organization that works in partnership with the Ukrainian law firm Sayenko Kharenko, has been involved in the work on the implementation of anti-corruption reform.
“By May of this year, the consultants will study and analyze the procurement and management processes in Ukravtodor from the point of view of preventing corruption. Based on the study, it is planned to finalize and approve the Anti-Corruption Action Plan in July 2021. Until 2023, the consultant will accompany the implementation of the Plan in Ukravtodor and its subdivisions,” the message reads.
Head of Ukravtodor Oleksandr Kubrakov also noted that over the past year the agency managed to create uniform procurement rules in the industry, introduce independent technical supervision and additional control of design decisions.
“We worked to prevent corruption risks by digitalizing management processes and improving executive and financial discipline. A pilot project with the EBRD gives a chance for these changes to become irreversible,” he stressed.
As reported, Ukravtodor initiated the inclusion of the Anti-Corruption Pilot Project in the loan agreement with the EBRD in the spring of 2020. The terms of the agreement provide for the mandatory implementation of reforms in order to receive credit tranches.
ANTI-CORRUPTION, ANTI-CORRUPTION PROJECT, EBRD, LAUNCHES, LAUNCHES PROJECT, STATE AGENCY FOR ROADS
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a loan of up to EUR 13.8 million in the form of two allocated tranches to PJSC Kokhavynska Paper Mill (Lviv region) to finance the construction of a new production and warehouse building.
According to a report on the EBRD website, the project involves the construction of a plant for the production of paper goods based on cellulose.
“The project assumes the construction of a facility for the production of pulp-based tissue products to meet growing demand for high quality tissue products. It will enable the company to enter the higher quality retail tissue segment, double its tissue production capacity and improve operating efficiency. The CAPEX for capacity expansion comprises tissue and converting machines, the construction of an industrial production and storage workshop,” the bank said on its website.
The total cost of the project is EUR28.5 million.
The shareholders of the plant approved raising a EBRD loan in the amount of up to EUR17 million to finance the construction of a new production facility at a meeting on November 10.
According to the decision, the property of the factory, the market value of which exceeds 50% of the value of the assets (according to the latest financial statements), will be pledged on the loan.
