Business news from Ukraine

PM OF UKRAINE INVITES INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION (IFC) TO JOIN RESTORATION OF UKRAINIAN CITIES

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmygal invited the International Finance Corporation (IFC) from the World Bank Group to join the reconstruction of Ukrainian cities.
“The head of the Ukrainian government spoke about the scale of destruction as a result of Russia’s criminal actions and expressed hope for the support of the International Finance Corporation in the issue of restoring the housing stock and social infrastructure,” the press service of the government said after a meeting between Shmyhal and the managing director and executive vice IFC President Makhtar Diop.
According to him, Ukraine plans to carry out the restoration on the principles of a green economy.
The prime minister also noted that he was counting on IFC assistance in financing the restoration of the transport infrastructure of Ukrainian cities, especially those most affected by the actions of the occupiers.
“We are interested in creating a financial platform for the IFC, which will finance more Ukrainian cities. Today, attracting foreign investment in the restoration of critical and social infrastructure is one of the most important issues on the agenda of Ukraine,” the head of government added.
In addition, Shmyhal focused on the need to extend public-private partnership projects after Ukraine’s victory. In particular, this concerns the implementation of concession projects at airports, railway stations, seaports, as well as public-private partnership projects in the road industry.
“The resilience of the people of Ukraine is outstanding. Consider IFC as a strong and strategic partner that will play its part in supporting the private sector,” Diop tweeted after the meeting.

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IFC MAY ALLOCATE $55 MLN TO ZAPORIZHIA TO IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) may provide Zaporizhia with a $55 million long-term loan to finance a package of initiatives aimed at improving energy efficiency, infrastructure development and transport logistics.
The board of directors plans to consider this project on February 15, 2021, the bank said on its website.
IFC plans to provide Zaporizhia with up to EUR 36.7 million of a loan from its own funds and to organize another EUR 18.3 million through the Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program (MCPP).
It is assumed that the funds will be used for the installation of an intelligent traffic control system, street lighting and modernization of control centers, the purchase of electric buses, trolleybuses and related infrastructure, (reconstruction of traction equipment, substations, the purchase of road construction and cleaning equipment, as well as the reconstruction of roads and the development of public parks.
In addition, IFC will help develop a Smart City 2.0 strategy for Zaporizhia

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IFC COULD PROVIDE UP TO EUR 27 MLN TO KRYVY RIH TO BUY 50 TRAMS

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group can provide up to EUR27 million to the municipal transport company Shvidkisniy Tramway (High-Speed Tram) to procure 50 trams and rehabilitate 1 km of associated tramway line.
According to information on IFC’s website, the board of directors of the corporation intends to consider the relevant issue on December 21.
The tram vehicles will be operating on the existing underground and on the ground tram lines of the city and will be replacing obsolete vehicles.
The component relevant to the tramway line rehabilitation will take place on circa. 1 km section of Sobornosty Avenue, one of the main east-west transport arteries in the city center, located in the Metalurhiv district of Kryvy Rih. The construction is expected to start in April 2021 and to be completed by December 2021. The work involves dismantling the existing rail tracks and the overhead catenary, laying new tracks, mounting the catenary lines and final clean up and landscaping.
In parallel, as part of IFC’s Ukraine Cities Program, IFC is providing city with comprehensive advisory support to facilitate project implementation and increase its impacts. Activities include recommendations on improving sustainability and operational efficiency of transportation sector, reviewing tramway electric power supply system and related infrastructure to advise on capital modernization needs, as well as support in the technology specifications and selection of new low-floor energy efficient tram cars.
The project will enhance physical connectivity of remote districts and encourage tramway use, expected to contribute to the reduction of pollution and congestion in the city.

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IFC GRANTS $100 MLN LOAN TO PROCREDIT HOLDING

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has issued a $100-million senior loan to ProCredit Holding to be channeled to ProCredit banks in nine countries to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in multiple vulnerable economies, including Ukraine.
According to IFC, the project was approved on June 18 and necessary documents were signed on July 9.
ProCredit will channel the financing to its subsidiaries in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, Kosovo, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine.
At the beginning of July, the European Investment Bank (EIB) decided to provide Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova with EUR 55 million through ProCredit Bank in the respective countries to support SMEs within mitigating the effects of the economic shock.
ProCredit Bank in Ukraine was founded in 2001. At the beginning of 2020, its sole shareholder was ProCredit Holding (100% of the shares).
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of May 1, 2020 ProCredit Bank ranked 14th among 75 banks operating in the country in terms of total assets (UAH 25.646 billion).

IFC PLACES DEBUT ISSUE OF BONDS

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has placed its debut issue of bonds denominated in hryvnias at 15.75% per annum to support its operations in Ukraine.
On May 13, the first issue of bonds in the hryvnia was carried out, IFC Regional Manager for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova Jason Pellmar said.
According to him, this placement confirms interest in hryvnia instruments in the market, especially when the issuer has an “AAA” rating.
The IFC representative office told the agency that the debut issue of bonds would be repaid in 2020.

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INTL CROP RECEIPTS COULD BE LAUNCHED IN SPRING IN UKRAINE

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has said the international crop receipts could be launched in spring 2019, IFC Project Manager for Ukraine Crop Receipts Helen Fairlamb said at a roundtable in Kyiv on Wednesday.
The IFC has already conducted the first trainings for farmers and hopes to see the first deals in the spring, Fairlamb told Interfax-Ukraine.
As the IFC said, after the entry into force of the law on currency and foreign exchange transactions, farmers can raise funds on crop receipts from nonresident creditors. According to the international receipts mechanism developed by IFC, such transactions will include a financial crop receipt and a loan/forward contract or an import contract.
Crop receipts are particularly relevant in Ukraine, where the land moratorium still exists, and farmers do not have a quality guarantee to attract financing. In addition, crop receipts are registered in the online register, and the lender can see how many receipts the farmer has and performs, Regional Manager for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine at IFC Jason Pellmar said.
He added that crop receipts help farmers create a credit history to further raise funds.
According to the IFC, under the crop receipts project, it is also planned to modernize the legislation to create a secondary market for crop receipts (securitization).
Member of the Board of OTP Bank Alla Biniashvili said that for banks providing financing on crop receipts, the difficulty is that the National Bank considers these loans as unsecured.
The total amount of crop receipts in 2018 exceeded $200 million (UAH 5.24 billion). In total, 669 crop receipts were issued from 53 lenders for 1.1 million tonnes of agricultural products used as collateral.
From the beginning of 2019 as of February 12, 2019, a total of 104 receipts were issued to the amount of over UAH 1 billion.

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