Top managers of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) at a meeting of the National Investment Council of Ukraine in Davos (Switzerland) has confirmed their readiness to consider investment in the capital of state-owned Ukrgasbank, Head of the Office of the National Investment Council Yuliya Kovaliv has said.
As reported, in November 2017, Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance agreed on cooperation with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in the process of privatization of Ukrgasbank. The memorandum of cooperation also envisaged a possibility of entering the capital of the bank by IFC to support its sale. The investment will depend on several factors, including the outcome of the due diligence of the bank.
Ukrgasbank was established in 1993 and as of January 1, 2017 the state represented by the Ministry of Finance owned 94.9% of its shares. Since 2015, the bank has been included in the list of state-owned facilities of strategic importance for the economy and national security.
Horizon Capital, a U.S. private-equity firm investing in high growth and export-driven companies in Ukraine and the near region, has announced the final closing of its third fund, $200 million Emerging Europe Growth Fund III LP, far surpassing the $150 million target size announced in 2017.
“EEGF III’s investment strategy is focused on fast-growing, export-oriented companies that leverage Ukraine’s cost competitive platform to generate global revenues primarily in IT, light manufacturing, food and agriculture. The Fund will also pursue investments in select, high-growth domestic market segments, including e-commerce, healthcare and pharma, consumer goods and financial services,” Horizon Capital said in a report on Wednesday.
According to the press release, investments will range from $5-20 million and be made over the next two or three years.
Horizon Capital said that EEGF III has made six investments to date, five in the core sectors driving Ukraine’s export boom and best-positioned to access global markets, including IT, light manufacturing and food and agro. The Fund has backed Genesis, global IT product company; Intellias, fast-growing large IT services company; Yarych, leading biscuits producer; MAIB, No. 1 bank in Moldova, and others.
According to the press release, in what marks the largest private equity fund raised for Ukraine in a decade, Horizon’s EEGF III received strong backing from existing and new investors, attracted by the excellent value, fast growth and abundance of opportunities that Ukraine offers.
“Our fundraising success should send a strong signal that Ukraine offers tremendous rewards for those willing to look past the headlines,” Horizon Capital’s Founding Partner and CEO Lenna Koszarny said.
According to the press release, EEGF III was launched with an anchor commitment from Western NIS Enterprise Fund and attracted investments from the EBRD, FMO, IFC, PROPARCO, DEG, and IFU with over one-third of capital raised from institutional investors, foundations, family offices and other private investors.
Horizon Capital said that the new fund enjoys strong backing from existing investors of Horizon Capital’s prior funds, who contributed over 55% of total commitments. U.S. and Europe-based investors contributed roughly 35% each of total capital raised, with the remainder from other international investors.
Horizon Capital was established in 2006. It manages private equity funds Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF, established in 1994 with a seed capital of $150 million), Emerging Europe Growth Fund, L.P. (EEGF, established in 2006 with a seed capital of $132 million) and EEGF II (EEGF, established in 2008 with $370 million seed capital). The money of these funds is invested in projects in Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus.
Bayadera Group, a large alcohol producing holding in the Ukrainian market, this year seeks to invest UAH 80-100 million in planting new vineyards and modernization of plants. “In 2019, we are planning to invest UAH 80-100 million, first of all, in vineyards and modernization of plants. This will improve the quality, reduce the cost of production and increase efficiency,” Director General of Bayadera Group Anatoliy Korchynsky said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
In particular, in 2019 the group intends to plant about 200 hectares in Mykolaiv region.
According to the director general, Bayadera Group is considering the transition from the wine cork to the screw cap.
“Considering the global problem with cork, everyone will come to this in the next few years. In Europe this is already a reality, but in Ukraine the buyer still does not understand it. However, we are already preparing for the changeover of production,” Korchynsky said.
The group also conducts several experiments in terms of sales performance.
“If they are successful, this will also require certain investments,” Korchynsky said.
In 2018, Bayadera Group invested about UAH 80 million: some UAH 35 million in the agricultural sector, UAH 20 million – in plants, and near UAH 25 million – in distribution. In general, the alcohol holding has several areas of investment: agriculture, modernization and renewal of production facilities, as well as distribution.
Bayadera Group was established in 1991. Its owners are Natalia Bondareva and Sviatoslav Nechytailo. The company owns such assets in the alcohol industry as distribution companies and alcohol production facilities in Ukraine and Belarus. It produces wine, vermouth and cognac and is the exclusive importer of international alcohol brands in Ukraine.
The main trademarks are Persha Gildiya, Kozatska Rada, Hlibny Dar, Koblevo, Marengo, and others.
Roshen Corporation will allocate UAH 160.4 million for the second stage of reconstruction of Kyiv Confectionary Factory Roshen, PrJSC Kyiv Confectionery Factory Roshen said in the information disclosure system of the National Commission on Securities and the Stock Market. According to the company, the funds will be used for landscaping the territory with the arrangement of a fountain in the territory of the confectionery factory at 1 Nauky Avenue in Holosiyivsky district of the capital. The general contractor of the work is European Construction Technologies LLC.
As reported, Roshen in 2018 announced the investment of UAH 90 million in the creation of a public space in the territory of the factory. The provisional name of the reconstruction project is Roshen Plaza.
According to the company, the factory does not cease to exist, but its capacity is reduced. Part of the production premises will remain in the factory’s territory, the company’s office and public facilities will be located in one of the buildings.
Roshen Corporation is one of the top 30 largest confectionery manufacturers in the world.
The Roshen network in Ukraine includes 50 stores in five regions of Ukraine. The first one opened in Kyiv in 2009. The corporation annually opens five or six stores.
HarvEast intends to increase the irrigated area by 500-800 hectares next year and plant walnuts on an area of about 30-40 hectares.
“We will continue to invest in irrigation, we are pleased with the results on the 1,100 hectares that are now under irrigation. Next year we will add 500 or 800 hectares. In addition, we continue to develop walnut growing: this year we’ve planted 30 hectares, we have a total of 90 hectares, and we plan to plant 30-40 hectares annually,” HarvEast Director General Dmytro Skorniakov told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, the company does not set a goal to increase its land bank, but if there is an interesting offer, it is possible.
“In general, this year it is probably the worst year in the last 20-30 years in southern Ukraine. For us, respectively, it is the worst year in the entire history of the company in terms of harvest. We have already harvested the whole crop, but there are no final data yet,” he said.
HarvEast is an agricultural holding, whose core business is plant growing (growing wheat, sunflower, barley, etc.) and dairy farming. It cultivates about 97,000 hectares of land.
Ireland’s low-cost airline Ryanair plans to invest $1.5 billion in Ukraine in three or five years, expanding its fleet to 15 planes and passenger traffic to 5 million people, Ryanair Chief Commercial Officer David O’Brien said at a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv on Tuesday.
The airline has hopes that the planes will be placed on the territory of Ukraine and that it will fly from Ukraine as from own base of operations, he said.
O’Brien also said that now the main problem related to the increase in the number of flights of the airline to Ukraine is the protective policy of the European Union (EU) from Germany, France, Italy and Belgium. He said that as soon as this obstacle is overcome, the airline will increase the number of flights from/to Ukraine.
He also said that Ryanair plans to increase the number of flight from Kyiv and boost passenger flow by summer 2019.
As reported, referring to the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine, Ryanair is studying a possibility of creating a servicing center at the Boryspil airport (Kyiv).
Ryanair offers flights from Kyiv to six cities in Poland, one destination in Germany, Spain, Lithuania, Slovakia, the UK and Sweden, as well as two destinations from Lviv to Germany and Poland, one to the U.K.
