Business news from Ukraine

VASYL KHMELNYTSKY’S UFUTURE PLANS TO INCREASE INVESTMENT BY 20% IN 2019

The UFuture investment group of Ukrainian businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky plans to increase investment in various businesses by 20% in 2019, to $60 million.
“Last year, the UFuture group invested almost $50 million in various businesses. In 2019, we plan to invest another $60 million. If we talk about investments only in impact projects, I estimate the total amount, taking into account capital investments, to be more than $50 million,” Khmelnytsky said in an interview with the Top 100. Rating of the Largest magazine.
He said on his Facebook page that in September this year, UFuture will open a new campus on the territory of the UNIT.City innovation park (Kyiv).
“At UNIT.City, everything is in line with the schedule. In September, a new campus and an art facility [will appear],” he wrote.
As reported, in January 2019, UFuture in partnership with KAN Development on Wednesday took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the third campus – a new six-story B12 business center with a gross area of 16,900 square meters – in the UNIT.City innovation park (Kyiv).
In February 2019, Khmelnytsky said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine that the first phase of LvivTech.City is scheduled for opening at the end of 2019.
He said that the first Lviv campus will combine office and commercial sections (cafes and restaurants). The office space will be 9,500 square meters, commercial – 3,000 square meters.
UFuture unites companies and social projects of Khmelnytsky. The group includes the Bila Tserkva industrial park, the UDP development company, the Sikorsky Kyiv International Airport, outdoor advertising operator RTM-Ukraine, as well as innovative businesses: UDP Renewables (creates and develops photovoltaic power plants under its control), the pharmaceutical company Biopharma, innovative parks UNIT.City and LvivTech.City.

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EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT PLANS TO DOUBLE INVESTMENT IN UKRAINE

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) plans in 2019 to increase the volume of investment in the Ukrainian economy to $1 billion, head of the Ukrainian office of the EBRD Marina Petrov has stated.
“The $500 million that we invested last year was not bad at all. This year we sincerely hope to increase it twice [investment in Ukraine],” she said at a meeting at the European Business Association (EBA), dedicated to the expectations of businesses from the presidential election.
However, she noted the importance of consistency and predictability of the future economic policy.
“We hope that there will be no reversal,” she said.
“The ongoing changes [political] carry both risks and opportunities. We hope very much for a balanced economic policy that will allow accelerating the growth that has already begun in the Ukrainian economy,” she told Interfax-Ukraine.
The banker stressed the need to continue cooperation with the IMF.
“We hope that, first of all, the work on the IMF program will continue. We already see investors ready to come to the economy [in Ukraine]. The most important thing is not to frighten investors, not to make unexpected economic decisions,” the expert said.

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FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN UKRAINE GROWS BY $0.69 BLN IN 2018

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ukraine as equity capital as of late 201, was $32.29 billion, which was 2.2%, or $0.69 billion, up on the beginning of the year, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine said. According to the retrospective data, which the authority also announced, the inflow of FDI last year exceeded the figure for 2017, when it amounted $0.38 billion, whereas before this, for three years, FDI fell by a total of $22.47 billion.
In 2018, nonresidents increased investment in Ukraine by $2.87 billion, while disinvesting $0.97 billion, it said. Some $1.22 billion FDI was written off due to the change of the cost and the exchange rate, losses and reclassification.
This is slightly better than in 2017 when residents increased investment in Ukraine by $2.51 billion and disinvested $0.76 billion.
According to previously published data, quarterly inflows of FDI in Ukraine last year were recorded in the first and fourth quarter, $1.15 billion and $0.32 billion respectively, while in the second and third quarters their outflow was recorded – $0.66 billion and $0.12 billion respectively.
The Netherlands was the leader in FDI in 2018 – $951.5 million or more than one third of all investment, followed by Russia and Cyprus – $495.6 million and $477.6 million respectively.
FDI from Austria accounted for $203.7 million, France – $110.9 million, the U.K. – almost $98.7 million, and from Poland – $90.6 million.
Nonresidents invested $1.215 billion in financial and insurance activities, or 42.3% of all FDI, $599.4 million in wholesale and retail trade, $405.3 million in transactions with property, $302.1 million in industry and $119.4 million in IT and telecom.

UKRAINIAN PM GROYSMAN: UKRAINEINVEST OFFICE ACCOMPANIES INVESTMENT OF $2 BLN

The UkraineInvest Office at the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is currently accompanying investment in Ukraine in the amount of around $2 billion, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said. “Our UkraineInvest Office is accompanying around $2 billion of investment. It is extremely important that these are real projects being implemented or that will be implemented in Ukraine and new jobs will be created,” he said at a government meeting in Kyiv on Wednesday.
The UkraineInvest Office was created on October 19, 2016 aiming at boosting foreign direct investment (FDI) thanks to cooperation with investors, who want to enter the Ukrainian market. Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) finances the UkraineInvest Office.

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INVESTMENT IN RESTORATION OF BILA TSERKVA AIRPORT WILL BE EUR 59 MLN

The reform support team at the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine has reported on the results of a preliminary feasibility study for a project to restore the runway and build a terminal at Bila Tserkva airport with an estimated investment of EUR59 million. “Getting the status of international by Bila Tserkva has already been initiated, which is expected next year. The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine provides comprehensive support and assistance in realizing the potential of the Bila Tserkva aerodrome, which is provided for by the Aviation Strategy of Ukraine until 2030,” adviser to the relevant minister Oleksandr Klitin said.
The report also states that the reform support team has already held talks on the development of the airport based on the results of the feasibility study with Finpoint, Millennium Capital, Capital Times and the airport management.
The feasibility study for the airport of Bila Tserkva was developed by independent international consultants under the technical assistance program of the European Commission for Ukraine. According to the evaluation of experts from the ASSIST project, the total cost of priority investments to restore the runway and build the terminal will be about EUR59 million. The modernization of Bila Tserkva aviation complex is a pilot project of this program. ASSIST is a research project co-funded by the European Commission DG MOVE under FP7 (the EU’s Seventh Framework Program for Research). The ASSIST project has been lasting for more than 30 months, starting in April 2011. Scientific research is carried out by a consortium of six partners with the participation of NEA (the Netherlands), TRT (Italy), ProgTrans (Switzerland), FOMTERV (Hungary), CNRS-LET (France), and Fraunhofer-ISI (Germany).

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MYKOLAIV SEAPORT TO ATTRACT UAH 1.2 BLN OF PRIVATE INVESTMENT INTO NEW GRAIN, OILSEEDS TRANSSHIPMENT FACILITIES

Construction of new grain and oilseeds transshipment facilities at the Mykolaiv seaport will start in the rear of berth eight. Private investment will total over UAH 1.2 billion, the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority has reported. “We are investing our own funds and are actively cooperating with port operators and private businesses. This is the development of the berth and rear infrastructure of berths zero and eight. This will increase the capacity of the Mykolaiv port for processing grain by more than 2 million tonnes per year, oil – by 750,000 tonnes per year,” Head of the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority Raivis Veckagans said during a working visit to the Mykolaiv seaport.
The Ukrainian Sea Port Authority refused to name investors, adding that this would be a new cooperation for the port. The Ukrainian Sea Port Authority plans to allocate UAH 350 million within the framework of fulfilling the company’s obligations under a public private partnership project for the construction and dredging of berth eight. At the same time, private investment in infrastructure will amount to over UAH 1.2 billion.
According to the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority, the planned grain complex will have a storage capacity of 96,000 tonnes, a warehouse – 40,000 tonnes, as well as other support facilities. Earlier, the Infrastructure Ministry reported that COFCO (China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation) is ready to invest up to $30 million in the berth capacity of the Mykolaiv port and river logistics.
Seaside Terminal intends to invest about UAH 120 million in the reconstruction of the Mykolaiv-Vantazhny railway station in order to increase its capacity.

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