Today, on July 30, Deputy Economy Minister of Ukraine Iryna Novikova met with the founder of Welfare Investment Alliance consulting company, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Ukraine (2012-2019) Alisher Abdualiev.
The Deputy Minister of Economy expressed hope for the further strengthening of relations between the two countries and stressed that creating comfortable conditions for doing business and implementing new investment projects is an extremely important step for enhancing investment cooperation between the states.
“Today Ukraine is interested in attracting investments and therefore is actively introducing new legislative initiatives. We see a great demand from investors for industrial parks and a new mechanism to support investors in attracting investments, the so-called law on ‘investment nannies’,” Novikova said.
During the meeting, the participants discussed the prospects and possibilities of creating a simplified access to the markets of the countries, a favorable environment for the implementation of joint projects and attracting investments.
So, among the promising industries for cooperation between the two countries is the aviation industry, as well as the implementation of projects to create livestock complexes and silk production in Ukraine.
The metallurgical industry will play a key role in achieving Ukraine’s carbon neutrality, according to representatives of the largest Ukrainian metallurgical companies speaking during the international forum “Decarbonization of the Steel Industry: a Challenge for Ukraine” taking place in Kyiv.
According to a press release from GMK Center, the ambitious plans of the EU and the United States to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 are putting pressure on Ukrainian metallurgical companies. To compete successfully on foreign markets, Ukrainian producers also need to have CO2 reduction targets and decarbonization strategies.
“Now Metinvest is developing a detailed roadmap to reduce CO2 emissions. We are very careful in working out each step that will eventually lead our production to carbon neutrality, because such a large-scale transformation should not harm the sustainability of our business. We hope to conclude partnerships today, which will allow us to follow the path of decarbonization,” CEO of Metinvest Group Yuriy Ryzhenkov said during the event.
During the forum, Metinvest signed two memorandums of cooperation for the implementation of joint projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One of them was signed with Primetals Technologies – an international company providing a full range of technologies, products and services for the metallurgical industry, the other – with K1-MET – a leading Austrian research center in metallurgy.
The press release notes that Ukraine actively declares its intention to follow the direction of decarbonization. In January 2020, the country presented the Green Energy Transition Concept, which sets a goal to achieve a carbon neutral economy by 2070.
In April 2021, the government presented the draft of the second Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris agreement. It assumes that Ukraine by 2030 will reduce CO2 emissions by 65% compared to 1990, in particular industrial enterprises – by 61%.
The investment company UMG Investments from SCM Group of Rinat Akhmetov has received a mandate to carry out two or three investments annually of up to $10 million each as a minority partner, SCM Head Oleh Popov has said.
“UMG Investments is ready for any partnerships – they have a mandate to enter projects as minority shareholders, and make investments up to $10 million … per transaction. They should bring 2-3 such transactions per year,” he said in an interview with Ekonomichna Pravda.
According to Popov, the main criteria are potential and innovativeness, but SCM has expectations for the return of these investments, but he did not specify the minimum profitability.
The head of the group recalled that in addition to new third-party projects, UMG Investments, headed by Andriy Gorokhov and Nadiya Kaznacheyeva, is also looking for additional projects with high profitability at all SCM industrial assets, including waste treatment.
As an example of implemented investments, Popov named the production of protein feed additives for animals Feednova with partners from the Effective Investments group of companies and Dutch-based Mada Participations B.V., the Ukrainian Mineral Fertilizers enterprise for the production of ammonium sulfate, projects for the coherent utilization of coal mine methane and the construction of a grain terminal.
As reported, at the end of March this year, Gorokhov confirmed the strategic plans for further investment in Ukraine, estimating the volume of UMG Investments’ investments at over $40 million annually.
The volume of investments in real estate in the capital amounted to $32.87 million in March, 2021, which is 10% more than in February 2021, Director of Blagovist Real Estate Agency (Kyiv) Olena Biberova told Interfax-Ukraine.
“In March, the market activity was high, there were a lot of applications for the selection of houses for purchase. The greatest demand is observed for apartments with renovation in new buildings. The demand for the purchase of non-residential properties is not very active yet, the business has taken a wait-and-see attitude, and a deferred demand is being formed. There is a gradual rise in prices within 5%,” she said.
According to Biberova, in March the main number of transactions fell on apartments, and about 10% of the total – for houses.
The segment up to $50,000 in March took 14% of the total number of transactions. In this category, mainly one-, two-room apartments were purchased, most of all in Dniprovsky, Darnytsky, Holosiyivsky districts of the capital. Apartment deals accounted for the bulk.
Biberova said that the most affordable option purchased in March was a one-room apartment with an area of 22 square meters worth $23,000 on Shepeleva Street (Solomiansky district). A one-room apartment with an area of 31 square meters on Berezniakivska Street (Dniprovsky district) was sold for $41,000 and on Maksymovycha Street (Holosiyivsky district) – a one-room apartment with an area of 37 square meters in a new house was sold for $50,000.
In the segment from $50,000 to $100,000, some 42% of transactions were carried out, two-, three-room apartments in Solomiansky and Darnytsky districts of Kyiv prevail. So, on Nauky Avenue (Holosiyivsky district), a one-room apartment with an area of 25 square meters was sold for $52,000; on Naberezhno-Rybalska Street (Podilsky district) – a one-room apartment with an area of 50 square meters was sold for $75,000; and on Antonovycha Street (Holosiyivsky district) – a three-room apartment with an area of 72 square meters was sold for $100,000.
The price category from $250,000 in March is represented by 5% of the total volume of transactions. So, on Hrushevskoho Street (Pechersky District) an apartment with an area of 87 square meters was bought for $254,000, and an apartment with an area of 106 square meters on John McCain Street (Pechersky district) was bought for $355,000.
“The most expensive object sold in March is an apartment with an area of 203 square meters on Instytutska Street [Pechersky District] worth $1 million,” Biberova said.
Blagovist Real Estate Agency, part of the First Realty Group corporation, was established in 1993. Today, there are eight agency offices in Kyiv, with which about 500 professional real estate consultants cooperate.
The Investment Promotion Office (UkraineInvest) has received 23 requests from potential investors for a total of $1.35 billion within the framework of the adopted law on “investment nannies,” UkraineInvest Executive Director Serhiy Tsivkach told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of Hyperloop 3.0 organized by the Biosphere Corporation in Lviv.
“As of today, we have 23 projects. The 24th is being confirmed. The total amount is $1.35 billion. I think that after this event, the pipeline will increase by another 500 million,” Tsivkach said.
According to him, now UkraineInvest employs about 14 people in this direction. “Some of them work directly with investors, some do their homework. We try to ensure that one manager has 7-10 projects,” the head of UkraineInvest said.
He said that the government has already adopted four by-laws necessary for the launch of the investment nannies mechanism in practice.
“We are still expecting three acts: on keeping the register of projects, requirements for feasibility studies and methodology for calculating the amount of state aid. I think that within a month, God forbid, we will be able to process the first applications and submit them to the Ministry of Economy,” Tsivkach said.
It is necessary to invest up to UAH 17 billion in the ports of Ukraine until 2027, Oleksandr Holodnytsky, the acting head of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA), has said.
“Some UAH 17 billion is an assessment of the portfolio until 2027. It foresees development plans, as well as what business wants and sees the USPA as a necessary component for maintenance and development,” he said at the Infrastructure of the South of Ukraine forum.
Holodnytsky, in particular, clarified that the money is needed for the construction of the utility network – UAH 400 million, road and railway tracks, as well as overpasses – UAH 1.9 billion, berths – UAH 11.6 billion, dredging – UAH 2.5 billion, as well as the fleet – UAH 600 million.
