Business news from Ukraine

UKREXIMBANK ISSUES $22 MLN LOAN TO PROTEIN-INVEST VEGETABLE OIL PRODUCER

State-controlled Ukreximbank (Kyiv) with the assistance of the World Bank has provided a $22 million loan to Protein-Invest vegetable oil producer.
According to a report on the bank’s website, $14 million was used to refinancing an investment loan, and the company will receive another $8 million as part of a sub-project for the purchase of soybean seeds for further processing.
“Protein-Invest plant is increasing its production capacity, taking into account the global tendencies of increasing the consumption of oilseeds. To meet the needs of the enterprise in a sufficient volume of working capital for the purchase of raw materials, the bank made the most of the program of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The sub-project worth $ 8 million was approved for the project of access to long-term financing, a mandatory criterion for the participation of enterprises in which is an export-oriented activity or the attraction of local supply chains to this direction,” board member of Ukreximbank Oleksandr Ihnatenko said.
Protein-Invest enterprise has a soybean oil extraction plant with a capacity of 700 tonnes per day. It supplies vegetable oil and high-protein meal to the market of Ukraine and other countries, which are further used in the food industry and for the manufacture of animal feed. Production was launched in the village of Dunayivtsi, Khmelnytsky region, in 2019.
According to the unified state register of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, t

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EBRD COULD PROVIDE EUR 25 MLN LOAN TO COMMUNAL COMPANY DNIPRO TO BOOST ENERGY EFFICIENCY

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) could provide a senior loan of up to EUR 25 million to the communal company Dnipro Municipal Energy Servicing Company (Dniprovska Municipalna Energoservisna Kompanya, the city of Dnipro) for energy efficiency investments in 98 public buildings, including 67 kindergartens, 27 schools and 4 outpatient clinics.
“The investments are expected to result in strong improvement of buildings’ condition through renovation of facilities and meeting heating requirements, improved comfort level and reliability of services at kindergartens, schools and clinics, as well as reduction of energy and maintenance costs of the buildings and decrease of CO2 emissions,” the bank said on Tuesday.
The project is pending of the decision of the EBRD board on October 13.
According to the document, the loan maturity is up to 13 years, including up to three years grace, with 20 equal semi-annual repayments. The loan will be secured by a full municipal guarantee from the city.
The loan is expected to be co-financed by up to EUR 5.5 million investment grant from the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P), subject to grant approval by the E5P Assembly of Contributors.
The local contribution of up to EUR 2.5 million will cover additional energy conservation measures and capital repairs.
The EBRD said that the loan will be a sub-project under the Public Sector Energy Efficiency Financing Framework (PSEEF), consisting of municipal-guaranteed loans to municipal energy management companies in Ukraine to facilitate critical improvements in energy efficiency measures in public buildings in a number of cities across Ukraine.

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LOAN PORTFOLIO OF UKRAINIAN BANKS 3% UP IN JULY-AUG

The loan portfolio of banks in July-August 2020 increased by 3%, while in the first half of the year it decreased by 5%, Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Kyrylo Shevchenko has said.
“In July and August, the banks really lent to the population much more actively than in the first half of the year. Indeed, in the first half of the year we saw a reduction in the loan portfolio by 5%. In the two months, the portfolio grew by about 3%,” he said during a press briefing by the National Bank.
According to him, over the past three months, the banks have lowered lending rates, in particular, rates on loans for businesses are below 10%, while in the first half of the year the average rate on such loans was 11%.
“Regarding the rates for the population, unfortunately, there is no such a trend, with the exception of rates on mortgage loans. Rates on mortgage loans are average, if we started the year at a level of almost 20%, then in July they were about 13% and in August we expect average rates on mortgage loans to be even lower,” Shevchenko added.
In addition, he noted a decrease in the volume of non-performing loans (NPL), in particular, over the past two months, their share decreased by 1.5%, excluding the revised statistics for August.

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EBRD TO PROVIDE LOAN TO SETTLE PROBLEM OF WASTE IN KHMELNYTSKY

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) a part of the Green Cities Framework 2 will provide a senior loan of up to EUR 28.5 million to Communal Enterprise Spetskomuntrans to finance the rehabilitation and modernisation of solid waste infrastructure in the City of Khmelnytsky estimated at EUR 36.5 million.
The decision was made by the bank’s board on September 2, EBRD Senior External Relations Advisor Anton Usov has told Interfax-Ukraine.
The senior loan split into several tranches co-financed by up to EUR 5.0 million investment grant from the EU Neighbourhood Investment Platform and up to EUR 3.0 million local contribution.
The phase I of the project will address the city’s urgent investment needs with respect to the rehabilitation of the existing landfill, the construction of a new engineered sanitary landfill in compliance with the EU standards adjacent to the old one, the acquisition of new landfill equipment to ensure sustainable operation of the new landfill, and improvements of the solid waste collection and transportation systems co-financed from the city’s budget.
The phase II of the project includes the construction of a new material recovery facility for non-organic waste and a separate composting facility for pre-sorted organic waste that will reduce the share of solid waste going to the landfill by promoting recycling and providing a modern solid waste management infrastructure with respect to sorting and composting. The project will ensure that a long-term, sustainable solid waste management strategy is properly implemented.

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EIB TO ISSUE LOAN TO LVIV TO RENEW TRAMS

The European Investment Bank (EIB) within the framework of the Ukraine Urban Public Transport project is providing Lviv with EUR 12 million loans for the purchase of ten new low-floor trams.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the relevant agreement between the bank, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the city authorities was signed on September 2.
According to the ministry, another EUR 8.8 million will be additionally financed from the city budget.
Head of the European Investment Bank representative office in Ukraine Jean-Erik DE ZAGON said the EIB loan for new trams in Lviv will contribute to the development of environmentally friendly and sustainable transport. As representatives of the climate-oriented EU bank, they are convinced that a well-functioning tram network can make a significant contribution to reducing the number of cars on roads and thus reducing environmental pollution and mitigating climate change.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy also supported this position.
“We have a clear position – electric transport should dominate. First of all, these are environmental issues, because 30% of all diseases in the world are caused by air quality. And secondly, it is financially profitable. In addition, low-floor trams and trolleybuses manufactured here, in Lviv, contribute to comfortable movement around the city for all its residents, including those with limited mobility,” he said.

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UKRAINE INTENDS TO ATTRACT $100 MLN LOAN FROM IBRD

The Cabinet of Ministers intends to attract a $100 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for the Eastern Ukraine: Reconnect Recover Revitalize (3R) Project.

In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the composition of the delegation to participate in negotiations with the IBRD.

According to the draft resolution, the loan is planned to be attracted for a period of 27 years with a grace period of 12 years with a floating rate of LIBOR plus a variable spread.

According to the data on the website of the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporary Occupied Territories, the project envisages investments in the resumption of agriculture through the implementation of private agricultural sub-projects aimed at overcoming the consequences of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation on the territory of Luhansk region controlled by the government of Ukraine.

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