Belarus is eager to implement new projects with Austria’s Kronospan Group, Belarusian Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said as he met with Kronospan owner Peter Kaindl on January 18. The head of the government noted that Belarus appreciated the contribution of this investor to the development of the Belarusian economy. “We attach great importance to the…
DetailsThe presidential decree “On additional measures for the intensification and expansion of activities of free economic zones” dated October 26, 2016 serves as an important guide to action in creating a more favorable investment climate, expanding privileges and preferences. A single legal regime for free economic zones, unification of tax and customs privileges and preferences,…
DetailsNaftogazvydobuvannya operated by DTEK Naftogaz has commenced drilling a new well at Semirenkivske gas and condensate field. The project will employ new engineering solutions and environmental approaches. The 5,628 m deep well will be slanted, yet the company is going to drill, explore and test it in just 160 days. Naftogazvydobuvannya will use a retrofitted…
DetailsMoney supply in Ukraine in December 2016 increased by 5.4%, to UAH 1.102 trillion, according to preliminary monetary statistics data, posted on the website of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). In addition, the amount of cash last month grew by UAH 25.7 billion (8.9%), to UAH 315.175 billion. The annual rise was 11.5%. According…
DetailsThe private enterprise Viktor & K (“Korolivsky Smak” brand) is planning to launch a soybean crushing plant in autumn. The new plant will create some 1,000 jobs. In addition, the construction of purification works and a fully computerized product storage terminal is drawing to an end. About 2,000 persons are currently employed at the enterprise.…
DetailsIn December 2016 the official unemployment rose by 0.2% to 1.5%, the State Statistics Service has said this in a statement. As of January 1, 2017 the State Employment Service registered 390,800 unemployed people. A total of 337,900 unemployed were registered at the State Employment Service as of December 1, 2016. The number of unemployed,…
DetailsProduction of passenger cars in Ukraine in 2016, according to preliminary data from the Ukrautoprom association, decreased by 23.2% YoY, to 4,340 units. The result of the year in the passenger segment was formed by two manufacturers: PJSC Eurocar and Zaporizhia Automobile Building Plant (ZAZ). At the same time, Eurocar increased production of Skoda cars…
DetailsThe Domostroenie branch of the Shklov-based newsprint mill will build and ship more than 70 frame-panel houses to France in 2017 or twice as much as in 2016, representatives of the company reported. The negotiations with French real estate development companies started several years ago. The first orders for building 37 stick-frame houses were signed…
DetailsComprehensive measures to further improve the business environment, to ensure reliable protection of small business and private entrepreneurship, to remove the barriers for their comprehensive support and accelerated development contributed to the creation of some 31 thousand new small businesses in 2016, according to SSC information service. As a result, the number of small businesses…
DetailsGazprom has billed Naftogaz Ukrainy $5.3 billion for not accepting contracted take-or-pay provisions for gas. If that amount is included in the earlier declared claims in the Stockholm arbitration case, the amount of claims in the case of fulfilling the contract on supplies will grow to $37 billion, which makes up more than half of…
DetailsKazakhstan produced nearly 74.63 tons of unprocessed, semi-processed and powder gold in January-December 2016, up by 17.3% YoY, the Kazakh Statistics Committee said. According to the committee, the fine gold production increased by 21.6%, to 37.74 tons. The committee said the production of unprocessed, semi-processed and powder silver dropped by 9.8% YoY, to 1,180 tons.…
DetailsFitch Ratings has assigned Kernel Holding S.A.’s planned benchmark USD unsecured eurobond an expected rating of ‘B+(EXP)’, Fitch said in a press release. Fitch Ratings has placed Kernel’s Long-Term Local-Currency (LC) and Foreign-Currency (FC) Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) on Rating Watch Positive (RWP). The final ratings of the bonds are contingent upon receipt of final…
DetailsA customs experiment introduced by the government of Ukraine in September 2015 allowed in 2015-2016 to collect an additional UAH 2.8 billion to local budgets for road infrastructure repairs, of which nearly UAH 1.5 billion was spent on road repairs and construction. According to the press service of the State Agency of Automobile Roads of…
DetailsInfrastructure Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Omelian says that more low cost airlines would operate in Ukraine in 2017. “As to the low cost airlines – this year they definitely will operate in Ukraine. This year Wizz Air will perform even more flights than it previously performed. It has significantly expanded routes from Ukraine,” Omelian said.…
DetailsGas stocks in Ukraine’s underground storage facilities declined by 25% or 3.677 billion cubic meters to 11.055 billion cubic meters since October 13, 2016 when the current heating season began, through January 14. Ukraine withdrew 52.84 million cubic meters from underground storage on January 14, and a total of 930.98 cubic meters on January 1…
DetailsThe President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoev had marked the main task of 2017 during his speech at the Cabinet of Ministers’ expanded session. “We have to ensure the export of products in the amount of $10.8 billion”, said the head of state and defined the tasks needed to be solved. The first task – within…
DetailsAmendments to the Tax Code of Kyrgyzstan, aimed at developing production of perfumes and cosmetic products, were submitted to Parliament for consideration. The deputies note that a lot of herbs and plants, which are used in perfumery and are of very good quality as they are growing in the mountains, clean area, grow in the…
DetailsCentral Asia’s biggest industrial complex with an annual capacity of 1.4 million tons of potash fertilizer is being built in an area exceeding one hundred hectares in Turkmenistan’s Lebap Province. The ore-dressing and processing enterprise will be put into operation in late March. Currently, preparation is being carried out in the industrial area to launch…
DetailsGDP growth rate in Turkmenistan was maintained at 6.2% in 2016, the country’s Ministry of Economy and Development said. The growth rate has increased by 1.2% in the industrial sector, by 4.4% in construction, by 10.5% in transportation and communication sector, by 14.3% in trade, by 11.6% in agriculture and by 10% in the sphere…
DetailsNational joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy on January 11, signed a contract valued at $6.31 million with Covington & Burling LLP (New York, the United States). The company will represent the interest of the Ukrainian company in arbitration against Russia under a claim to refund losses over the annexation of Crimea by Russia. Naftogaz said in…
DetailsKazakhstan’s trade turnover with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) amounted to $11.95 billion in January-November 2016, down by 21.1% YoY, Kazakh Statistics Committee said. Kazakhstan’s exports to fellow EAEU countries decreased by 26.8% to $3.48 billion in this period, while imports were down by 18.5% hitting $8.47 billion, said the committee. A lion’s share –…
DetailsGrain harvest in Ukraine 2016 has broken a record being 66 million tons (in standard weight), up by 5.9 million tons YoY. Ukraine’s Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry reported that in 2016 grain yield records were hit: wheat – 42.1 hundredweights per ha, rye – 27.3 hundredweights per ha, corn – 66 hundredweights per ha…
DetailsPC Bank (People’s Capital Bank, Kyiv) with largest shareholders as of early December 2016 Russian citizen Valery Makarenko (14.24%), Svitlana Ostapenko (9.84%), Ruslan Parkhomenko (9.68%), Oleksiy Yaroshenko (9.07%), Oleksandr Voroniak (8.6%) and Oleh Lutsky (8.07%) could be liquidated under an initiative of its owners. The issue was put on the agenda of an extraordinary general…
DetailsProduction of all groats in Ukraine increased by 0.4% YoY to 298.8 KMT in the eleven months of 2016. The most considerable hikes in groats output were registered in Kirovohrad region – by 48% to 7.1 KMT, Kherson region – by 34% to 18.1 KMT, Odessa region – by 27% to 34.9 KMT, Khmelnytsky region…
DetailsIn January-December 2016 Ukrainian seaport of Illichivsk handled 15,942,000 tons of cargo (down by 7.9% YoY), says the port authority. Private port operators handled 9.363 million tons of cargo (58.7% of total turnover) including 6.127 million tons of cargo handled at the terminals of Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (38.4% of total volume). Transshipment of export…
DetailsFrench-based Engie (formerly GDF Suez SA) from January 1, started natural gas imports to Ukraine, supplying 3.9 million cubic meters to the Ukrainian gas transportation system (GTS) in the first days of the month, the public relations department of PJSC Ukrtransgaz has said. “According to the report of Engie, the daily volume of gas supplies…
DetailsThe mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could in the coming weeks recommend the executive board to hold the third revision of the EFF program, IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice has reported. “I don’t have the exact date of the meeting, but we expect it to be soon, in the coming weeks. And let me…
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