Investments

Monday, May 17

Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo plans to invest $30 million to build a bakery in the Kyiv region, probably in Fastiv, said Ihor Mariash, General Manager of Bimbo QSR Ukraine, at an investment conference last Friday. In 2017, the company bought the East Bolt Ukraine bakery in Dnipro which produces ...

In its first year of operation in Ukraine, IKEA’s online store has received 2.5 million visitors and 148,000 online orders, said Florian Melle, the head of IKEA in Ukraine (Interfax Ukraine). After the first physical store opened in Kyiv’s Blockbuster Mall on February 1st, the store received almost 400,000 visitors in one ...

Bitcoin mining consumes as much electricity as Ukraine. Bitcoin consumes almost 150 TeraWatt hours, according to the Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index run Cambridge University’s Centre for Alternative Finance. By contrast, Ukraine generated 150 TeraWat...

Ukrposhta has posted on ProZorro a tender for a partner in construction of a $50 million modern sorting center in Kyiv. This will be the first such construction by the state postal operator in 42 years, Ukrposhta director Igor Smelyansky wrote on Facebook. Ukrposhta is undertaking a decade long logistic renovation prog...

Friday, May 14

France’s Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire was in Kyiv yesterday, and presided over the signing of for agreements totaling €1.3 billion for the purchase of French goods and services. For comparison, France-Ukraine trade during 2020 was valued at €1.6 billion.

In a €880 million deal, Alstom is to supply 130 electric locomotives to Ukrzaliznytsia . France is financing 85% of the sale, through a €350 French Treasury loan and €400 million in loan guarantees from BPI Assurance Export. French authorities raised the level of localization – value ad...

Two €70 million transactions will assist in the rebuilding drinking water supply facilities to one quarter of Kyiv’s population and to 20 frontline districts centered on Popasna, Luhansk. French companies are to supply 70% of goods and services.

“These projects will help improve the living conditions of Ukrainians,” Le Maire told Interfax-Ukraine. “We are talking about drinking water, mobility, security and civil protection.” The Economy Minister noted that 160 French companies in Ukraine employ 30,000 people. Bertrand Barrier, President of the...

Thursday, May 13

Rights to mine Lithium, titanium and gold deposits coming up for auction in Ukraine this year have prompted reports in International Mining, Hellenic Shipping News and S&P Global Platts . Investor interest is heightened by a forward-looking report published last week by the International Energy Association: “The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions.”

Noting “Ukraine has some of Europe’s biggest lithium reserves, but doesn’t currently produce the light metal,” S&P stresses Ukraine’s proximity to the EU and the free trade pact. Referring to a presentation by Roman Opimakh, head of Ukraine’s State Geological Service, S&P reports: “Three projects are now set to being auctioned: Kruta Balka with lithium oxide content ...

Planning a series of license auctions for this year, Ukraine has prepared an Investment Atlas with approximately 30 critical mineral assets , including titanium, lithium, nickel, cobalt, chrome, tantalum, niobium, beryllium, zirconium, scandium, molybdenum, gold and graphite, Opimakh said to S&P. Five gold blocks are to auctioned. “Uk...

Separately, in July, Ukraine’s State Property Fund plans to auction state-owned United Mining and Chemical Company, Europe’s largest miner of ilmenite, the main source for titanium oxide. Ukraine produces 6% of global titanium ore and its proven reserves are among the world’s 10 largest. The first of this year’s ‘Big Privatizations,” the company is Europe’s only miner of rutile a...

Wednesday, May 12

The World Bank has approved a $200 million loan to modernize Ukraine’s universities and to upgrade their “relevance to labor market needs, ” the Bank reported after Board Meeting on May 5. The money will fund a 5-year program to develop “modern digital infrastructure” and to improve transparency in university administration. Arup Banerji...

Tuesday, May 11

Cargill Metals has agreed to invest US$75 million in a Canadian major iron mining project in Kriviy Rih. In the deal Cargill, a major international iron ore trader, has agreed to take 4 million tons of iron ore from the Shymanivske mine, reports Black Iron Inc. “We are very pleased to help finance Black ...

Today through Wednesday, 65 speakers will talk about Ukraine’s business climate, problems and opportunities at the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation’s annual Business Expo. Hosted in Washington, the virtual conference brings together American and Ukrainian participants and observers of Ukraine’s contemporary business...

To open up northern Moldova to Ukrainian trade and tourism , a tender is underway for construction of what would be the second bridge on the 267 km Dniester River border between the two countries. Expected to cost $120 million, the bridge and seven kilometers...

Thursday, May 6

Estonian shareholders of Arricano Real Estate Plc registered in Cyprus, the management company and developer of a number of shopping and entertainment in Ukraine, have demanded $750 million in compensation for what they say is the illegal seizure of Sky Mall in Kyiv. “According to the press service of Arricano, after filing the notification, the parties have six months to settle the dispute before arbitration. If the parties fail to agree within the specified peri...

Wednesday, May 5

Aerospace firm Firefly, owned by Ukrainian businessman Max Polyakov, raised $200 million in investments as the result of the first round of venture funding. The company’s value has exceeded $1 billion, according to a press release from Firefly.

Major Firefly shareholders includes Dada Holdings, Astera, Canon Ball, Reuben Brothers SMS Capital Investments . Astera spokesman Jed McCaleb will now join Firefly’s Board of Directors.

The company says that by the end of 2021 it hopes to raise another $300 million. They want to start a new round of attracting investments after the launch of the Alpha rocket, which is planned for July 2021.

Tuesday, May 4

The National Bank has simplified regulations for Ukrainian companies seeking to issue debt securities on the international market, the NBU said. The following amendments were introduced: “transactions to distribute income on and redeem Eurobonds as well as other issuer transactions for the purpose of placing such securities were ...

Metinvest’s desired acquisition of the Dnipro Metallurigcal Plant is drawing attention from Ukraine’s antimonopoly regulator. “The Committee is considering the case of concentration in the form of indirect acquisition by Metinvest BV Netherlands of assets in the form of an integral property complex, which together prov...

Monday, May 3

Ukraine has successfully completed a $1.25 billion Eurobond placement at 6.875% maturing in 2029 , the Ministry of Finance announced on Friday. Joint Book runners included BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs International and JP Morgan. “The funds were transferred to the account of the Stat...

Reflecting high demand for Ukraine assets among global investors, the offering attracted over $3.3 billion from 223 investors . The investor base included asset management firms which accounted for 84% of the issue, followed by hedge funds at 9%, insurance and pension funds at 5% and banks at 2%.

Investors from the United Kingdom, the United States and the EU comprised the bulk of demand for the offering – 42%, 34% and 21%, respectively. Investors from Asia and MENA accounted for 3%.

Friday, April 30

President Zelenskiy yesterday signed a law allowing resumption of sales of large state companies, a privatization process that was suspended one year ago due to the coronavirus pandemic. All sales are to go through electronic auctions. Zelenskiy said: ““Despite the coronavirus crisis, our goal of ...

Australia’s Volt Resources Limited is paying $7.6 million to buy control of Ukraine’s Zavalivsky Graphite LLC, one of the 10 largest producers of natural graphite in the world. Volt says it is buying 70% of the company to become a producer of graphite for li-ion batteries. With a production capacity of 30,000 tons a year, Zavalivsky Graphite has been mining the deposit in Ki...

Wednesday, April 28

The Finance Ministry raised the equivalent of $370 million at its weekly auction yesterday, the Ministry reported on its Facebook page. Yields in hryvnia reflect the Central Bank’s increase in the nation’s prime rate 10 days ago to 7.5%. The yields were: 6-month – 9%; 1-year – 11.2%; 1.5 yea...

Two Citibank strategists recommend investors buy Ukraine’s GDP warrants, saying they could rise from 105.5c today, to 125c. In a note to investors Luis Costa and Dumitru Vicol wrote: “Mounting fiscal pressures to finance the planned 5.5%/GDP deficit for 2021 are likely to ...

Zakarpattia’s new airport is to cost almost $150 million to build, and is to be completed by the summer of 2024. This will be the end of President Zelenskiy’s current term. A priority for the government’s ‘Big Construction’ program, the airport is to have two 2,800-meter runways capable of handling A320 and B737...

Tuesday, April 27

Enjoying a peace window, on Monday Ukraine placed 8-year Eurobonds worth $1.25 billion at 6.875% per annum – the lowest yield of the government’s 11 outstanding Eurobonds, reported Bloomberg. The benchmark was 7-7.25%, but demand was almost three times supply, pushing down the final interest rate, reports Interfax.ru.

ICU wrote yesterday, referring to the government hryvnia bond market: “There has been very important improvement in market sentiment after the risk of escalating hostilities in the east of Ukraine declined, with immediate increase in Eurobonds’ and VRIs’ pri...

Germany’s Zeppelin, Ukraine’s only official Caterpillar dealer, is investing €10 million in new head office and service center in Vyshneve, a suburb of Kyiv oblast located 3 km southwest of the ring road. Under the guidance of Delta, an Austrian architectural firm, construction started last week. Zeppelin Ukraine has 12 branc...

Monday, April 26

On Thursday, Odesa’s 12-story Victoria Hotel will be put up for auction by the Deposit Guarantee Fund. Located a 10-minute walk from Arcadia beach, this Black Sea hotel has 229 rooms. The starting price is $7 million. The hotel is one of 862 assets that the Fund will be s...

Korrespondent magazine has ranked Ukraine’s five most valuable brands: Kyivstar (mobile) – $225 million; Rozetka (e-commerce) – $210 million; Darnitsa (pharmaceuticals) – $187 million; Morshynska (water) — $173.25 million; Nova Poshta (delivery) &...

Friday, April 23

Bolshevik, the oldest machine building plant in Kyiv, will probably be sold for the value of its 35 hectares of prime real estate, predicts Dmytro Sennychenko, head of the State Property Fund. Founded 140 years ago by a Swiss engineer, the state-owned factory has fallen on hard times, with production dwindling and bushes growing ...

Eight former prisons are to be sold this year, Justice Minister Denys Malyushka writes on Facebook. Three – in Irpin, Lviv and Odesa – are already in the auction pipeline. The other five are to be transferred shortly to the State Property Fund. Pr...

The first of seven state-owned flour mills is to be privatized through auction on May 7 , the State Property Fund reports. Often called ‘bakeries’ these Soviet-era complexes mill wheat and corn into flour and animal feed. Located alongside railroad tracks, the seven ‘kombinats’ have elev...

During the first quarter, the State Property Fund conducted 377 privatization auctions, raising $36 million for the Treasury. By July 1, the Fund plans to complete the sale of all 40 properties of Ukrspirt, the former state alcohol monopoly producer.

Thursday, April 22

BlaBlaCar, the Paris-based road travel platform, has acquired Octobus, a Ukrainian cloud platform that allows bus carriers to automate their business processes. The purchase, for an undisclosed sum, comes as the car-sharing service seeks combine on one platform carpooling and bus offerings for its 90 million users worldwide. In 2019, BlaBlaCar acquired Busfor...

Tuesday, April 20

The EBRD is also lending $57 million to the Kernel Group to improve the storage, transportation and export of agricultural commodities , the bank reported in a press release. The loan is part of a $200 million syndication arranged by French investment bank Natixis for Kernel, the world’s leading producer and exporter of sunflow...

The World Bank is commencing a new $100 million program for Ukrainian small and medium-sized businesses to receive soft loans for export-oriented projects, reported the Finance Ministry reports. Yesterday, the Cabinet of Ministers formally approved the long-term financing facility.

Accor, the France-based hospitality company, plans to open three new hotels in Ukraine over the next two years, said Alexis Delaroff, the Director General of Accor New East Europe (Interfax-Ukraine). Ibis Lviv and Ibis & Adagio Kyiv are to open next year, and Novotel Lviv is to follow in 2023. “Accor is alr...

Monday, April 19

UMG Investments plans to build a $150 million grain terminal at the Pivdennyi port, Ukraine’s busiest port on the Black Sea. The terminal will be capable of handling 9 million tons of grain a year, which equates to 20% of Ukraine’s current exports. The terminal is expected to be completed by 2024, said UMG CEO, Andrey Gorok...

PrivatBank, Ukraine’s largest bank, will put up for sale ‘soon,’ announced Kyrylo Shevchenko, the Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, (GlobalCapital). “The privatization of PrivatBank, which owns 20% of the Ukrainian banking market, will be of interest to the...

The World Steel Association has predicted that Global steel demand is to increase by 6% yoy. Investment worldwide in delayed infrastructure projects will be a boon to Ukraine, which produces 20 million tons of steel a year, placing it 13th place worldwide in production output. China, which co...

Friday, April 16

The escalating military standoff with Russia is cutting foreign demand for domestic government bonds, Yuriy Geletiy, a deputy governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, told reporters yesterday. “Prior to Russia’s concentration in the East, investors were actively buying IGLBs,” he said, referrin...

Timothy Ash, the Senior Emerging Markets Sovereign Strategist for Bluebay Asset Management, writes from London: “This is not good news for Russia. The result of these actions will inevitably be that fewer foreign investors will want to buy Russian debt which means higher borrowing costs, less investment and gro...

Thursday, April 15

Lakshmi Mittal, chairman of ArcelorMittal, told President Zelenskiy yesterday that his Ukraine unit is launching a ‘Steel Billion’ program, a nearly $1 billion investment to bring the steel maker in compliance with EU ‘green steel’ rules, according to the president’s website. By the end of 2023, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine’s largest integrated steel company, plan...

Timofei Milovanov was appointed yesterday head of the new National Investment Fund of Ukraine, Vasily Mokan, representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Rada, wrote yesterday on his Facebook page. Milovanov, who served as Zelenskiy’s first Economy Ministry, will be charged with setting up...