Privatization of the large-scale titanium plant falls through and serves as a lesson.

According to the Kyiv Post, on August 31 the State Property Fund was due to sell United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC) — the largest titanium ore producer in Europe and the country’s most attractive asset so far — for $125 million as a starting price. Only one undisclosed bidder emerged, and the sale has had to be postponed because according to the law more than one bidder is required. It seems that the problem is not the lack of interest, but insufficient time given for investors to prepare the necessary documents. Ukraine accounts for one-fifth of all titanium ore deposits globally. The United Mining Chemical Company — a 90% export-oriented company — extracts on average 300,000 tons of titanium ore annually at its two plants, in Zhytomyr Oblast and Vilnohirsk.