Stalemate in IMF talks, early resolution unlikely
With the extreme cold this month claiming more than 130 dead on the streets in Ukraine, it would not seem to be the right time to put up gas prices, despite calls by the World Bank to speed up reforms, and further International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans contingent upon action in this direction. President Viktor Yanukovych is reportedly avoiding any such move ahead of temperatures improving in April,...........

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Small business to get US$ 100m loans
Smaller businesses – from micro businesses to medium-sized enterprises – have until the end of 2013 to take advantage of a new US $100m loan facility from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), launched at the close of 2011. It will be used to develop new loan products including support for rural and ....

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Metinvest 2011 output updated
Metinvest released its updated 2011 production figures in February, showing that steel production increased 3.9% on the previous year to 14.4 m tonnes in 2011, though the fourth quarter was down -6.7% compared to the fourth quarter the previous year. Coking coal mining output is up 12.3% to 11.3 m tonnes, and iron ore...

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Retailers prepare for 2013 IPOs
Among Ukrainian retailers preparing for initial public offerings (IPO) next year are the two top consumer electronics retailers Fokstrot (with 228 stores) and Comfy (with 78 stores) intending to list on the London and Warsaw stock exchanges. During 2012, the companies reportedly plan to focus....

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Tenders invited for water project
29 February 2012 is the closing date for sealed bids from tenderers bidding to design, supply and install an automated metering system for electrical power fiscal accounting (AMSEPFA) at the facilities of Dniprovodocanal, a communal enterprise of Dnipropetrovsk city council. Dniprovodoсanal intends using part of the proceeds of a loan from the EBRD towards the cost of this water services development project. The scope of works includes manufacture, delivery, installation,....

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Greater transparency in M&A transactions
On 9 January 2012, the Law on Amendments to Certain Laws on the Regulation of Financial Services Markets entered into force introducing a requirement to obtain a special approval for the acquisition of shares or other interest in financial institutions, according to reports from Ukrainian law firm Sayenko Kharenko. The new regulatory approval requirement covers both non-banking financial institutions....

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NAI Pickard acquired by CIII
NAI Pickard, the representative of NAI Global in Ukraine, reports that it has completed the acquisition of NAI Global by CIII. The NAI network has issued a statement saying that it has managed to grow during the past three years, while many competitors have contracted, and has opened several new international offices including in Poland, the Netherlands, India, China, Vietnam, and Brazil. The company says...

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US $50m for Ukraine fund
The US Government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), has provided US $50m in financing to SigmaBleyzer Southeast European Fund IV, a private equity buyout fund founded by Kharkiv-born emigre Michael Bleyzer, whose organisation has US $1 bn in assets under management. SigmaBleyzer specialises in....

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Investing in Ukraine’s future
In an interview with UBI Andre Kuusvek, EBRD Director and Country Manager for Ukraine at EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and Member of the Board of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine explained both his own and his organisation’s role and experience in the country. Andre Kuusvek, an Estonian by birth, has worked in several European countries, and specifically asked to work in Ukraine. Kuusvek explained to UBI that......

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Cyprus entices investors
Cyprus in International Business Planning, a planned two-day event being held in the Ajax Hotel, Limassol, from February 9 to 10, is more than the usual business development conference in that not only are qualifying participants being offered free entry, the organisers are even offering free accommodation, meals and transport from the airport to the hotel. Cyprus officially leads international investors into Ukraine, but it is believed that many of these investors are actually Ukrainian and Russian investors taking advantage of the tax regime which applies to Cyprus-based companies. After registration...

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