Office of the National Investment Council of Ukraine presents weekly reports as handy tools to keep track of the key news in business and investment climate in Ukraine and the world. The following report covers events dated August 5-11, 2019

1. WEEKLY REPORT
August 05th → August 11th, 2019

2. A team of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi is drafting a package of the bills for introducing amendments into
Tax Code that meant to settle some technical issues for business, namely difficulties occurred with the registration of
the licenses for storage of petroleum products and alcohol.
WEEKLY REPORT August 05th → August 11th, 2019
Business climate in Ukraine
Oil
Coal
Natural
Gas
Iron Ore
Copper
Corn
Wheat
USD/bbl
USD/ton
USD/MWh
USD/ton USD/bushel
Macroeconomic indicators
Source: Ukrstat, NBU
USD/ton
USD/bushel
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced that new Verkhovna Rada will adopt a law on concessions in autumn
2019. State enterprise Stevedoring Company Olvia, SE Kherson Sea Trade Port and Ferry Complex of the SE Sea Trade
Port Chernomorsk are the sites for implementation of the pilot concession projects.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi told about plans to invest at least USD 20 billion in infrastructure of Ukraine to
repair 24,000 km of roads, to increase the number of operating airports to 15, to develop 5 seaports, to substantially
increase their capacity. He also said that during this period the country will pay much attention to the development of a
high-quality telecommunications sector.
The Rating and Investment Information (R&I) Japanese agency has increased Ukraine’s sovereign credit rating by two
positions from CCC+ to B, with stable outlook. R&I analysts say that Ukraine’s GDP is growing, inflation is slowing, and a
temporary increase in the balance of payments deficit to 3-4% will not affect the country's creditworthiness.
According to agency experts, the public debt to GDP ratio decreased from 69.2% as of the end of 2016 to 52.3% as of
the end of 2018.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi has signed amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Alternative Energy
Sources" that allow private solar power plants with a capacity of up to 30 kW to sell electricity at a "green" tariff. On
August 6, the law was returned signed by the President. Changes to the Law enable to use the "green" tariff for
electricity generated by private SPP and cancel the compulsory condition for placing such power plants exclusively on
the roofs or facades of buildings or other structures.
1Q 2019, y-o-y
Jan - May 2019
Jan - May 2019 y-o-y
Jan – May 2019
Jan - May 2019 y-o-y
Jan - Jun 2019, y-o-y
Jun 2019
Jan - Jun 2019, y-o-y
Jun 2019
(NBU, average)
Source: Ukrstat, NBU
million
+7.4%
+9.3%
-2.3%
9.0%
million

3. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided EUR 8.7 million loan to Ukrainian building
material producer Unigran. Loan will be used for transport fleet expansion and energy efficiency modernization of
Company’s assets.
WEEKLY REPORT August 05th → August 11th, 2019
Ukrainian Business News World Business News
U.S. cloud-based service provider Salesforce agreed to buy U.S.-Israeli software developer
ClickSoftware for USD 1.35 billion in cash and shares, in a bid to accelerate growth of its cloud-based
products to manage customer service operations. ClickSoftware makes cloud-based field service
management software - which tracks and manages technicians and employees who work outside office
International Finance Corporation (IFC) provides USD 40 million loan to OTP Leasing to finance projects that meet
criteria of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources (EE&RE) in Ukraine. The loan is valid for up to 5 years with
a 2-year grace period.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih has signed a contract with OTP Leasing financial support for purchase of 4 diesel locomotives
from CZ Loko, Czech Republic. ArcelorMittal will receive locomotives EffiShunter 1600 worth EUR 9 million in 2020.
Diesel locomotive EffiShunter 1600 is intended for shunting and line service.
Arricano Real Estate, managing company and developer of shopping and entertainment malls in Ukraine, announced on
London Stock Exchange its intention to sell two its properties: Sun Gallery Mall in Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region)
and City Mall in Zaporizhia. Developer said that preliminary agreements have already been reached with Dragon Capital
Investments and other companies.
Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air has announced that it will launch flights to seven new destinations from Ukraine.
Starting from November, the company will launch flights to Berlin, Bratislava, Budapest, Gdansk, Katowice and Wroclaw
from Odessa twice a week and to Cyprus from Lviv. In 2019, the airline will operate 40 routes from Ukraine.
Payments processor Mastercard would buy a majority of the corporate services businesses of
Scandinavian payments group Nets for about EUR 2.85 billion, furthering its push into the Nordic
markets. The acquisition includes the clearing and instant payment services, and e-billing solutions of
Nets’ corporate services business.
CITIC Capital, the flagship alternative investment arm of Chinese financial conglomerate CITIC Group
raised USD 2.8 billion in its fourth China buyout fund, bolstering its ability to cut deals in the world’s
second-largest economy. The CITIC Capital China Partners IV, the firm’s biggest private equity fund to
date, received “strong” interest from a mix of existing and new investors including pension and
sovereign wealth funds, insurers and family offices.
German chemical groups Bayer and Lanxess have agreed to sell integrated chemical site operator
Currenta to Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets for an enterprise value of EUR 3.5 billion
($3.9 billion). That includes net debt and pension obligations and a related real estate portfolio that
Bayer will transfer to Macquarie. Bayer has recently sold consumer health brands Dr. Scholl’s and
Coppertone and is looking for a new owner for its animal health business.
U.S.-Israeli cyber security provider Cybereason raised USD 200 million from Japan’s Softbank and
its affiliates, bringing the company closer to an initial public offering. The new funds, which double the
amount raised to date, will be used to fuel global growth and further innovate its cloud-based endpoint
protection platform. The company made headlines in June when it uncovered what it called the largest
nation-state cyber espionage attack on multiple telecom companies.
Saudi Aramco is ready for its initial public offering (IPO), but a timing for the deal will be decided by its
sole shareholder, the Saudi government. Saudi officials have said the government plans to list Aramco
in 2020-2021, a deal seen as the centerpiece of the kingdom’s economic transformation drive to attract
foreign investment and diversify away from oil.
State-owned company Ukrspecexport, part of Ukroboronprom, and the Turkish company Baykar Defence, which is one
of the leading manufacturers of drones, have created a joint venture in the field of precision weapons and aerospace
technologies.