BUSINESS IN BRIEF (07/18/99)

BUSINESS IN BRIEF

Univermah Ukraina closed for reconstruction

KYIV - Ukraina, Kyiv's biggest department store, which is visited by over 5,000 persons daily, was closed for reconstruction on June 17. A high-ranking representative of the JSC Univermah Ukraina stated that renovations costing US $15 million (U.S.) will be financed by an American investment fund. The reconstructed building is to become a modern shopping mall, with a parking lot and a cinema. (Eastern Economist)

Kazakstan temporarily suspends Baikonur blast-offs

KYIV - The launch of a Zenit-2 booster rocket carrying the Ukrainian-Russian satellite Okean-O from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakstan was postponed once again on July 12. Kazakstan's government has halted the launch due to the crash of a Russian Proton rocket. Kazakstan is demanding compensation for damages caused by the crash. (Eastern Economist)

Launch explosion blamed on computers

KYIV - The cause of September 1998 crash of the Ukrainian-made Zenit booster rocket, which is used in the Global Star international project was determined to be low-quality electricity supply equipment assembled by a Russian company in Saratov. (Eastern Economist)

New Donets missile system is launched

KYIV - The Zenit-rocket complex Donets, designed at the Kharkiv-based Malyshev factory, was successfully tested, Holos Ukrainy reported on July 1. Improved and modernized, the new weapons-system is considered unique in the arms trade. The Donets can also be equipped with ground-to-air missiles and guided anti-tank jet-propelled missiles. (Eastern Economist)

Black Sea trade is inaugurated in Greece

THESSALONIKI, Greece - The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, or BSTDB, was inaugurated on June 21 in Thessaloniki, Greece. During the inaugural ceremonies, BSTDB President Eskor Volkan stressed that the main goals of the bank are to improve economic relations between member-countries and to promote stabilization and further development of their economies. The bank will also support the involvement of international capital and investments. Mr. Volkan said the bank has not considered any concrete project for financing as yet, and that in the future it will not differentiate between state and private projects. For major projects, the BSTDB hopes to attract international financing, in particular from the World Bank and EBRD. (Eastern Economist)

Countries protest steel dumping

KYIV - The South African government raised anti-dumping taxes on June 21 on the import of hot-rolled sheet steel from Ukraine and Russia, to 95 percent and 82 percent of the customs value, respectively. Until recently tax rates were 6 percent for Ukrainian steel and 14 percent for Russian steel. The new tax rates can be revised no sooner than one year after their imposition. Closer to home, three Polish steel companies, Florian, Pokoj and Sandzimira, announced plans to appeal to the Polish government to protest sheet steel dumping from Russia and Ukraine in 1997-1998. According to the Polish steel producers, imports of hot-rolled sheet steel from these countries to Poland over the last two years has increased by 50 percent, to 516,000 tons from Russia and 255,000 tons from Ukraine, which resulted in heavy losses to domestic producers. India's trade ministry began an anti-dumping investigation of the import of seamless pipes from Austria, the Czech republic, Russia and Ukraine, following a complaint by India's Association of Seamless Pipe Producers. According to the association, cheap imports in 1997-1998 brought about the closure of two Indian companies, Remi Metal and Tisco. (Eastern Economist)

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