BUSINESS IN BRIEF (01/23/00)

BUSINESS IN BRIEF

Ukrainian interbank exchange is official

KYIV - The State Commission for Securities and Stock Market registered the Ukrainian Interbank Currency Exchange as a self-regulating organization of the stock market. According to legislation, every professional participant of the stock market must be a member of one of the self-regulating organizations on the market. Currently, other such organizations in Ukraine include the Ukrainian Association of Investment Business, the Professional Association of Registrars and Depositories, the PFTS, the South-Ukrainian Trading-Informational System, the Kyiv International Stock Exchange, the Ukrainian Stock Exchange, the Prydniprovska Stock Exchange, the Donetsk Stock Exchange and the Association of Ukrainian Stock Market Members. (Eastern Economist)

Purchase of the AN-7X plane expected soon

KYIV - The decision regarding the purchase of the joint Ukrainian-Russian made AN-7X military transport airplane will be made in the beginning of the year, stated representatives of Antonov Design Bureau. It is already known that Ukraine will provide state orders for five such planes during 2000-2003. (Eastern Economist)

AN-38-100 is going international

KYIV - The AN-38-100 airplane is scheduled for the beginning of 2000 to receive additions to its license, which will qualify it for international flights. On the contrary to the base airplane, the international version will be equipped with a VOR system, allowing to determine the aircraft's location, the voice registration system Opal-B and a ground collision warning system, which are required by international standards. The Antonov Design Bureau also received orders for re-equipment of the base airplane into a converted version AN-74TK-200 with a VIP lounge for six persons and an economy class section. (Eastern Economist)

Antonov airfield goes international

KYIV - The Antonov Airline company and the Antonov aviation scientific technical complex intend to turn complex's Kyiv-based airfield into an international airport, said Kostiantyn Lukashov, Ukrainian Airline's executive director. The business plan provides for capital investments equivalent to $900 million (U.S.) The first stage of the project, which is estimated at $330 million, is expected to take two years to complete. It includes the repair of the roads leading to the future airport, construction of automated warehouses and a rescue team station. The second stage, which is expected to take three years, will include the construction of the main complex of the new airport, hangars, offices, exhibition halls, etc. (Eastern Economist)

25 percent of grain lost due to lack of treatment

KYIV - According to the Plant Protection Association, only a third of the required bromide-methyl for treating grain in granaries was delivered this year, resulting in an estimated 25 percent of grain being lost (5.5 million tons). As of November 1, 1999, 2.4 million tons of the total grain harvest were exported and 4.2 million tons were given to farm laborers as in-kind payment. Domestic market demand is estimated to be 20.5 million tons, with 6.5 million tons of food grain and 14 million tons of fodder grain. (Eastern Economist)

Estonians will open JV in Odesa Oblast

KYIV - Estonians are prepared to participate in the creation of a joint venture in the Odesa Oblast, said the president of the Credit Bank of Estonia, Rain Otsason, during a meeting with representatives of the Odesa Oblast administration held within the framework of the Northern Partners Program. The leader of the program, Serhii Lazarev, said the meeting ended with the Estonian side confirming its intent to open a series of JVs specializing in the construction of a hotel worth nearly $20 million (U.S.), the processing of Estonian fish and the renovation of buildings constructed in the 1960s. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine opens Romanian pipeline

KYIV - Ukraine and Romania jointly opened a pipeline on December 3, 1999, that will allow for the transport of 4 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually to Romania. Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry indicated that the 20.6-kilometer pipeline between the Ukrainian town of Khust and the Romanian town of Satu Mare has two gas meter stations on each side of the border. The diameter of the pipeline is 720 millimeters. Romanian President Emil Constantinescu, as well as gas officials from the two countries, attended the opening ceremony. (Eastern Economist)

Three-way deal on new rocket booster

KYIV - Ukraine, Russia and Kazakstan are working together on the creation of a new heavy rocket booster, said the general director of the National Space Agency of Ukraine, Oleksander Nehoda. He added that a JV is planned to be set up for this purpose. "The current state of financing of space programs does not give hope for a quick implementation of the project," said Mr. Nehoda. (Eastern Economist)

EBRD will finance railway renovation

KYIV - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has granted the Ukrainian Railway Transport Administration a credit of $51.88 million (U.S.) to finance the renovation of the country's railway system. The project calls for the modernization of 400 kilometers of rail on the Kyiv-Zhmerynka-Lviv line. The credit will be granted under Ukrainian government guarantee at the standard interest rate for 15 years with four-year privilege periods. According to information from the press center of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Ukraine, the agreement was signed in London. Since 1992 the total EBRD credits provided nearly $700 million (U.S.) for 27 projects in Ukraine. (Eastern Economist)

New plan for dumping of toxic waste

KYIV - As of 2000, Ukraine's government wants local administrations to pay 2.5 percent of local environmental protection funds toward the construction in Ukraine of sites for recycling and burial of toxic industrial waste. The Ministry for Industrial Policy is to create a state-run enterprise that will manage the sites and its subsidiaries, appoint its manager, and provide office and other equipment, as well as cash for this new enterprise. The locations of dump sites are to be agreed upon with local authorities. (Eastern Economist)

Sales of home appliances on the rise

KYIV -The sale of home appliances and personal computers totaled around $250,000 (U.S.). Anatolii Baliuk of the Diawest company said, "We thought people will be lining up to buy our goods by installments, yet this did not happen." The issue that Diawest faced was that by law a private individual can make a purchase on credit only if the total amount does not exceed half of the individual's annual income. "Official salaries are undervalued," Mr. Baliuk argued. "Most people make most money in other ways." Still, the company considers its sales a success and is gong to decrease down payments from 50 percent to 30 percent of the total amount. The payments are insured by the insurance company Garant - Auto. (Eastern Economist)

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