BUSINESS IN BRIEF (12/24/00)

BUSINESS IN BRIEF

AmCham elects new board of directors

KYIV- The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) has elected a new board of directors for 2001. These are: Gordon Argo, Credit Lyonnais; Elias Ashkar, Coca-Cola Ukraine Ltd.; Patrick Bracken, Cargill AT; Emmy Gengler, Softjourn; Jeff Howley, Golden Telecom; Mark Iwashko, Western NIS Enterprise Fund; Bohdan Kupych, UMC; Adam Mycyk, Altheimer & Gray; Johnny Schepens, Procter & Gamble; Andrew Seaton, EBRD; Andrew Taylor, Ernst & Young; Myron Wasylyk, PBN; Serhiy Yatsenko, Motorola. (Eastern Economist)

Canadians ready to invest in gas fields

SYMFEROPOL - Representatives of Canadian business circles are interested in developing gas deposits in Crimea and are ready to invest, stated Crimean Parliament Chairman Leonid Hrach after his meeting with Ron Cormick, president of Canadian Epic Energy Inc. and the administration of First Investment Group. The meeting discussed development of oil and gas reserves, production and refining. Agreements were reached on the shipment of new drilling equipment to Crimea. Mr. Cormick said that if one of the wells is productive, the remaining 30 wells of the Ukrainian-Canadian Crimea-Texas oil JV will work at full capacity. He added that his company is ready to invest and will develop the oil and gas sector in Crimea. (Eastern Economist)

Trade volume with Canada has doubled

KYIV - In 2000 the trade volume between Ukraine and Canada doubled, which raised Ukraine from 86th to 50th place on Canada's trade list, said Ukraine's ambassador to Canada, Dr. Yuri Shcherbak. In January through September trade volumes were $116 million (Canadian), with Ukrainian exports at $96 million. This is a good result, considering that 85 percent of Canada's trade is focused on the United States, said Ambassador Shcherbak. Canadian businessmen are afraid of "so-called public corruption, when the police, firemen and other inspectors demand money from businesses," Dr. Shcherbak added. (Eastern Economist)

Kuchma supports development of K-226 helicopter

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma ordered the government and the National Security and Defense Council to support the development program of the new K-226 helicopter. It will be jointly implemented by the Zaporizhia Motor-Sich plant and Russia's Klimov Design Bureau. Motor-Sich's general manager, Viacheslav Bohuslayev, said the K-226's production is scheduled to begin in two to three years. The K-226 is a multi-purpose aircraft that can be used to carry passengers, work in agriculture, salvage work, rescue operations, police, border patrols and to inspect gas/oil pipe-lines and electricity transmission lines. (Eastern Economist)

Ukrainian exports to Poland up by 70 percent

KHARKIV - Trade turnover between Ukraine and Poland in 2000 will be around $1.3 billion (U.S.), which reflects positive tendencies in the countries' economic cooperation, said the trade advisor at the Polish Embassy, Valdemar Pitel, commenting on the results of the Ukraine-Poland conference, which took place in Kharkiv in October. He added that turnover increased by 30 percent in the first half-year, while the volume of Ukrainian exports grew by 70 percent. Prospective sectors for cooperation between the countries include energy, shipbuilding, transport corridors, including oil and gas pipelines. Mr. Pitel noted that Poland is interested in creating alternative oil supply routes, including Odesa-Brody pipeline, but feels that this issue depends on more countries than just Ukraine. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine receives support in tourism

KYIV - The World Tourism Organization will allocate technical assistance to Ukraine to help the country set up its own tourist business sector, stated the organization's secretary general, Franchesco Franzialli, during his meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko. "Ukraine has an interesting history, famed cultural achievements, as well as varied landscapes, and the main thing now is to find people in the West to consume the products of Ukrainian tourism," said Mr. Franzialli. He added that the total volume international tourism is 655 million persons per year and brings in revenues of $455 billion (U.S.). Sixty percent of all tourists visit Europe, he said, emphasizing that Ukraine as a European country must also develop this sector. (Eastern Economist)

| Home Page |