BUSINESS IN BRIEF (05/23/99)

BUSINESS IN BRIEF

USAID funding a new clearing depository

KYIV - The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided technical aid worth several million dollars to establish a Ukrainian Clearing Depository, PriceWaterhouseCoopers announced May 13. After winning an international tender, PriceWaterhouseCoopers became the USAID contractor for the project to establish a national depository, clearing and accounting organization for the Ukrainian stock market. This national clearing depository will serve the leading members of the stock market, including domestic and foreign brokers, traders, security officers, banks and enterprise-share issuers, as well as all operating traders. (Eastern Economist)

Russia debt clearing agreement ratified

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on May 14 ratified the Ukrainian-Russian agreement of October 30, 1997, on clearing debts for energy resources and products of fission. Under the agreement, Ukraine's debts of $119.45 million (U.S.) for fuel it received from Russian oil refineries under inter-government agreements in 1993 and $130.72 million (U.S.) for oil, petroleum products and other material resources received in 1993-1994 under a contract signed with the Russian state company RosKontract will be cleared in compensation for the fission products Russia extracted from tactical nuclear weapons it received from Ukraine in 1991-1992. The total value of these products is $450 million (U.S.). The balance of the Russian debt for fission products, $199.83 million (U.S.), will be cleared against part of Ukraine's debt to the Russian Federation from other transactions. (Eastern Economist)

May freezes hitting agriculture hard

KYIV - The Ministry of Agriculture reported on May 13 that 400,000 hectares of crops had suffered freezing temperatures in early May. Although this amounts to only 1.5 percent of domestic farm land used for crop cultivation, the losses will total 200 million hrv. The hardest hit crops were corn and wheat; due to the frosts, strawberries and grapes are also not expected to be as numerous this year as in previous years. Such freezing cold temperatures in May are have not been recorded for over 50 years. (Eastern Economist)

Order for 500 domestic harvesters in 1999

KYIV - The industrial policy and agro-industrial complex ministries were instructed by the Cabinet of Ministers to produce 250 Lan and 250 Slavutych grain combines in 1999. Fifty harvesters of each model must be ready by June 1. Oblast administrations were instructed to set up in 1999 at least one harvester station equipped with 10 pieces of domestic harvesting and other farm equipment. Production and purchasing of 250 Lans and Slavutyches will be funded from central state capital investment funds that are earmarked for new machinery production and combine purchases. Grain harvesters will be sold to farms on leasing terms. (Eastern Economist)

Modernized rocket launch successful

KYIV - The first successful launch of the updated ICBM SS-18 Dnipro rocket, formerly called Satan and modernized for commercial purposes, was conducted on April 21, said Oleksander Nehoda, director of the National Space Agency of Ukraine. He added that the modernization was conducted by the Russian-Ukrainian JV KosmosTrans, which plans to modernize around 150 Dnipro rockets which, according to arms limitation agreements, are set to be destroyed. Mr. Nehoda stated that during the trial launch that Dnipro carried a British satellite weighing 320 kilograms. He added that the Dnipro is capable of carrying into orbit up to five tons at half the price of any of its competitors. A December Dnipro launch is planned to carry a Ukrainian satellite. Ukraine has conducted a total of 50 launches since independence, and in next five years Ukraine is set to launch another four new rockets. (Eastern Economist)

Dnipro rocket on international market

BRIGHAM CITY, Utah - Thiokol Propulsion, a division of Cordant Technologies Inc., is facilitating discussions between U.S. aerospace firms and KosmosTrans to utilize the Russian-Ukrainian Dnipro rocket in future launches. Thiokol Propulsion initiated business relationships with Ukraine and Russia back in 1993 as part of several threat reduction programs and in an effort to establish relations with the top aerospace companies in the former Soviet Union. Joint work on the Dnipro program began in 1995. (Eastern Economist)

Uzbek, Ukrainian airlines in new alliance

KYIV - In order to improve cooperation in the airline industry, the national carriers of Uzbekistan and Ukraine on April 29 signed an agreement in Tashkent on forming a new "CIS-Alliance" air system, Interfax reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kharkiv military plant switches to harvesters

KHARKIV - The state-owned Malyshev Plant, famous for its military technologies, has begun production of Bizon BS-Z 110 harvesters. The production line was established via a contract with the international New Holland corporation for joint manufacture of grain harvester equipment. A representative of the plant stated that production of 13 harvesters is planned before the harvesting season gets under way later this year. Currently only 15 percent of the harvester's components are made in Ukraine, but by 2003 all of the machine's parts are to be manufactured domestically. The planned annual production capacity is 2,000 units. (Eastern Economist)

McDonald's celebrates second birthday

KYIV - McDonald's Ukraine celebrated its second anniversary in Ukraine by introducing the McChicken sandwich on April 29. "During the two-year activity of McDonald's in Ukraine, the company opened 20 restaurants, with over 12 million visitors," said Petro Hnatiuk, public relations director of McDonald's. In 1998, McDonald's invested $12 million (U.S.) into developing their infrastructure of restaurants, which placed the company in fourth among all foreign investors in Ukraine, said Mr. Hnatiuk. He added that in 1998 the company paid 11 million hrv in taxes - five times more than in 1997. The corporation's strategic priority is support for domestic producers, continued Mr. Hnatiuk. All contractor companies involved in constructing new restaurants are Ukrainian. The company also receives lettuce, cucumbers and milk mixes from Ukrainian suppliers, he added. This year, McDonald's plans to open 15 new restaurants in nine cities. Investment allocated for these purposes totals $15 million (U.S.). (Eastern Economist)

| Home Page |