Daily monitor

At their meeting on January 27, shareholders in the Orzhitsky Sugar Mill, which is affiliated with the ‘Ukrros’ sugar union [36U1 GR, UROS UZ], decided to reorganize the mill from a closed joint-stock company (CJSC) into a Limited Liability Company (LLC). As a result of this reorganization, the ‘Orzhitsky Sugar Mill’ LLCwill be a successor of all property, rights and responsibilities of the CJSC ‘Orzhitsky Sugar Mill’.

The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMC) has filed a suit about the case of increasing prices for sugar on the domestic market. According to the Acting Committee Chairman Alexander Melnychenko, retail sugar prices in Ukraine have grown by 30% on average since the start of the year. Since such a significant price hike for sugar may involve a violation of antitrust legislation on the part of market participants, the Committee decided to file a suit.

The First Ukrainian International Bank (FUIB) has announced that, in 2010, it intends to attract subordinated debt in the amount of USD 50 mln. It is assumed that the Bank will obtain such a loan for a period of five years.

Since the start of 2009/2010 marketing year (July 2009-June 2010) to January 26, grain exports from Ukraine totaled 14.96 mln tonnes. In 2008, exports stood at 13.82 mln tonnes for the same period. In particular, so far in the 2009/10MY, Ukraine has exported 7.29 mln tonnes of wheat, 4.1 mln tonnes of barley, and 3.4 mln tonnes of corn.

Japan’s Itochu Corporation is interested in cooperating with the Ukrainian turbine producer Turboatom [TATM UZ, U/R] with respect to the construction of the Dnestrovska Pump Storage Station, according to a statement by TATM’s press service. Itochu representatives visited Turboatom for an inspection of its production plants and technological projects. There were negotiations about the prospects of mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of hydro-electric engineering and specifically, a joint project in the filed of turbine production for thermal electric power stations.

At the EGM that was held on Tuesday, January 26, the shareholders of Ukrnafta [UNAF UZ] decided to pay out 100% of the net revenue earned by the Company in FY2006-2008. The total sum of the dividends should amount to UAH 5 bln.

According to data provided by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, as of December 3, 2009, lending to the agricultural sector in Ukraine in 2009 decreased 3.5 times YoY from a total of UAH 20.05 bln to just UAH 5.79 bln. The loan portfolio in Ukraine also doesn’t paint a rosy picture, with long-term loans accounting for an estimated 8.6 % of all loans. The interest rates paid by agricultural companies varied from 16% to 39%. As for loans that were attracted earlier, in 2009, only UAH 3.1 bln worth of loans were extended of the overall UAH 3.9 bln that required prolongation.

Turboatom [TATM UZ, U/R], a large Ukrainian turbine-producer, reported a net income of UAH 125.7 mln (USD 15.7 mln) in 2009, which implies a decline of 13.5% YoY.

Azovmash has announced its intentions to deliver three furnace-charging gears, seven steel-teeming ladles and a slag car to the Mariupol Ilich Steel Plant by 2011. The value of this contract has not yet been publicly disclosed.

Finance and Credit Bank (F&C) paid USD 5.187 mln coupon over its USD 100 mln Eurobond issue. Within the bounds of the restructuring agreement, the Bank also paid 5% of the Eurobonds nominal value. Earlier, bondholders agreed to the postponement of the redemption of 95% of the original redeemable sum for the Eurobonds from January 2010 to January 2014, as well as an increase in the coupon rate from 10.375% to 10.5%.