Daily monitor

Avantazh Corporation is initiating a private placement of 15% of its shares in Nov-Dec 2008.

The CJSC “Borshchagivskiy Chemical Pharmaceutical Plant” has announced its intention to sell up to 69% of its common shares on October 28, 2008. The estimated price per share in this sellout deal will be equal to USD 20,191.28 in its UAH equivalent.

Astarta [AST PW, BUY] and Ukrros [UROS UZ, N/R], the top Ukrainian sugar producing companies, have announced the beginning of their sugar production campaigns.

The wholesale electricity price for October 2008, set by the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), increased 4% compared to September, reaching USD 79.4 per MWh. Thus the YtD tariff increase for January-October 2008 has reached 40% in local currency (UAH).

Kryukiv Railcar [KVBZ, BUY] has received a license for the installation of tunnel escalators in Ukraine.

In August, Kryukiv Railcar [KVBZ UZ, BUY] increased railcar production by 2.27% MoM to 631 railcars, 14 of which were passenger railcars.

Shareholders of Dniprometiz [DMPO UZ, N/R] approved the creation of Dniprometiz Kraznozavod Facility LLC at an EGM on September 17. OJSC Dniprometiz will be the sole participant with a 100% stake. No assets will be contributed, and the statutory fund of UAH 16.5 mln (about USD 3.3 mln) will be paid in cash 100% by OJSC Dniprometiz.

Alchevsk ISW [ALMK UZ, BUY] plans to launch the 3 mln mt oxygen converter No. 1, the company’s second, on September 19-20. According to Metal Courier, the company will simultaneously retire a total of 1.4 mln tpa of open hearth steel smelting capacities.

According to Serhiy Sazonov, the CEO of HK “AvtoKrAZ” [KRAZ, N/R], the only Ukrainian manufacturer of heavy trucks, AvtoKrAZ is being forced to scale down the program "KrAZ by credit" and "KrAZ lease” due to the credit crisis in Ukraine.

According to a statement made on September 16, 2008 by the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine, August revenues of long distance telephone operators fell by 2.7% to UAH 461.5 mln, in comparison with July’s revenues, which totaled UAH 449 mln.