Page 45 - UKRRptFeb21

Ukroboronprom, the state arms production conglomerate, and ProZorro.Sale, the online auction platform, signed an agreement on January 11 to put up for auction leases on 250 properties ​around the nation with a total floor space of 380,000 square meters, Mustafa Nayem, assets director of the conglomerate, wrote on Facebook. For comparison, this unused, non-manufacturing space is five times larger than the total office space of Kyiv’s Parus office building. Looking ahead, Nayem told reporters at press briefing: “Currently, it is almost 2mn square meters that can theoretically be leased.” Looking at Ukroboronprom’s 137 enterprises, Gusev writes: “Some will go for privatization, because they produce non-military products, and some will cease to exist.” Of the 137, only 28 --or 20% -- make money, he writes on his Ekonomichna Pravda blog. In a major mismatch, Ukroboronprom meets only 36% of the armaments needs of Ukraine’s military and 70% of the conglomerate’s revenue comes from exports. One candidate company for closing – or a major turnaround -- produces components for Soviet submarines. Ukraine’s only submarine, the Foxtrot class Zaporizhia, was seized by the Russian Navy in Sebastopol in 2014.
The sale of prisons will start in February​, Justice Minister Denis Malyuska tells Ukrainian Radio. This year, four abandoned prisons are to be sold through ProZorro.Sale, the online auction house. Over the last decade, Ukraine’s prison population had gradually reduced to 50,000 today. Reasons include: a declining population of young men, government policies to promote releases on parole, and a reluctance to incarcerate white collar criminals.
Sixteen foreign companies have registered interest in Ukraine’s first big privatization of this year​ – the sale of a state company that mines and enriches titanium ore in Zhytomyr and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Scheduled to take place by the end of March, the online auction of United Mining and Chemical Company is expected to draw bids of at least $150mn, State Property Fund officials told reporters yesterday. The company produces ilmenite, the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printing inks, fabrics, plastics, paper, sunscreen, food, and cosmetics.
Zaporizhia’s Semiconductor Plant, once Ukraine’s largest producer of silicon components for electronic and solar energy, goes up for auction in February ​on ProZorro. Six years after bankruptcy proceedings started, Ukreximbank is selling the plant and equipment. Bids can be submitted until February 17 the bank said. The sale is expected to net around $17mn.
6.2 ​Debt
Ukraine will spend $20bn this year to repay principal and pay interest on its public debt​, according to Finance Ministry figures. About 72% will go to repay domestic debt and 28% to repay foreign debt. Peak payment months are: March -- $2.5bn; June -- $2.7bn; and September -- $3.6bn. About 25% will go for interest payments, and 75% for repaying principal, the Ministry posted two weeks ago on Facebook.
Ukraine may pay out $770m on its GDP warrants in May 2023, ​or 26.6 cents on the dollar, due to an improved 2021 outlook, Dragon Capital analysts write in a note. Estimates fair value of 163-221 points, with a central target of 193 based on 10% discount rate, implying 75% upside from current price of
45​ UKRAINE Country Report​ February 2021 ​ ​www.intellinews.com