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of its peers. “Ukrainian Railways’ leverage allows the company to expand its orders for new locomotives, while the poor condition of its existing fleet underscores the necessity for such moves. We expect the new orders will improve the company’s operating efficiency in the mid-term. Kravtsov’s vision on a possible share placement of Ukrainian Railways is line with the position of the new Ukrainian power brokers that the company is at the top of the list for a possible partial privatization, as voiced in late July by Oleksiy Honcharuk, deputy head of the presidential office and one of the top candidates for the prime minister's position. That said, we keep our neutral position on RAILUA bonds,” Alexander Paraschiy of Concorde Capital said in a note.
Ukrzaliznytsia, the state railroad, has built its own grain terminal in Odesa, a first step toward launching its own grain export company next year. Equipped with 12 silos, rail and road access, and tippers for grain trucks and rail hoppers, the terminal has the capacity of storing 15,000 tons of grain at once, Andriy Ryazantsev, the railroad’s director of business development, writes on Facebook. Ukrainian Railways, a monopoly, moved about 70% of Ukraine’s grain exports to Black Sea ports in the marketing year that ended in June.
9.2.4 Construction & Real estate corporate news
Dragon Capital is acquiring its third shopping centre in Kyiv, Smart Plaza Obolon. Opened six months ago in an affluent northern residential area near Minska metro station, the shopping and entertainment centre has a gross leasable area of 9,000 square meters. Around Ukraine, Dragon now owns five shopping centres, with a total retail portfolio of 170,000 square meters, says Tomas Fiala, Dragon’s CEO.
Dragon Capital is negotiating to buy two more shopping centres in Ukraine -- Sun Gallery in Kryvyi Rih and City Mall Zaporizhzhia – Arricano Real Estate Plc, the owner, announces in a posting on the London Stock Exchange. Listed on the LSE’s Alternative Investment Market, Arricano currently owns five shopping centres in Ukraine, 49.9% of Kyiv’s Sky Mall and land for three sites for development. “Received funds will be meant for the development of portfolio and strengthening of the company’s positions,” Arricano CEO Mykhailo Merkulov told Interfax-Ukraine of the potential sale.
Paris Hilton, the celebrity hotel heiress, is negotiating to buy Derenivska Kupil, a late 17th-century health resort complex located in the foothills of the Carpathians, 25 km east of Uzhgorod. “A deal is expected to be closed by the end of the summer,” reports Ukrinform. The fairy tale castle setting would host “international beauty contests” sponsored by Paris Hilton. The American entrepreneur found out about the Zakarpattia resort in April 2018, when she performed as a DJ at the opening of the Grand Hotel in Lviv, 250 km north of Derenivska Kupil.
9.2.5 Retail corporate news
Denmark’s JYSK, the furniture, and home goods store chain, plans to double its Ukraine stores to 100 by the end of 2023. In May, the company opened its 50th store, in Chernihiv, part of the plan to open one new store a month this year.
74 UKRAINE Country Report September 2019 www.intellinews.com