Page 53 - UKRRptOct18

airports -- despite the fact that Ukraine has not yet started advertising.”
9.1.9 Utilities sector news
Norway’s NBT plans to develop nearly $2bn worth of wind farms,
generating 1.1 gigawatt of power, Joar Viken, CEO of the Oslo-based company, said Thursday at a signing ceremony in Kyiv. With President Poroshenko present, Viken said: “The business climate in Ukraine has visibly improved in recent years, and our decision to enter the Ukrainian market is based on the progress the country has been making.”
Ukraine's draft national budget for 2019 provides for cuts in expenditures for subsidies to Ukrainian households to compensate housing and utilities costs by UAH15.9bn ($565mn), to UAH55.1bn ($1.9bn), compared to the national budget for 2018. The draft national budget for 2019 was registered in the Verkhovna Rada on September 15, according to an announcement on the parliament's website. Read also Cabinet forecasts hryvnia forex rate against US dollar by late 2019 The first draft of the national budget for 2018 stipulated UAH55.1bn in subsidies. However, it was finally decided to allocate UAH71bn ($2.5bn).
Ukraine increased electricity exports by 6.6% year-on-year, or by 248.9mn kWh, to 4.034bn kWh in January-August , according to the nation's Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry. The supply of electricity to Hungary, Slovakia and Romania increased by 15.5% y/y to 2.517bn kWh. Export of electricity to Poland increased by 28.1% y/y to 922.1 mn kWh. Electricity supplies to Moldova increased by 32.8% y/y to 595.1mn kWh in January-August. Ukrainian electricity was not exported to Belarus and Russia in January-August, according to Interfax news agency.
TouchStone Capital Group Holdings, a London-based Chinese investment firm, has presented plans for a $1bn, one gigawatt combined solar and wind power plant on Ukraine’s Black Sea shelf, the Energy and Coal Industry Ministry reports. Described as “unique not only for Ukraine, but also for the nearest neighboring countries,” the plant would balance sun and wind to provide an even electricity flow, the Ministry reports. It added: “The project also envisages the use of a significant (more than 30%) share of components of Ukrainian production.”
9.1.11 Other sector news
9.2 Major corporate news 9.2.1 Oil & gas corporate news
German chemical producer BASF is investing EUR2mn to build a concrete additives plant in Obukhiv, 50 km south of Kyiv city. Kyiv has Ukraine’s largest construction market. Additives stretch construction seasons by allowing builders to pour cement in sub-zero temperatures, Oleksandr Gorgan, head of Kyiv regional administration, tells Interfax-Ukraine.
Naftogaz of Ukraine has sent a letter to PM Volodymyr Groysman proposing that he initiate a sale of a 49% stake - out of the govenment's
53 UKRAINE Country Report October 2018 www.intellinews.com