Page 56 - UKRRptOct18

Sweden’s IKEA has signed a lease for its first store in Ukraine -- 4,000 square meters in the expansion of Kyiv’s Ocean Mall that opens in 2019. In a sign that the home furnishing retailer plans a major commitment, IKEA also is negotiating with other shopping centres across Ukraine to open smaller stores in the ‘city store’ format, Liga.net reports citing commercial real estate sources. IKEA was interested in opening its stores in Ukraine in 2005 and 2010 , but plans unravelled because of the endemic corruption in the country. In December, the company said in that it intended to enter the Ukrainian market. According to IKEA, the decision to enter a new country is made by the company on the basis of "thorough market studies in which franchisees are carefully evaluated". IKEA South East Europe (SEE) will run the operations in Ukraine. IKEA SEE also handles the IKEA retail operations in Croatia, Serbia, Romania and Slovenia. They are currently in the process of identifying a suitable business model that would allow the large number of potential customers to shop in IKEA in Kyiv within one or two years, according to the company's media office.
France’s Ceetrus is building Ukraine’s 20th Auchan store in Lviv. Ceetrus, known as Immochan until June, is building Lviv’s third Auchan, a 7,000 square meter hypermarket, on Chornovola Street, northern Lviv. Ceetrus says: "The new Auchan shopping centre in Lviv will be two-story. On the first floor there will be an Auchan hypermarket and a boutique gallery. On the second floor, there will be innovative co-working space and a restaurant."
9.2.6 Agriculture corporate news
Ukrainian farming company Agroton increased its Ebitda by 30% year-on-year to $5.77mn in January-June , fuelled mostly by a 11% gain from the revaluation of agricultural produce and biological assets. The company also posted $16.62mn in net revenue for January-June (flat y/y) in its August 31 filing. Loans receivable of $20.79mn (up 5.4% YTD) remained the biggest asset item of the company, generating $1.44mn interest income for Agroton in the first half of 2018 (up 17% y/y). This, as well as $4.81mn in profit from foreign exchange differences, allowed the company to increase its net profit 61% y/y to $6.03mn in January-June. Agroton's end-June cash of $17.78mn exceeded total debt of $7.85mn.
Germany’s Bayer opened a $200mn seed production plant on September 6 in Pochuiki, Zhytomyr region, 100 km southwest of Kyiv. Plant construction was started by an American company, Monsanto, but in June, Monsanto was acquired by Bayer. To receive EU and US regulatory clearance for the purchase, Bayer sold much of its agriculture businesses, including seed production, to BASF. President Poroshenko participated in the opening and wrote on his Facebook page: "This is more evidence that Ukraine is an attractive country for international investment.”
Ukraine's MHP Group is moving to acquire Perutnina Ptuj, a Slovenian food company that bills itself as “the most important specialized meat processing corporation in Southeast Europe.” The company has production plants in Slovenia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and sells to 22 counties. Perutnina Ptuj is owned SIJ Group, Slovenia’s largest steelmaker, in turn owned by Russian investors. MHP, Ukraine’s largest poultry producer, says the purchase will “strengthen its position as a global player.” MHP has
56 UKRAINE Country Report October 2018 www.intellinews.com