Одеський припортовий завод (ОПЗ), який зупинив свою діяльність наприкінці 2016 року, відновив роботу, повідомив перший заступник директора ОПЗ Микола Щуріков.

«Сьогодні розпочали запуск заводу. Поки задіяно давальницьку схему, але відпрацьовуємо всі можливі варіанти», – написав Щуріков у Facebook.

Минулого тижня голова Фонду держмайна України Ігор Білоус повідомляв, що відомство завершує прийом заявок щодо відновлення роботи Одеського припортового заводу найближчим часом.

24 лютого закінчився термін прийому пропозицій про відновлення роботи ПАТ «Одеський припортовий завод».

Наприкінці грудня минулого року Одеський припортовий завод вирішив припинити роботу.

У 2016 році після кількох невдалих спроб провести приватизацію ОПЗ прем’єр-міністр Володимир Гройсман висловив своє незадоволення діяльністю Фонду державного майна України і запропонував провести перевірку.

У Фонді держмайна пояснювали, що заяв на участь у конкурсі від потенційних інвесторів не надійшло, хоча зацікавленість до підприємства виявили близько 10 потенційних покупців.

Вперше рішення про приватизацію припортового заводу ухвалили ще 1993 року, а перші торги відбулися 2009-го, проте завод досі перебуває в державній власності.

Одеський припортовий завод є одним із найбільших підприємств хімічної галузі як в Україні, так і в Європі. Кількість працівників перевищує 4 тисячі осіб. Він спеціалізується на виробництві та реалізації хімічної продукції – аміаку та карбаміду, – а також перевантажує на експорт продукцію інших підприємств України та Росії.
…

Фінансово-промислова група «СКМ», кінцевим бенефіціаром якої є бізнесмен Рінат Ахметов, повідомила 2 березня, що її підприємства на окупованих бойовиками територіях Донбасу працюватимуть надалі за українським законодавством. Про це йдеться у заяві на сайті групи.

«Група СКМ завжди працювала і продовжує працювати виключно в рамках українського законодавства, в тому числі – наші підприємства на НКТ. І ніякий тиск не змусить нас змінити юрисдикцію своїх активів…Ми вважаємо приватну власність суверенною, а вимогу про перереєстрацію своїх підприємств і сплату податків самопроголошеним «ДНР» і «ЛНР» – неприйнятною», – йдеться у заяві.

У прес-службі також зазначили, що «попри складну політичну ситуацію в країні та військові дії, всі активи групи «СКМ» в повному обсязі відраховують податки і збори в український бюджет».

1 березня експерт з безпеки Юрій Костюченко, посилаючись на свої внутрішні джерела, повідомив проекту Радіо Свобода «Донбас.Реалии», що на «Комсомольському рудоуправлінні», що входить до групи «Метінвест» Ріната Ахметова, працює адміністрація російського Новолипецького металургійного комбінату. За його словами, проросійські сепаратисти також захопили під контроль кілька підприємств важкої промисловості. Пізніше прес-секретар Новолипецього металургійного комбінату Марія Симонова заявила, що у російського комбінату немає відносин з «Комсомольським рудоуправлінням».

У січні активісти, серед яких депутати Верховної Ради та люди, що називають себе ветеранами АТО, розпочали блокаду деяких ділянок залізниці з вимогою припинити, за їхніми словами, торгівлю з окупованими районами Донбасу. В угрупованнях «ДНР» і «ЛНР» днями заявили, що будуть запроваджувати «зовнішнє управління» на зареєстровані в Україні підприємства через блокаду торгівлі з непідконтрольними територіями.
…

Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson, which President Donald Trump singled out Tuesday when discussing foreign trade barriers, warned earlier this year against responding to such restrictions by imposing higher American tariffs.

Trump said in his speech to Congress that executives from Harley-Davidson told him they have trouble selling motorcycles outside of the United States because of high taxes.

While other countries impose heavy taxes and tariffs on American products, the United States doesn’t do the same when importing other countries’ products, Trump said in the speech. He called for free, but fair, trade.

But a lobbyist for Harley warned that imposing additional tariffs on foreign imports could end up hurting sales, in comments submitted to the Office of the United States Trade Representative earlier this year.

In a Jan. 30 letter posted on the office’s website, Edward Moreland said Harley-Davidson opposes additional duties on the motorcycles imported from Europe because of the prospect of Europe raising their fees in response.

“Harley-Davidson sells tens of thousands of motorcycles in Europe each year and retaliatory tariffs would result in a significant impact to the Motor Company’s business,” he wrote. The letter was in response to a list of products on which the United States was considering imposing tariffs to counter Europe’s refusal to accept U.S. beef.

Harley-Davidson spokeswoman Pat Sweeney said Trump was correct that high taxes and tariffs in countries such as India and Indonesia put the company “at a competitive disadvantage.” Asked whether Moreland’s letter means the company opposes imposing tariffs on foreign products in other situations, she said the company is “open to trade policies that address barriers to international growth.”

Trump canceled a visit to Harley-Davidson’s Milwaukee facility last month, which was expected to draw a significant number of protesters. Instead, Harley executives traveled to Washington for the Feb. 2 meeting. Trump said the executives told him business was good but mentioned the difficulty of selling motorcycles abroad.

“They told me – without even complaining because they have been mistreated for so long that they have become used to it – that it is very hard to do business with other countries because they tax our goods at such a high rate,” Trump said of their meeting. “They said that in one case another country taxed their motorcycles at 100 percent.”

Harley-Davidson sales in India, which imposes high import taxes on all luxury motorcycles and cars, rose 30 percent in the past two years. The company began assembling some bikes in India in 2011 to reduce tariffs.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican who rides a Harley-Davidson, told reporters in Madison on Wednesday that Trump loves to talk about the company’s motorcycles and he would like to get Trump on one for a ride. As for the company’s overseas troubles, Walker said he’s advocated for years that Wisconsin products can outperform any other product given a level playing field.
…

Mexico’s Cemex, one of the world’s largest cement producers, is open to providing quotes to supply the raw materials for U.S. President Donald Trump’s promised border wall, its chairman told Reforma newspaper on Wednesday.

Trump repeated on Tuesday a vow that he would soon start building a barrier along the nearly 2,000-mile (3,200-km) U.S.-Mexico border to prevent illegal immigrants and drugs crossing north.

“We will gladly do it,” Cemex board chairman Rogelio Zambrano told the newspaper, when asked if the company would provide a estimate for supplying cement to companies that end up working on the controversial project, potentially worth billions of dollars.

Cemex shares rose more than 6 percent and were the highest performing on the Mexican exchange on Wednesday, outperforming the IPC index which was up 1.3 percent. It was the best one day percent gain in nearly a year for Cemex.

Zambrano said it was not known which companies might participate or the likely demand for cement for the wall, the newspaper reported.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said on Friday it will release a request on or about March 6 asking companies for prototype ideas for a wall to be built near the U.S.-Mexican border.

A Cemex spokesman echoed Zambrano’s comments, adding that the company provided construction materials rather than engaging in construction in the United States and no one had approached Cemex asking it for materials.

“If one of our clients asks us for a quote for materials, we have the responsibility to do it,” the spokesman said.

Trump has consistently said Mexico will ultimately pay for the new wall, while Mexican officials have firmly rejected that idea.

Much of the border already features some kind of physical barrier in addition to other security measures.
…

Saudi Arabia pledged $1 billion in development finance for Indonesia and expanded cooperation in other areas, deepening ties with Southeast Asia’s biggest economy as the Saudi king and a huge entourage arrived Wednesday for a 9-day visit.

Enthusiastic crowds lined the route of King Salman’s heavily guarded motorcade as it arrived in Bogor, near the capital Jakarta, where official events were held at an imposing presidential palace.

He was earlier welcomed at Jakarta’s Halim airport by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and the minority Christian governor of Jakarta, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who is fighting a tough election battle after being charged with blaspheming the Quran.

At a joint news conference, the countries’ foreign ministers affirmed Saudi Aramco and Indonesian oil company Pertamina’s plans for a $6 billion refinery joint venture in Cilacap in central Java. The two countries also signed 11 agreements that included a Saudi commitment to provide $1 billion of financing for economic development and cooperation to combat transnational crime such as people smuggling, terrorism and drug trafficking.

Salman is on a tour of Asian countries to advance the kingdom’s economic and business interests. On his first stop in Malaysia, Saudi Aramco signed a $7 billion deal to take a 50 percent stake in a Malaysian oil refinery. Salman will also visit Brunei, Japan, China and the Maldives, the official Saudi Press Agency has reported.

The first visit of a Saudi monarch to Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, in nearly a half century generated blanket media coverage.

Live broadcasts showed the octogenarian Salman exiting his plane at Halim using a gold-colored escalator sent from Saudi Arabia for the visit, with a portable lift carrying him the final meter or so to the ground.

Salman will spend six of his nine days in Indonesia vacationing on the resort island of Bali, a predominantly Hindu part of the Indonesian archipelago.

“As the world’s biggest Muslim nation, Indonesia will always have a special bond with Saudi Arabia,” said Jokowi. “Indonesia and Saudi Arabia are two big countries that have important influence in the region, and our countries should continue to improve cooperation both in bilateral and international contexts.”

Indonesia practices a moderate form of Islam and has a democratic secular government, but Saudi-funded institutes in the country are known to spread a highly doctrinaire interpretation of the Quran. They are tolerated in part because Indonesia wants to at least maintain its annual quota of citizens who can enter Saudi Arabia to participate in the hajj to Islam’s holiest city.

Jokowi said he appreciated that Indonesia’s hajj quota, which was reduced in the aftermath of the 2015 hajj disasters, had been restored and expanded for 2017 with 221,000 pilgrims allowed from Indonesia.

The Indonesian government said Salman’s entourage and related delegations number about 1,500 people. They have booked out four hotels in a posh Jakarta neighborhood for the week and about 10,000 police and soldiers have been deployed for security, including for Salman’s Bali trip.

Statues of naked men and women at the Bogor palace were removed or covered out of courtesy to the Saudi visitors. The same step was taken when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Indonesia in January.

Indonesia has said it hopes for $25 billion of new investments from Saudi Arabia. The two leaders discussed possibilities including three oil refineries, a power plant and infrastructure such as roads, housing and sanitation.

Aside from the two countries having a common faith, Saudi Arabia employs hundreds of thousands of Indonesians despite a government ban on sending domestic workers there following the execution of an Indonesian maid in 2011.
…

U.S. stocks hit record highs in Wednesday’s trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial average exceeding 21,000 for the first time.

U.S. stock markets have been hitting a series of record highs since the election of President Donald Trump, who encouraged businesses by promising to cut taxes and regulations, and make major investments in rebuilding roads, bridges and other infrastructure.  Trump repeated these pledges Tuesday evening in an address to both houses of congress, but has not offered many details of these plans.

Investors were also encouraged Wednesday when top officials of the U.S. central bank said they were closer to raising interest rates.  Some investors see raising rates as a signal that the U.S. economy no longer needs the boost it gets from ultra low interest rates.  The Federal Reserve slashed rates to record-lows during the recession in a bid to boost economic growth and fight unemployment.

While low interest rates are intended to increase economic activity, the Fed raises rates to fend off inflation. Wednesday, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that inflation is moving closer to the two percent annual rate that experts say helps the economy achieve stable prices and full employment.  PNC Bank economist Gus Faucher says this and similar reports make it more likely that the Fed will raise rates.  Reports in the financial press say that rate hike might come as early as March 15.

 
…

From international tourism to federal employment prospects, every new president alters the fabric of life in the nation’s capital.

But for local restaurateurs such as Ashok Bajaj, a new White House administration is just another president waiting to be fed.

“It takes a little while for the administration to find a restaurant,” Bajaj, the owner of several Washington establishments, told VOA’s Russian Service. “For the first month or so they are trying to find out what is going on in the White House, and then they are trying to understand what’s around, what are best places to eat, best places to drink. With every new administration, we go through that transitional period, too. We lose our old friends and get new ones.”

Located just a stone’s throw from the West Wing, Bajaj’s aptly named “Oval Room” regularly hosted staffers from the Obama White House.

While the list of visitors from President Donald Trump’s administration remains short, press secretary Sean Spicer once stopped in for a glass of wine. Bajaj’s nearby Italian eatery, Bibiana, has already feted Trump’s former campaign rival and nominee to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson.

Barkeepers on Capitol Hill say they’re also feeling the shift. Cocktail-swilling Democrats who flooded the city under Obama have given way to a batch of Republicans who, laboring under the weight of a first-term administration, don’t have a lot of free time. They’ll hit the bars for a quick drink, usually ordering beer or vodka, say local bartenders.

“There has been a lot more Bud Light. Mostly 25- to 35-year-olds who often work on the Hill and meet here for drinks after work,” said Bryson Lefmann, events manager at Capitol Lounge.

But the lull that can coincide with a presidential handoff, he says, doesn’t mean bars will be empty for long.

“You can tell who the new folks are when they come in. A lot of our staff gets to know regulars by their first name, they know what they drink and what kind of music they listen to,” he said, describing the transitional window as a kind of protracted courtship.

“For the new folks, it’s like a new date,” he added. “Like ‘Hi, nice to meet you!’ We are still getting to know them and they’re still getting to know us.”

At Capitol Lounge, the majority of patrons say they’re there on “political business.” Some came for a conference on healthcare reform, while others came to meet with the new administration or get a job on the Hill.

“I am here for a conference for an Affordable Care Act,” said Carol Cain Bush, a community health professional from West Virginia who’s targeting professional opportunities in Washington. “I did a little bit of research, I was looking for a place where I might encounter a variety of thinkers, people who are actually working in government. I really wanted to pick up on the local vibe.”

Texas-based attorney T.J. Mayes said he’s in town to convince Trump officials on the benefits of maintaining NAFTA.

“Right now, we want the administration to understand how beneficial the North American Free Trade Agreement is to Texas economy. It injects billions of dollars into our local communities, which means jobs and cheaper goods,” he said. “It’s been very beneficial to Texas and San Antonio specifically. … We do not want to do anything that will take us backwards in terms of our trade relationship with Mexico.”

For Capitol Hill intern William Barry, the mark of good Washington pub is sanctuary from political discourse itself.

“The slogan of this bar is, ‘No politics, No Miller Light,’ so I kind of like that,” he said. “It’s a big bar, so I meet here with Hill staffers after work. Everyone leaves politics at the door and communicates in friendlier atmosphere, and that’s certainly something we need more at this point in our country.”

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA’s Russian Service.
…

Національний банк України не підтверджує підписання оновленого меморандуму з Міжнародним валютним фондом.

«НБУ не підтверджує підписання Меморандуму зі сторони Національного банку, але ми очікуємо, що таке підписання може відбутися найближчими днями», – мовиться у відповіді НБУ на запит Радіо Свобода.

Сьогодні деякі ЗМІ повідомили про підписання Україною оновленого меморандуму про співпрацю з МВФ.

Наприкінці січня у МВФ повідомляли, що фонд визначиться з датою засідання Ради директорів з питання третього перегляду програми EFF (програма розширеного фінансування) після доопрацювання меморандуму про співпрацю з Україною. У лютому Київ заявляв про завершення переговорів із Міжнародним валютним фондом щодо отримання наступного кредитного траншу.

У жовтні 2016 року в МВФ повідомили, що в разі успішної реалізації програми розширеного фінансування між Україною та Міжнародним валютним фондом, для чого необхідно виконати низку умов, Київ може отримати від МВФ 1,3 мільярда доларів у 2016 році і майже 5,4 мільярда доларів у 2017 році. Виділення коштів планується щоквартально за підсумками виконання критеріїв ефективності.
…

Міністерство юстиції запустило онлайн-послугу відкриття і закриття фізичних осіб-підприємців (ФОП). Про це на засіданні уряду повідомив міністр юстиції Павло Петренко.

За його словами, на сайті «Будинок юстиції», а також на сайті міністерства віднині можна зареєструвати ФОП та внести зміни до вже наявних відомостей про той чи інший ФОП.

Крім того, як повідомив міністр, онлайн тепер можна відкрити і юридичну особу.

Наприкінці 2016 року Верховна Рада ухвалила, а президент України підписав зміни до законодавства щодо роботи фізичних осіб-підприємців. Згідно з новими нормами, з 1 січня окремі категорії ФОПів мають платити єдиний соціальний внесок 704 гривні на місяць, не залежно від того, чи отримують вони прибуток.

За даними Міністерства соціальної політики, у період із 1 грудня до 20 лютого в Україні закрилися понад 330 тисяч фізосіб-підприємців.
…

В Україні з 1 березня зросли тарифи на електроенергію – з 1 гривні 29 копійок до 1 гривні 68 копійок за кіловат, таким чином, доведеться платити більше на 26%.

Це вже п’ятий і, як стверджують представники влади, останній етап подорожчання електрики. Для жителів міст і сіл, включно із тими, хто має електричні плити, тариф на спожиту до 100 кіловат-годин на місяць електрику становить 90 копійок, понад 100 кіловат-годин на місяць – 1 гривню 68 копійок.

Окремі тарифи встановлені для тих, хто має електричне опалення будинків. Ця категорія споживачів платитиме по 90 копійок за обсяг до 3 тисяч кіловат-годин на місяць, а понад цю позначку тариф буде, як і в більшості споживачів, – 1 гривня 68 копійок за кіловат.

Експерти вважають, що цього року тарифи на житлово-комунальні послуги можуть зростати через можливі коливання курсу гривні та ймовірне збільшення вартості імпортного газу. Представники енергогенерувальних компаній та частина експертів називають систему утворення тарифів в Україні непрозорою та нелогічною і вбачають у подальшому підвищенні вартості газу ризик для економіки. Віце-прем’єр Павло Розенко запевняє, що для продовження підвищення тарифів на газ та житлово-комунальні послуги в Україні у 2017 році немає економічних підстав.
…

Greece and its lenders resumed a long-stalled review of its bailout Tuesday, with the government in Athens braced to commit to yet more austerity in exchange for the funds the country needs to remain solvent.

The review has dragged on for months, partly because of a rift between the European Union and the International Monetary Fund over Greece’s fiscal goals and prospects next year — when the current rescue program expires — and beyond.

To help break the impasse, the leftist-led government last week agreed to pre-legislate economic reforms, including cuts in income tax breaks and pensions, to come into effect from the start of 2019, the year the next parliamentary elections are due.

The lenders are asking Greece to make extra savings worth 2 percent of gross domestic product in order to meet a target of a 3.5 percent primary surplus — which excludes debt servicing costs — that they have set for 2018 and the post-bailout period.

“The lenders’ representatives will ask for measures of 1 percent from lowering the tax-free threshold and another 1 percent from pension cuts,” an official with knowledge of the negotiations in Athens told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The government estimates the 2016 primary surplus will exceed 2 percent of GDP, well above the lenders’ 0.5 percent target, after the economy unexpectedly returned to growth last year.

“Without publicly saying it, Athens wants the total [additional] measures to be worth around 1.5 percent of GDP, after the better-than-expected surplus and better economic performance,” a second source close to the talks said.

“The institutions could discuss a gradual implementation of the pension cuts,” the second official said.

More debt relief, belt tightening

The IMF, still undecided on whether to participate in what is Greece’s third rescue package, says Athens cannot meet its targets unless it is granted further debt relief and adopts extra belt-tightening measures.

Greece’s European lenders, notably Germany, oppose debt relief.

The uncertainty has fueled fears of a new financial crisis among investors already nervous about how a populist revival in the eurozone will affect close-fought election races in the Netherlands, France and Germany between now and the autumn.

Greece does not need more loans until the third quarter, but if bailout funds are not paid in time it will face an elevated risk of defaulting on debt repayments worth about 7.5 billion euros ($7.95 billion) in July.
…

Pakistan’s decision to close the border with Afghanistan was a largely symbolic act aimed at forcing its neighbor to take action against extremist groups blamed for fomenting cross-border terror attacks.

It’s a hard reality for the travelers and traders trapped for nearly two weeks on both sides of the dusty crossings at Torkham, Ghulam Khan and Chaman.

Truckloads of food are rotting. Families are divided. People seeking treatment for a variety of ailments have run out of medicine and money, or will do so soon. Only ambulances transferring the dead from the Pakistan side have been allowed to pass.

“We implore the two governments to pay attention to our problems,” said Ahmadullah, an Afghan stuck on the Pakistani side. “We have suffered in terms of our health. We have run out of medicines. Look at my friend who is sitting and vomiting.”

Sayedul Haq, another stranded Afghan, added: “They should let us cross and join our families. Let them build a wall. We will no longer go to Pakistan, because we have our own country. Let’s forget Pakistan. We are like prisoners.”

Waris Ali, from Pakistan’s Punjab province, waited on the other side of the fence.

“I have come from Kabul 12 days ago,” he said. “I am sick and cannot eat. I have no medicines, too.  I don’t have money to pay for my stay at the hotel.”

Terror attacks cited

Pakistan says it understands the pain but claims it had to act amid a rash of terror attacks around the country that killed over 150 people in just a few days.

Islamic State and allied groups have claimed responsibility for those attacks and similar ones in Afghanistan — which Kabul blames on terrorists in safe havens in Pakistan — that seem aimed at destabilizing both countries’ governments and driving them even further apart when they could be cooperating to fight a common enemy.

“When so much is happening [terrorist attacks] here [in Pakistan] and there are indications that it has links there [Afghanistan], then you have to do such measures, so this was a temporary measure,” said Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan’s foreign affairs adviser. “I hope border crossings will be opened soon.”

While Pakistan also has launched a nationwide crackdown on extremists, the closed border crossings have become the face of its anti-terror efforts. Normally bustling with colorfully decorated trucks mixing with cars, carts and pedestrians, the crossings now sit empty, except for armed Pakistani troops.

“The closures of these crossing points, which are heavily regulated with full checking arrangements on both sides, serve no purpose other than to inflict hardship on ordinary people and hurt trade and transit,” said Omar Zakhilwal, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan.

Fatima Atif, a human rights activist, agrees.

“Border closure will not serve the purpose, and it is not a long-term solution,” Atif said. “We should regulate the border in an effective way and should have better ties with neighbors.”

‘We have suffered’

Officials have estimated daily losses in trade at $3 million.

“Hundreds of stranded goods trucks are loaded with fresh fruits, vegetables, poultry and other edible items, which are near to waste,” said Zubair Motiwala, chairman and president of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “We urge both governments that business and trade ties should be separated from political tensions.”

Truck driver Sayed Anwar said he had run out of his expense money, adding: “We have suffered heavy losses.”

More worrying for many are concerns about permanent long-term damage to trade, with recent figures showing a rise in Afghanistan’s trade with Iran and a corresponding decline in business with Pakistan.

“Pakistan-Afghanistan trade has dropped significantly in the last 1½ years because of bilateral tension,” said Motiwala, who estimated that there had been a 40 percent decline in recent years.
…