Biznews
Banking & Finance
Cabinet of Ministers set to increase Ukrgasbank’s capital
The Cabinet of Ministers shall increase the capital of PJSC Ukrgasbank by UAH 633 million. The Decree of 15 June 2015 stipulates the Government as a party to the supplementary increase in the PJSC Ukrgasbank’s capital via the purchase of additional shares in it to the amount determined as the bank’s purchased Bank Kyiv’s liabilities and assets margin, but not more than UAH 633 million, in exchange for domestic government bonds.
The Ministry of Finance is charged with the domestic government bonds issue, which will have a 10-year maturity period and income of 9.5% per annum in interest.
A reminder that on 15 May 2015 the administrative board of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine gave permission to the transfer of Bank Kyiv’s assets to Ukrgasbank.
National Bank has officially registered WebMoney in Ukraine
The WebMoney system is now officially registered by the National Bank of Ukraine. According to the Register of Payment Systems, WebMoney.ua is now on the list of non-bank payment systems. For the time being WebMoney is registered as a settlement system (a subtype of a payment system).
Merger & Acquisition
Investigation into proposed acquisition of TNT by FedEx
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the proposed acquisition of TNT Express by FedEx Corporation is in line with EU Merger Regulations. Both companies are major global players in the small package delivery sector. The Commission has concerns that on a number of European markets for international express and regular (so-called deferred) small package deliveries, the merged entity would face insufficient competitive constraints from the only two remaining players (UPS and DHL). This could lead to higher prices for business customers and consumers. The Commission has 90 working days, until 7 December 2015, to investigate the proposed acquisition and to determine whether these initial concerns are founded. The opening of an in-depth investigation does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.
FedEx and TNT are two out of the only four so-called integrators currently operating in Europe. Integrators are companies that control a comprehensive air and road delivery network throughout Europe and beyond, and are capable of offering a broad portfolio of small package delivery services. The other integrators present in Europe are DHL, owned by Deutsche Post, and UPS, a US-based company.
International Monitoring
Samsung creates a bank in China to support its offshoots
Samsung Electronics is planning to create a bank in China called China Samsung Finance Corporation to manage the capital of its subsidiaries more effectively and to support sub-contractors.
This is the first time that the South Korean industrial capital has created a financial company in mainland China.
The financial corporation is a financial organization enabling companies operating in China to manage the money of their subsidiaries and affiliated firms and to ensure the effectiveness of financial management and services. It also enables sub-companies and group members to place deposits and take out loans.
According to Chinese financial regulators and the Samsung Group, Samsung Electronics has recently applied to CBRC for permission to create the China Samsung Finance Corporation. The procedure for approval of the founding documents of the new corporation may be finalized by the end of this year.
Unlike in Korea, where the possibility of combining industrial capital and financial capital is strictly limited, conglomerates in China can establish a financial corporation granting and obtaining loans if it gets permission from the financial authorities. For Samsung the creation of such an organization is of utmost importance, as it plans to expand its business in China by building a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Xi’an with total investment volume of USD 5.98 billion.
Aviation
Ukrainian Airlines will be defunct by year end
The commission on liquidating Ukrainian Airlines has been created. It has to notify the state registrar about the decision on liquidation and conduct all related procedures by the end of this year.
The Ukrainian Airlines company was established on the basis of the Ukrainian division of Soviet-era airline Aeroflot. Later on, regional divisions started splitting off to subsequently become independent airlines Dniproavia, Donbassaero, Lviv Airlines. In addition, Ukrainian Airlines was a parent company for Aerosvit and Ukraine International Airlines (UIA). Ukrainian Airlines ceased all flights in 2004.
Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine
Concentration on low-alcohol beverages market
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has completed proceedings in a case of low-alcohol beverages (beer) market concentration with the participation of Anheuser-BuschInBev S.A./N.V. (Brussels, Belgium) and Pivovar Samson a.s. (České Budějovice/ Budweis, Czech Republic).
During the hearing of the case, low-alcohol beverages (beer) markets featuring market participants were investigated. The AMCU gave its permission to the claimed actions. Furthermore, during hearing of the case the fact was established that the low-alcohol beverages (beer) market concentration participants’ total share is the biggest compared to that of major competitors.
The Committee explained that it gave permission to the abovementioned concentration through certain obligations to be fulfilled by the participants of concentration, particularly those concerning a negative covenant to avoid detrimental effect on competition on the national low-alcohol beverages (beer) market. Specifically, the obligations deal with volumes of deliveries and weighted average wholesale and selling prices for the goods produced by the participants of concentration.
