#07-08 July-August 2019

In focus – Agribusiness

Ukrainian agriculture is often referred to as a sector of unique competitive advantages globally. However, the performance of agribusiness is far from that declared potential.

Expert Opinion

Consolidation of Agricultural Land

Maksym Maksymenko

Land consolidation

In a strict sense, one may define land consolidation as a process of combining small land plots into bigger ones and/or of land plots with incorrect configuration with other land plots. The aim of such land consolidation is to remove parceling, curved boundaries and to form land plots with the correct configuration.

In Re

Legal Regulation of Foreign Investment in Ukraine’s Agricultural Sector

Rostyslav Nykitenko

Today, the Ukrainian agrarian sector is an object of interest of foreign investors, as Ukraine is the biggest country in Europe with lots of very fertile land.

Investments coming into the agrarian sector have certain differences from other types of investments. Agriculture is dependent on many natural factors, is clearly cyclical and does not develop as quickly as the industry and service sectors.

Prospects for the Agricultural Land Market in Ukraine

Andrii Lytvyn

Today, the phrase “Buy land, they’re not making it anymore” remains relevant. This quote from Mark Twain has been proving its relevance for Ukraine of the XXI century for a long time despite the fact that a moratorium on the sale of agricultural land has been in place in our country since 2001. This moratorium was introduced only as a temporary measure, but it has been repeatedly prolonged under the guise of protection of national interests.

Agricultural Concentration — How to Stay on the Safe Side

Anna Hryshchenko

The annual report of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU or Committee) noted that most concentrations for the last year were carried out in agricultural markets. 23.8% of the total number of permits to concentration were granted to transactions in agriculture1. These include the sale of Mriya Farming PLC, Kyiv Atlantic Ukraine, Trypillya Agrofirm, etc.

News

Deals

AVELLUM advised GROUPE ATLANTIC

Asters advised rail operator  Ukrzaliznytsia on bond issue 

AEQUO advised the European Fund for Southeast Europe

Baker McKenzie assisted Bayerische Landesbank

AEQUO advised Dragon Capital

CMS advised Acciona Energia

Sayenko Kharenko advised Bergner Group

AVELLUM — Ukrainian legal counsel to EBRD

 

Cases

Court of European Union adopted Resolution in Adidas case

Supreme Court refused to oblige PrivatBank to pay back NBU refinancing

Supreme Court permitted determining the salary of Ukrainians in foreign currency

Ukrtelecom lost case worth UAH 1.5 billion to Oschadbank

Court allowed Oschadbank to get indemnification for its assets in  Crimea

 

Draft

Ministry of Economic Development and Trade proposes ten-fold increase in financial collateral of tour operators

Law On Waste Management registered in Parliament

Ministry of Finance published a new Draft Law On Cashback

Biznews

M&A

Proposed Fiat and Renault merger derailed by French government’s standpoint

Data Protection

Facebook hit by EUR 1 million fine in Italy

Trade Policy

Parliament ratified Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Israel

Ukraine was one of the largest trade partners of EU in 2018

Ukraine has used up quotas for duty-free export of nine agricultural products to EU

Investment

Lviv start-up received investment from American accelerator

Automotive

Volvo recalls hundreds of thousands of vehicles due to flaw

Sanctions

USA imposed sanctions on five Chinese IT organizations

Energy

Cabinet of Ministers agreed on merger of Energoatom with state-owned uranium mining firm

Law digest

Fees raised for intellectual property rights protection

Elimination of double certification and test procedures

NBU redefined features of systemically important banks

National Bank canceled certain currency restrictions

Mandatory sale of currency earnings canceled

National Bank canceled limit on repatriation of dividends

 

Cover Story

Well-timed Change

Insolvency regulation is customarily considered a sensitive area with many pitfalls, and this causes fear in investors. Consequently, it is critically important to set favorable rules at all stages of doing business – establishment, operational activity and exits. Olena Volianska, partner at LCF Law Group, who supported a series of landmark bankruptcy proceedings across the most strategic economic sectors, has seen the situation from the inside out. She’s drawn our attention to those changes that should bring certainty and credibility in Ukrainian law, and explained the developments in the profession of bankruptcy trustees.

 

Argument

Current Trends in Shipping Law of Possible Interest to Commodities Traders

Eugene Blinov, Valeriia Shuliak

This article reviews several key recent cases heard by English courts on issues of shipping and maritime law, which raise matters of key importance for commodities traders, shipowners, charterers and other parties involved in the supply chain. Disputes that take place between commodities traders frequently involve issues of proper mitigation of damages, limitation of liability in case of default of contractual obligations, measure of damages and sometimes even correct interpretation of the terms under the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading (the “Hague Rules”) for the purposes of limitation of liability in case of carriage of goods by sea.

Сorporate Legal Issues for Luxembourg Companies

Ekateryna Soboleva

Sometimes we need general rules to understand corporate legal procedures and processes. However, a detailed individual case gives us the possibility to study a question deeper and concentrate on specific legal collision and issues.

This article is devoted to corporate legal issues for public companies incorporated in Luxembourg.

Crux

Legal Digest

The UJBL editorial team spent the last month monitoring recently adopted legislation and new legislative initiatives. This month we asked for comments on the Orders: No.78, according to which the mandatory sale of foreign exchange earnings was cancelled, No.91 that cancelled the limitation on repatriation of dividends,Draft Law On Cashback. Other notable events included  ratification of the Agreement on Free Trade between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of Israel and the launch of the new electricity market.

 

Subscribe
The Ukrainian Journal of Business Law

Subscribe to The Ukrainian Journal of Business Law right now and enjoy the most relevant issues on doing business in Ukraine on your device or in print.

All this for just USD 9.99 a month.

 

Subscribe now