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UKRAINE BUSINESS NEWS - TEN ARTICLES

INDEX OF ARTICLES  ------
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1.  UKRAINE - THE NEIGHBOR, AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Analysis & Commentary: by Edward Lucas
Center for European Policy Analysis, Wash, D.C. Mon, Feb 1, 2010

2.  UKRAINE'S RETURN TO FOREIGN BORROWING UNLIKELY
BEFORE BUDGET APPROVED, SAYS EX FINANCE MINISTER
Interfax Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, February 1, 2010

3 UKRAINIAN PRESIDENCY - POST-ELECTION REVIEW
The Washington Group (TWG) Leadership Conference, Feb 13, 2010
Andrew Bihun, President, The Washington Group
The Washington Group (TWG), Washington, D.C., Tue, Feb 2, 2010

4 ROMAN KUPCHINSKY: UKRAINIAN PATRIOT, A MAN LARGER THAN LIFE
Roman Kupchinsky, RFE/RL veteran, passed away this week at the age of 65 after a battle with cancer.
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, Wash, D.C., Friday, January 22, 2010

5 EBRD EXPECTS UKRAINE'S ECONOMY TO ADVANCE BY 3.0% IN 2010, 2011
Olena Bilan, bne-Credit weekly, Berlin, Germany, Mon, Feb 1, 2010

6 NEMYRIA: EBRD'S ASSISTANCE FAVORING MODERNIZATION OF UKRAINIAN ECONOMY
UkrInform - Ukraine News, Kyiv, Ukraine, Fri, Jan 29, 2010  
 
7.  LESSONS OF DAVOS
What conclusions will Ukraine draw? 
By Vitalii Kniazhansky, The Day Weekly Digest in English,
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, February 2, 2010

8.  DHL EXPRESS: BEST EXPRESS COURIERS/MESSENGERS
KyivPost's Best of Kyiv 2009, Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukarine, Fri, Jan 29, 2010

9.  AMITY TECHNOLOGY JOINS U.S.-UKRAINE BUSINESS COUNCIL (USUBC)
Fourth generation company, always on the cutting edge of agricultural technology
U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Wash, D.C., Wed, Jan 27, 2010 
 
10.  BAKER & MCKENZIE: BEST LAW COMPANY 
KyivPost's Best of Kyiv 2009: Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Fri, Jan 29, 2010
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1.  UKRAINE - THE NEIGHBOR, AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Analysis & Commentary: by Edward Lucas
Center for European Policy Analysis, Wash, D.C. Mon, Feb 1, 2010

Ukraine’s presidential election matter for the United States and Central Europe? CEPA Senior Fellow Edward Lucas shares his insight into what’s at stake. 

No blatant fraud. Diverse mass media. An election result that is not predetermined. Leading candidates who support markets, political freedom, the rule of law and integration with Europe. Power set to pass peacefully from loser to winner. By ex-Soviet standards, Ukraine’s presidential election seems like a breath of fresh air.

Yet Ukraine’s Western friends and neighbors look on the past four years as a time of almost unremitting disappointment, with little chance of improvement. Ukraine is a morass of economic failure, cronyism and decline. Those who have spent time and energy trying to help feel their efforts have been wasted.

For the United States and Central Europe, Ukraine matters for three reasons.

[1] From a purely practical point of view, it is the most important transit country. Just over three-quarters of Europe’s gas imports from Russia go through Ukraine. It is a nightmare journey in both a physical and political sense.

The pipes and compressors are at the end of their design life – and have been ill-maintained to boot. When outsiders rightly lambast Russia for neglecting its oil and gas infrastructure, they save some invective for similar mismanagement in Ukraine.

Worse, corrupt feuds between Russian and Ukrainian energy tycoons have resulted in furious annual rows. Russia says Ukraine does not pay its bills and steals gas. Ukraine accuses Russia of blackmail. Both sides are to blame. (When did you last hear of, say, the Netherlands and Germany having a similar argument?) But the price, in uncertainty and disruption, is paid by innocent customers in Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Croatia.

That has strengthened the case for Nord Stream, the Russian-German pipeline on the Baltic seabed and South Stream, a Russian-backed Black Sea pipeline. Ukraine’s unreliability has made it much easier for Russia to argue the case for the northern and southern bypasses, which weaken all of Eastern Europe’s energy security.

[2] Secondly, if Ukraine is a political and economic success story, then it is harder for Russia’s ex-KGB rulers to argue that their brand of authoritarian crony capitalism is the only practical way of running a big ex-Soviet country. If Ukraine is a failure, then the Kremlin’s approach looks vindicated.

Here the results are mixed. Few Russians would wish to import Ukraine’s politicians, or its behemoth bureaucracy. But other things look rather attractive. Ukraine has no political prisoners. Nobody gets locked up in a psychiatric hospital for annoying the authorities. Journalists get sued, not murdered. The discussion of history is not a crime. Busybodies and do-gooders can pursue their favorite causes. Nothing in Ukrainian political life resembles the Kremlin’s “party of power,” United Russia.

[3] The third reason Ukraine matters is geopolitical. If Ukraine can integrate with the European Union (EU) and NATO, then it tips the balance against Russia’s revisionist policies in the former Soviet empire. President Dmitry Medvedev’s talk of a “sphere of privileged interests” will sound silly rather than sinister.

Both sides are to blame for failure here. It was the EU that failed to grasp the opportunity presented by the Orange Revolution. It was NATO that botched the 2007 summit in Bucharest. Under President George W. Bush, America pushed for a Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Ukraine and Georgia far too late and with too little preparation. That left NATO humiliatingly divided. A slower and more deliberate strategy, focusing on nitty-gritty improvements rather than a controversial label, would have been more likely to succeed – and more suitable to Ukraine’s needs.

Ukrainian politicians are indeed corrupt, erratic and blinkered. But the outside world has consistently based its policy on hopes rather than reality. Put bluntly, Ukraine is not just a larger version of Poland. It is more divided internally; its political class is weaker; its structural problems are much greater. It needs more time to escape its tormented past.

Whether it is the dodgy Viktor Yanukovych or the temperamental Yulia Tymoshenko who wins the presidential election on February 7, the outside world will have to respond with firmness and patience towards Ukraine’s rulers, tempered with generosity towards the Ukrainians themselves. The billions spent on propping up public finances in recent years have been, in effect, a subsidy to the feckless political class – and an ill-spent one.

It would be more productive to use the money elsewhere. A good example comes from Tbilisi, where Georgian authorities have opened a landmark House of Europe, hosting exhibitions, lectures and events to boost the public’s exposure to European culture and ideas. As the EU sets up its own multi-billion euro “External Action Service,” it could do a lot worse than use a sliver of the budget to set up similar institutions in every city in Ukraine.

NOTE: Edward Lucas is a Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis and Senior Editor at The Economist. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Center for European Policy Analysis.

LINK: http://www.cepa.org/ced/view.aspx?record_id=216
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2.  UKRAINE'S RETURN TO FOREIGN BORROWING UNLIKELY
BEFORE BUDGET APPROVED, SAYS EX FINANCE MINISTER

Interfax Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, February 1, 2010

DAVOS - The endorsement of the budget, the toughening of fiscal policy and restoration of political stability are the necessary conditions for Ukraine's successful return to the foreign borrowing market, according to the head of the Ukrainian office of Morgan Stanley and a former finance minister of Ukraine, Ihor Mitiukov.

"I hardly imagine how one can enter international markets without an approved budget," he told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of the Third Philanthropic Roundtable organized by the Pinchuk Foundation in Davos.

"First we should see the budget, and then we'll talk about the terms of borrowing. I cannot imagine Ukraine entering the international markets without a serious toughening of fiscal policy," Mitiukov said.

He said that the government should make working with international financial organizations a top priority rather than taking commercial foreign loans.

"Of course, the key task that the government will face in the international financial relations area will be the quick restoration of the cooperation programs with both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and a further improvement of relations with the EBRD (the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development)," he said.

Regarding the necessity to seriously toughen fiscal policy, he called on Ukraine to pay attention to the fact that countries in a better financial state today, such as the United States and Russia, are cutting or freezing spending.

Mitiukov also said that Ukraine not be in no hurry to place foreign loans due to a desire to create an indicator for corporate Ukrainian borrowers. He said that the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has restricted the rate for corporate foreign loans to 12%, which is lower than the rate on the market today.

Earlier, Acting Finance Minister Ihor Umansky said that Ukraine plans to borrow on the foreign market in April-May and has already begun talks on the matter. He said that the Finance Ministry believes the optimal term would be two-three years at an interest rate "no higher than single digits."

Ukraine will give preference to bilateral loans over syndicated loans, but the Finance Ministry is ready to examine the possibility of public placements, he said.
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3.  UKRAINIAN PRESIDENCY - POST-ELECTION REVIEW
The Washington Group (TWG) Leadership Conference, Feb 13, 2010

Andrew Bihun, President, The Washington Group
The Washington Group (TWG), Washington, D.C., Tue, Feb 2, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Washington Group (TWG) is pleased to invite you to a special TWG Leadership Conference, "Ukrainian Presidency - Post-Election Review" being held Saturday, February 13, 2010 from  9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, 480 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC.

The TWG Leadership Conference is open to the public and will present a set of interactive panel discussions on key topics related to the 2010 presidential elections in Ukraine, including:
 
       [1]  Conduct/results of the election
       [2]  Possible directions/actions of new leadership – domestic affairs
       [3]  Possible directions/actions of new leadership – foreign affairs  
       [4]  Possible new directions/actions of the international community
 
The Conference will feature active participation of experts from the Washington area, including:
 
       [1]    Amb. Oleh Shamshur, Embassy of Ukraine, Washington, DC
       [2]    Amb. William Green Miller, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
       [3]    Amb. Steven Pifer, Brookings Institution
       [4]    Judge Bohdan Futey, U.S. Court of Federal Claims
       [5]    Lawrence Silverman, U.S. Department of State
       [6]    Orest Deychakiwsky, U.S. Helsinki Commission
       [7]    Nadia Diuk, National Endowment for Democracy
       [8]    David Kramer, German Marshall Fund
       [9]    Damon Wilson, Atlantic Council
       [10]  Samuel Charap, Center for American Progress
       [11]  James Greene,  former NATO rep in Ukraine
       [12]  Nadia McConnell, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation and
       [13]  Michael Sawkiw, Ukrainian Congress. Committee of America  – UNIS

REGISTRATION AND FEE: The registration fee is $30.00, or $10.00 for students. Space is limited.  Please RSVP/Register as soon as possible via email to: apidlusky@speakeasy.net with a cc to: MyBihuny@aol.com, please include name, affiliation, phone, e-mail and an indication of full or student payment option.
 
In this effort, we appreciate the cooperation of the Ukrainian School (Ridna Shkola) of Washington, which is hosting a Debutante Ball in the same hotel on the same evening (see www.ukieschool.org).  The Washington Group: www.TheWashingtonGroup.org.  For additional information contact Andy Bihun, President, MyBihuny@aol.com

USUBC FOOTNOTE:  The Washington Group (TWG) is a member of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Washington, D.C. www.usubc.org.
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4.  ROMAN KUPCHINSKY: UKRAINIAN PATRIOT, A MAN LARGER THAN LIFE
Roman Kupchinsky, RFE/RL veteran, passed away this week at the age of 65 after a battle with cancer.

RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, Wash, D.C., Friday, Jan 22, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Roman Kupchinsky was not someone easily overlooked. A great shaggy bear of a man, habitually disheveled in appearance, he attracted notice for his air of casual relaxation under all circumstances.

His gruff, joke-laced approach was the same toward everybody, whether they were government ministers or young members of his own staff.

But his Falstaffian exterior hid a sharp mind that was acute at analyzing the broader implications of seemingly unrelated events in Ukraine, Russia, and across the East-West divide. Always close in spirit to his homeland, he made through his work a lasting contribution to Ukrainian independence.

He wrote with particular authority on endemic corruption in Ukraine and in the former Soviet Union, and on Russian and East European energy issues.

A great shaggy bear of a man, habitually disheveled in appearance, he attracted notice for his air of casual relaxation under all circumstances.

Kupchinsky died on January 19 in Washington, D.C., at the age of 65 after a battle with cancer.

In a letter of condolence, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said he was "deeply saddened" to hear the news of Kupchinsky's passing. "A wonderful person has left us, a prominent journalist, a true Ukrainian patriot, who devoted his life to the service of his native land," Yushchenko said. "He did an awful lot for the development of independent Ukrainian journalism, tirelessly worked for the rebirth of Ukrainian statehood, the consolidation of
democracy, and freedom of speech."

Mardo Soghom, now the deputy director of broadcast operations at RFE/RL, was a close associate of Kupchinsky.  "He made one of the biggest  impacts on his own country, in terms of exposing corruption, in terms of exposing political greed, in exposing all kinds of willful governance," Soghom said. "And he was very happy that he could do that, that he could do investigative reporting, and that he could tell the people what was really going on behind the scenes, within the political-economic corrupt elite."

The current director of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, Irena Chalupa, confirms Kupchinsky's impact on Ukraine. She recalls an investigation he carried out linking the head of the state gas trading company to a complicated web of corruption. "Two weeks after these stories came out, the head of the gas agency resigned," Chalupa said. "And he even made reference to the 'winds of liberty' catching up with him."

The president of RFE/RL, Jeffrey Gedmin, paid tribute to Kupchinsky, saying he had faced his final battle with cancer with characteristic bravery, charm, and humor. Indeed, Kupchinsky's sense of humor was legendary. Here he is at his last appearance in RFE/RL's Washington Bureau, only two months before his death, when he was able to obliquely joke about it:

"I had some very bad news last night. My application to join NATO was rejected. This is the fourth time that I've been rejected, and I begin to suspect there is some plot against me. At the same time, the World Bank has not responded to my request to open a checking account...This is very discouraging. Anyway, now that you're aware of my situation, I'm not suicidal over the NATO rejection. But I plan to fight that."

Former Radio Liberty Director S. Enders Wimbush recalls that when Kupchinsky applied for the job of director of the Ukrainian Service in 1989, he listed his special qualifications as, first, a "graduate of the Army Special Forces School" and, secondly, "wife is a child psychologist." "We considered that the perfect resume," quipped Wimbush, and Kupchinsky was hired.

Kupchinsky was born in Vienna on November 1, 1944, and migrated to the United States with his refugee parents in 1949. After obtaining a degree in political science at Long Island University near New York, he saw U.S. Army service in the Vietnam War as a rifle platoon leader. He received a Purple Heart, the decoration for those wounded in battle.

He later spent a decade at the helm of a U.S.-based Ukrainian-language research institute, Prolog. In the 1970s, Kupchinsky became a leader of the Committee in Defense of Soviet Political Prisoners, garnering worldwide support for human rights activists held in labor camps.

From 1990 to 2002, he headed Radio Liberty's Ukrainian Service. He then became a senior analyst at RFE/RL, stepping down in 2008.

Kupchinsky is survived by his son Markian. He lived in Arlington, Virginia, and will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery with military honors

LINK: http://www.rferl.org.content/off_mic_roman_kupchinsky/ 1936514.html
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Promoting U.S.-Ukraine business relations & investment since 1995.
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5.  EBRD EXPECTS UKRAINE'S ECONOMY TO ADVANCE BY 3.0% IN 2010, 2011

Olena Bilan, bne-Credit weekly, Berlin, Germany, Mon, Feb 1, 2010

BERLIN - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) forecasts Ukraine's real GDP to rise by 3.0% in 2010 and deliver the same growth in 2011. (Interfax) We view the EBRD forecast as rather conservative despite it being in line with projections released by other IFIs.

The IMF expects Ukraine's economy to advance by 2.7% and 4.4% y-oy this year and next, while the World Bank predicts growth of 2.5% and 3.5% respectively.

In contrast, we expect Ukraine's economy to advance by 4.0% y-o-y in 2010 and 4.5% in 2011 on further recovery in foreign demand. Though the global recovery is widely expected to proceed slowly, the high responsiveness of Ukraine's major export industries to shifts in foreign demand and their strong interconnection with other major economic sectors bode well for a faster economic rebound compared to what is expected from Ukraine's peers.
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6.  NEMYRIA: EBRD'S ASSISTANCE FAVORING
MODERNIZATION OF UKRAINIAN ECONOMY

UkrInform - Ukraine News, Kyiv, Ukraine, Fri, Jan 29, 2010 

KYIV - The assistance being provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Ukraine bolsters the economic growth, reform and modernization of the country's most important economic branches - energy and energy saving, transport and communications, and municipal infrastructure.

Ukrainian Vice-Premier for European and International Integration Hryhoriy Nemyria said this at a meeting with EBRD President Thomas Mirow at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the vice-premier's press service told UKRINFORM.

“The Ukrainian government highly appreciates a constructive cooperation between Ukraine and the EBRD. Financial assistance from the bank is marked by reliability, a clear goal orientation and favorable loan provision conditions,” he said.

EBRD Director for Ukraine Andre Kuusvek said earlier that the bank's strategy for 2010 did not foresee a reduction in the number of loans for Ukraine.

The volume of business operations conducted on the EBRD's projects as of late 2009 totaled EUR 4.8 billion. Three fourths of these funds were transferred to the country's private sector.
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7.   LESSONS OF DAVOS
What conclusions will Ukraine draw? 

By Vitalii Kniazhansky, The Day Weekly Digest in English,
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, February 2, 2010

KYIV - On Jan. 31, the 40th Global Economic Forum closed in Davos after raising a number of burning questions before the mankind. What should the economy look like after the crisis? How can one feed the planet? How can one preserve the environment favorable for human life? Where can one find money to restore Haiti that has been affected by the earthquake?

A total of 2,500 participants from 90 countries – politicians, businessmen, scientists, members of civic organizations, workers of culture – sought answers to these questions.

The question how to build global financial architecture so as to prevent more destructive economic crises from occurring sparked the most intense discussion. The tone to the discussion was given by the new economic program declared by the US President Barack Obama several days before the WEF.

It included implementation of wide range of restrictions on banking activity, specifically those pertaining to possibilities of investing money by banks and financial companies, as well as cutting down their amounts and division of commercial and investment operations. Obama stated that big financial institutions will never hold taxpayers hostage, whereas their collapse should nevermore be allowed by the state.

Apparently, Obama’s plan has split the ranks of globalists gathered in Davos. The innovations were especially disliked by bankers and heads of big enterprises. They warned that strict regulation of the world financial system, based on populism, can let down the pace of recovering from the crisis. However, the milieu of big financiers also lacked unity. Before the WEF, the world renowned financier George Soros backed the reforms proposed by Obama.

Speaking about the nature of the current crisis, Soros said that it was a “super bubble generated by the system itself.” In his opinion, regulators and bankers were captivated by the illusion of efficient markets and also blinded by the “ideology of market fundamentalism.” The markets responded negatively to the initiatives of the American president. The stocks of US biggest banks dropped abruptly. The prices for raw materials went down, the dollar’s value grew, whilst the income of the US state obligations decreased.

Ukraine has also presented its plans and problems at the forum. Those were outlined by the winners of the first round of the presidential elections, Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko, via the television space bridge from Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian analysts were analyzing the country’s economic prospects in the light of the WEF. Speaking to journalists, the head of the ForexClub Analytical Center Mykola Ivchenko asserted that current fluctuations on the world foreign exchange and stock markets are of speculative character and can hardly lead to a new wave of the world crisis.

In his opinion, there are no essential grounds for this, which has been proved by the speeches delivered in Davos and economic recovery indices in the leading countries of the world. Still, the Ukrainian analyst did not rule out that the second wave may rise by the end of this year, or at the turn of 2011, as stopping of stimulating measures to support the biggest national economies slacken the growth. Ivchenko considers that budget deficits in Greece, Ireland, and Spain can also be a risk factor for the world financial stability. In its turn, the second wave may decrease the demand for Ukrainian export.

How will budgetary situation affect Ukraine? Answering this question of The Day, the expert noted that according to the official data, Ukraine’s budget deficit made 12.8 million hryvnias in 2009, i.e., two percent of GDP.

Ivchenko went on, “But actual calculations, taking into account the state loans given to the Pension Fund and expenses for bank recapitalization, it will appear that the budget deficit makes six or seven percent of the GDP.” The expert does not expect any significant budget deficit in 2010, according to the official data, in fact he supposes it to make six or seven percent of the GDP.

Under these circumstances, Ivchenko considers, it will be nearly impossible to stimulate the economy and implement the investment programs. Ninety-five percent in the expenditure chapter of the Ukrainian budget proposed by the government, but not approved by the parliament, are made by the protected social articles, whereas it does not envisage whatsoever the subsidies for the construction complex and car industry, unlike in other countries.

Therefore the expert is not sure that the 2010 budget will preserve the new social standards. He wonders from where they will be funded, and calls to make a compromise – to allot for these purposes budget sums that would be something average between what was proposed by the government and the money needed to realize the new social standards.

No less important are the rates of exchange in Ukraine. It is a common knowledge that Tymoshenko intends to reinforce hryvnia, and keep its rate exchange on the level 6 – 6.5 to a dollar, whereas Yanukovych is allegedly going to achieve the level of 10-11 hryvnias to dollar by supporting exporters. Ivchenko does not trust these figures.

He said that Tymoshenko understands that there are no grounds for reinforcing hryvnia to this level. The expert is also sure that any oncoming president, including Yanukovych, is most of all interested in stable currency and before violating it he will go “to bankers for advice.” Ivchenko predicts that as a result dollar will cost less than eight hryvnias after the elections.
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8.  DHL EXPRESS: BEST EXPRESS COURIERS/MESSENGERS

KyivPost's Best of Kyiv 2009, Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Fri, Jan 29, 2010

KYIV - It is Saturday, you are in Kyiv, but your business urgently needs an envelope or package to be mailed and to arrive in New York by 10.30 a.m. Monday. And most importantly, you need it to arrive safely.

Who do you choose? For most individuals and businesses, the answer to this question is easy: DHL.

“We move the world,” is the slogan of DHL, the global market leader of the international express shipping and logistics industry. Not literally, of course. But the message is clear, at least in the eyes of Kyiv Post readers, who almost unanimously choose DHL. If you need a package sent swift and safe to or from Ukraine, DHL is the best choice.

And so, DHL’s business has blossomed in Ukraine since the group first opened an office in Odesa in 1991. Each day, a DHL company plane takes off from Kyiv’s Boryspil Airport delivering packages and envelopes to a hub in Leipzig, Germany. From there, it can be quickly redirected to more than 120,000 destinations worldwide.

Every day, a team of 260 professionals with the help of the largest Ukrainian courier automotive park of 71 vehicles, servers nearly 140 Ukrainian cities. Rates start at $21 for delivery of 500 gram packages within Ukraine. In the last two decades, some 3,000 corporate and individual clients have established long-term relations with DHL Express Ukraine. And DHL goes out of its way to make customers happy.

“Every year, we organize loyalty events for our regular clients and partners,” says Anna Repkina van Veelen, DHL Express Communications Manager.

DHL Express, 9 Lugova Street, Kyiv, 04074, Ukraine, +38 (044) 490-2600, http://www.dhl.com.ua

NOTE: DHL Express, is a member of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Washington, D.C., www.usubc.org.

LINK: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/business/bus_general/ detail/58256/
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9.  AMITY TECHNOLOGY JOINS U.S.-UKRAINE BUSINESS COUNCIL (USUBC)
Fourth generation company, always on the cutting edge of agricultural technology

U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Wash, D.C., Wed, Jan 27, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Amity Technology, Fargo, North Dakota, an innovative manufacturer of agricultural machinery and crop management products who always has been on the cutting edge of agricultural technology, has been approved for membership in the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), the USUBC executive committee announced today on behalf of the entire USUBC membership of over 100 companies and organizations who have business operations, investments or other development programs in Ukraine. 

Amity Technology follows in the proud tradition of a family that has been involved in the manufacturing business in North Dakota for more than 50 years.

FOURTH GENERATION COMPANY
Bobcat Loader, Steiger Tractor, Concord Air Drills, WIC Sugar Beet Equipment

Amity Technology is a fourth-generation manufacturing company. Founders Howard Dahl and Brian Dahl are grandsons of E. G. Melroe, who founded Melroe, and sons of Eugene Dahl. Eugene was a partner at Melroe and gave leadership to Steiger Tractor when it grew from $2 million of annual sales to over 100 million in six years.

In 1977, Howard and Brian Dahl incorporated Concord, Inc., which became the leading U.S. air drill manufacturer. Concord had a particularly strong role in bringing air seeding technology to the CIS (former Soviet Union). The Dahl's sold most of Concord to Case Corporation in 1996. The Dahl's used assets not purchased by Case to launch Amity Technology.

The heart of Amity Technology has been the WIC Sugar Beet Equipment line, the world leader in sugar beet harvesting equipment. They are also a world leader in several cutting-edge crop management tools, including Concord soil samplers.

In 2007, Amity Technology purchased the air seeding and agricultural attachments line of products from Fargo Products LLC, including the Air Double Disc Drill, Air Till Drill, Air Carts and the new Single Disc Drill.  These innovative products are poised to again make a worldwide impact in the seeding market.

Howard and Brian Dahl are also partners in Wil-Rich LLC, a manufacturer of tillage and spraying equipment in Wahpeton, N.D., and  Wishek Steel and Manufacturing Co. of Wishek, N.D., an international provider of the Wishek Disc and other farm equipment.
USUBC is very pleased to have Amity Technology as a member," said Morgan Williams, Director, Government Affairs, Washington Office, SigmaBleyzer Emerging Markets Private Equity Investment Group, www.SigmaBleyzer.com, who serves as President/CEO of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC). 
 
"I have known Howard Dahl since the early 1990's when I visited his manufacturing plant in Fargo and have watched with amazement as his companies continue to bring new products to the marketplace that are designed perfectly to significantly expand and lower the cost of agricultural production in Ukraine," Williams noted.

SUGAR BEET HARVESTING EQUIPMENT
Amity Technology has long been North America's leading manufacturer of sugar beet harvesting equipment. Over the past few years, strong sales in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and China have made Amity Technology the global leader for sugar beet harvesting products. For years, farmers have appreciated the simplicity, functionality, and durability of Amity Technology's beet equipment.

Amity Technology recognized the export potential in the countries of the former Soviet Union where sugar beet acreage is approximately four times more than the combined acreage of the United States and Canada.

CROP MANAGEMENT
Amity Technology is currently involved in manufacturing several Crop Management products, including Soil Samplers, Soil Labs, Compaction Mapping, Air-Tram Tramlines and Nitro-Bars. Each of these products can help farmers cut costs and increase yields in today’s agricultural economy. All of our Crop Management Tools will assist farmers/agronomists in efficient agronomic practices to meet today's agricultural challenges in fertility/soil management.

AIR SEEDING EQUIPMENT
Following in the tradition of Concord Air Seeding Equipment, Amity Technology has a history of developing innovative seeding equipment for conventional and no-till seeding applications. The Air Till Drill, Air Double Disc Drill, and the new Single Disc Drill have positioned Amity Technology worldwide as leaders in air seeding equipment.
 
AIR CARTS

Amity Technology Air Carts allow farmers the ability to deliver seed and fertilizer with precision and gentle handling of the product. With the option of ground drive or variable rate meters, variable NH3 control and compatibility with all mapping application technologies, our Air Carts are adaptable to any seeding or fertilizer applications. These stainless steel tanks, meters, and metering components provide a durable, very low maintenance and retain a new appearance.

WIL-RICH TILLAGE
Amity Technology is involved in the manufacturing of Wil-Rich tillage products. Located 40 miles south of Fargo in Wahpeton, North Dakota, Wil-Rich is a sister company of Amity Technology, and is one of North America's leading manufacturers of tillage equipment and planter bars.

POTATO EQUIPMENT
Amity Technology is the distributor for Lockwood-Harriston-Mayo potato equipment in Europe and CIS countries.


ISO:9001 QUALITY CERTIFICATION
Amity Technology is ISO:9001 registered for quality standard certification. They achieved the certification in August of 2007, recognizing the company’s quality management systems and programs. The ISO premise is that consistency creates reliability, which leads to excellence in product design, manufacturing and end use.

More information about Amity Technology can be found at www.amitytech.com.

"USUBC now has a membership base of over 100 companies and organizations which allows USUBC to provide its new members such as Amity Technology with a full-time operation and a significantly expanded program of work," according to USUBC membership director, Iryna Teluk.  

USUBC MEMBERSHIP NOW OVER 100 AND STILL GROWING
Over One-Hundred Members, January, 2010, Membership in January of 2007 was 22. 
The complete list of USUBC members can be found at: http://www.usubc.org/members.php.
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10.  BAKER & MCKENZIE: BEST LAW COMPANY 
KyivPost's Best of Kyiv 2009: Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Fri, Jan 29, 2010

KYIV - As fishermen like to say: The early bird gets the worm.

Baker & McKenzie, one of the world’s top law groups and one of the first to enter Ukraine, has proven with its success that the same adage applies to Ukraine’s legal market.

A pioneer in Ukraine, Baker & McKenzie was the first major international law group to launch a practice in the country – way back in 1992. And while its major international competitors flocked to Ukraine in the past decade, each eager to capture a share of a booming economy, Baker & McKenzie already had an established foothold. It also earned the respect of clients.

The group’s Kyiv practice was set up by John Hewko, an American of Ukrainian descent. In the beginning, he was a one-man show with a translator and a driver. Eighteen years later, Baker & McKenzie runs one of Ukraine’s most successful and largest practices, with more than 100 lawyers represent the interests of more than 350 multinational companies, financial institutions and leading Ukrainian businesses.

Composed of both foreigners and Ukrainian-born lawyers, staff members have law degrees from inside and outside of Ukraine. Baker & McKenzie’s Kyiv office also attributes its success to the group’s extensive global network of 67 offices in 39 countries.

“When our client needs us to work in the jurisdictions of three states, we can do so at ease,” said Serhiy Chorny, a partner at Baker & McKenzie’s Ukraine practice.

Baker & McKenzie is a trendsetter in Ukraine, having assisted domestic companies complete some of the country’s first Eurobonds and Initial Public Offering placements. It has also advised on some of the biggest bank sale deals.

“Across the globe and within Ukraine, the Baker & McKenzie brand is like the IBM of legal services. We invent and create the first product, while everyone else copies us,” boasted Chorny.

Baker & McKenzie, 24 Vorovskoho Street, Kyiv, 01054, Ukraine, Renaissance Business Center, +38 (044) 590-0101

USUBC FOOTNOTE: Baker & McKenzie, is a member of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Washington, D.C., www.usubc.org.

LINK: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/business/bus_general/ detail/58251/
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U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC): http://www.usubc.org
Promoting U.S.-Ukraine business relations & investment since 1995.