the Ukrainian Corporation Roshen stops the production activities of the Lipetsk confectionery factory, the decision was made for economic and political reasons. Close message posted on the official website of the Corporation on Friday.
Full stop production and conservation of industrial and infrastructure projects planned for April 2017.
Roshen — one of the main business assets of the incumbent President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko (the name of the Corporation formed from the second and third syllables of his name). Part Roshen includes factory and dealer centers in Ukraine, Lithuania, Hungary, and Poland. Lipetsk production in Russia, the Corporation acquired in 2001.
the Corporation Poroshenko is one of the largest in the former Soviet Union confectionery manufacturers, producing up to 450 thousand tons of products per year: caramel, toffee, biscuits, etc., the Most recognized brand jelly candy “Shalena bgca” (“Mad bee”).
“Mad bee” pounded
Candy from Poroshenko — it is a competitive budget-level product that is in demand in Russia and Ukraine. But starting in 2013, in connection with the fall of the population income, the demand for sweet products began to decline. Production at the Lipetsk confectionary factory has fallen 3 times. Decreased range. In addition, the CPS in July 2013 imposed a ban on imports of Ukrainian Roshen products. In the Ukrainian sweets seems to have found the harmful substance — benzopyrene. But it was just a pretext.
In fact, the ban on the import of confectionery products was a response to the introduction of special duties on imported cars in Ukraine, said the experts. Fees were increased for the protection of Ukrainian manufacturers. Russia, which supplied then to the Ukraine, including products of “AVTOVAZ”, felt that due fees will incur a loss of approximately $ 36 million per year. In addition, at the end of the year was expected to sign the agreement between Ukraine and the EU on creating a free trade zone. This agreement would close the road to Ukraine to the Customs Union, although Moscow did not lose hope for Ukraine’s partnership.
Then podsuetilis competitors, accusing Roshen illegal use of the Soviet confectionery brands. The factory were searched, a part of its assets and accounts were arrested. For violations of the copyright law, the factory has paid 270 million rubles.
Claims to Ukrainian Corporation appeared and tax services. The Russian tax authorities 4 times checked the factory and assessed additional income tax, VAT first 631 million, and later even to RUB 374 mln of the claims factory had recognized and paid the arrears to the budget voluntarily, but most of the amount of claims still in dispute in the arbitration.
After the arrival of Poroshenko to power in Ukraine in may 2014 to economic reasons hindering the confectionery business, has added political. President Poroshenko, to avoid conflict of interest, undertook to sell the Lipetsk factory. However, he acknowledged that the time to sell is not the most appropriate.
“In war investment in the country not enter, nobody is buying anything,” complained Poroshenko. He did not rule out that if buyers are not there, Roshen can be sold to the management.
as a result of the search of the buyers came from the Rothschild Group. Asset supposedly interested in the Russian confectionary holding “Slavyanka”. But official confirmation of this information is not received. In the Ukrainian media also reported that the Corporation Poroshenko was ready to redeem the son of former President of Ukraine Alexander Yanukovych. But these reports remained at the level of rumors.
Zhirinovsky offered Poroshenko barter
In 2015, Bloomberg with reference to sources reported that the Swiss Nestle Roshen ready to purchase for $ 1 billion. But Poroshenko wanted three times more. The deal did not materialize.
a proposal to Poroshenko’s exchange of assets was addressed by the Deputy of the state Duma Vladimir Zhirinovsky. According to the leader of the liberal democratic party, his grandfather Yitzhak Edelstein, head of the Jewish community in the Ukrainian town of Sochi, had there woodworking factory, “which supplied the forest the whole of Europe”.
this grandfather’s factory Zhirinovsky proposed to change to Roshen.
last year, after three years of unsuccessful search for investors, management Roshen was ready to sell the company for €200 million But by this time part of the property of the factory and remained under arrest in the framework of the criminal case initiated by the Investigative Committee of Russia, as an interim measure on the theft of 180 million rubles from the Federal budget the VAT refund.
Not the last role in the decision about closing the factory played Ukrainian opposition politicians. They blamed Poroshenko for what he calls Russia the aggressor, but it does business (through trust) on the territory of the aggressor. His company regularly pays taxes, and for the last three years the Lipetsk factory Poroshenko transferred to the budget of 1 billion rubles.
Unhappy and the Russians: Poroshenko strengthens the army, urged the West to extend sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Crimea, but his company supplies in the same Crimea and all of Russia, candies and cookies.
In Kiev with Russia paid dividends that also can not be annoying politicians in Moscow. Over the past two years the Lipetsk factory brought to Ukraine $ 72,1 million of dividends, reported the official website of the company. Of this amount in the budget of Ukraine has paid UAH 126 million in taxes ($ 5 million). Even the order of EUR 236.9 million ($ 9.3 million) was directed to charity.
President Vladimir Putin has distanced himself from the paradoxical situation around the factory Poroshenko. Speaking at the Valdai forum, Putin said that Russia is trying to respect the right of ownership, this applies to owned by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the Roshen factory in Lipetsk region. In response, the head of Roshen Vyacheslav Moskalevsky said that he had a better opinion about the Russian security services, as they would have to inform Putin that Poroshenko is not the owner of the company, it transferred its interest “in an independent trust in January of this year.”
According to the Ukrainian businessman, for numerous checks and criminal cases against the Lipetsk factory is the Russian President, and that because of him thousands of Russians lost their jobs. Previously, the factory employed 1,800 people, now — 700.
Even Rothschild did not help
Business in such circumstances has no place. Lipetsk Roshen since the beginning of the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine was doomed. Factory still can be restarted with the new investors, said on Friday the Governor of the Lipetsk region Oleg Korolev.
“the Company could continue, but if the shareholders adopt such a decision, it’s their sovereign decision”, — said the press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov.
no wonder, then, that the factory stay afloat in 2014. This, of course, indicates a high margin of this business project, said Georgy Vashchenko, head of operations on the Russian stock market IR “freedom Finance”.
He believes it is unlikely that even after the closure of the factory competitors will be interested in that asset. At least in the near future. “It is unclear how long it will take bankruptcy procedure that remain from the factory,” says Vashchenko.
Lipetsk factory – not only the loss of Poroshenko, associated with geopolitics. Mariupol Roshen factory ceased operations in February 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment