In Ukraine is planned to issue Islamic financial instruments - Sukuk, worth 500-600 million Euros to finance the project of "Evrokoliya", presupposing the construction of the railway section of the European standard with the length of 86 km from Lviv to the Polish border.
UDC Holding, a part of "Universal Investment Group" ("UIG", both in Kiev) is currently in talks with Islamic investors about the possibility of financing the project. About this informed the general director of the holding Leonid Bogdanov at the Ukrainian-Arab conference on "Investment prospects in Ukraine" in Kiev, on October, 14.
"This project is planned to be financed through Islamic financial instruments. The volume of the investments, according to the preliminary calculations, will be around ? 500-600 million. From the Ukrainian side - it is the construction of 86 km (railway with the width of the European standard (1435 mm)) from Lviv to the border [...] We are the first who made an attempt to attract Islamic investors in this project. We received a preliminary understanding, so to say. That is not an agreement yet, but a preliminary understanding. We are planning to issue Islamic financial instruments - Sukuk (Islamic bonds), of the entire amount to fund this project", L. Bogdanov said.
According to him, UDC Holding is currently attracting finance to this project, and in the future it will manage its implementation. This holding company will also participate in the contest to determine the concessionaire of the road construction, informs tbu.com.ua.
"We offer in this project to build two terminals - in Krakow and Lviv. In fact, the passenger will be seated, as in the airport, passing through passport control, the train (in Lviv terminal), and three hours later will be in Krakow [...] This will completely change the travel flows (between Ukraine and the EU), and blow up the city of Lviv in respect of tourism, the number of tourists will increase by ten times", the general director of the holding said.
According to L. Bogdanov, the Polish side claimed all similar expenses on the road from Krakow to the Ukrainian border. All construction work, both in Poland and in Ukraine, in his opinion, would take two to three years.
According to the source, the project "Evrokoliya" provides for the continuation of works on the Ukrainian part of high-speed train from Krakow, where trains can reach speed of up to 160 kilometers per hour, the station next to the Lviv airport, and in the downtown - the construction of the international terminal.
In the future Ukraine can count on the billions of dollars of investments in the Arab world
The Ukrainian side presented its capacity during the general Ukrainian-Arab conference which was held in Kiev on October, 14. Among the areas that interested Islamic countries are agriculture, metallurgy and production of gas, inform UBC.
Experts note that it is now a good time to raise funds. After all, during the crisis the prevailing capital of the Arab countries was withdrawn from the U.S. economy.
Inquiry. Sukuk (from the Arabic-Persian. sakk - check) - refers to Islamic financial instruments, including certificates, which specify the proportion of ownership in a particular asset or an interest held by the issuer. Sukuk differs from conventional bonds that it does not include debt or ordinary shares in the companies. Share in the ownership of the asset gives to the holder of the Sukuk the right for the respective share of the income from the property.
In the Islamic law the permanent income or interest-bearing bonds are not allowed, so the Sukuk regarded as a security, operating under the laws of Shariah investment guidelines which prohibit to charge or to pay interest.
By tbu.com.ua and UBC
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