Category: Ukraine

Sayenko Kharenko Counsels Valentyna Hvozd and Igor Lozenko have been promoted to Partnership positions in the firm’s Antitrust & Competition and Banking & Finance practices, respectively.

According to Sayenko Kharenko, “these promotions are a result of their significant professional growth inside the firm, their considerable market success, and their ability to consistently surpass expectations and deliver the best results for clients.”

Hvozd has been with Sayenko Kharenko for almost 14 years since joining the firm as an intern in 2006. According to the firm, “during her time at Sayenko Kharenko, Valentyna has managed over 400 projects, advising clients on a wide range of antitrust law matters including merger control, cartels, abuse of dominance, antitrust investigations and advice, distribution agreements, and unfair competition before the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine. She has extensive experience advising multinational and domestic clients on the most complex and high profile cases requiring profound knowledge and an innovative approach to meet client expectations.”

Hvozd holds an LL.B. with honors from Wisconsin International University, a Masters’s degree in law from the KROK University of Economy and Law, and another Master’s degree in law from the Intellectual Property Institute of the National University Odessa Academy in Law. 

Lozenko first joined Sayenko Kharenko in 2007. According to the firm, “he has extensive experience in cross-border finance, capital markets, debt restructuring, renewable energy, and advising banks, international financial organizations and corporations on all types of financing issues. In addition, Igor has ample experience advising on distressed debt sale transactions coming out of Ukraine.” He holds a Master’s degree in law from the Kyiv International University. Prior to joining Sayenko Kharenko spent over a year in house with Relacom Ukraine and almost a year with BTG Pactual, as well as almost two years in private practice with Avellum.

“I have the distinct pleasure of welcoming this stellar duo into the partnership,” commented Partner Vladimir Sayenko. “It’s fantastic to have such a depth of talent across the firm. Valentyna and Igor truly reflect both our commitment to exceptional client service and dedication to fostering a culture that ensures a good environment for those who are passionate about both teaching and learning. These newly appointed partners have proved themselves to be both good team players and excellent team leaders able to teach, share valuable experience with junior colleagues, and offer the highest level of benefit to their clients. I am very glad to witness that years of hard work have paid off for these two, allowing them to deservedly join our growing partner team.”

Ukrainian commercial and residential real estate markets continue to be dynamic and are becoming more and more attractive to both local and foreign investors. The new Ukrainian Parliament, elected in summer 2019, has already passed some laws necessary for the development of the real estate sector and attracting investments to it. Below you will find an overview of the most significant changes in Ukrainian real estate legislation regarding buildings and construction in 2019.

New Concession Legislation

On October 20, 2019, the Law of Ukraine “On Concession” No. 155-IX (the “Law on Concession”), vital in attracting more than USD 30 billion in investments to modernize Ukrainian infrastructure, entered into force.

The Law on Concession envisages that a concession term should be not less than five years (ten years for concessions of highways) and should not exceed 50 years. 

A private legal entity-resident of Ukraine can be a concessionaire if complies with: (i) applicant and participant guidelines, approved by the grantor, and (ii) restrictions on participation in concession tenders prescribed by the Law on Concession.

The Law on Concession provides for three separate private partner selection procedures, namely: (i) a concession tender, (ii) competitive dialog, and (iii) direct negotiations with a tenant of state property. Generally, these procedures may last from six to 18 months.

According to the Law on Concession, parties to the concession agreement may: (i) provide for the application of foreign law, and (ii) choose a dispute resolution venue and procedure.

Despite some controversial provisions of the Law on Concession (,  a questionnable mechanism of terminating third party rights to the land plots, which are required for  concession projects, and the impossibility of changing the concessionaire except through a new tender) we believe that the Law on Concession will enable the successful implementation of concession projects in Ukraine.

New Legislation on Lease of State and Municipal Property

On October 3, 2019 the Ukrainian Parliament adopted the draft “On Lease of State and Municipal Property” law (the “Law on Lease”). The Law on Lease is expected to become effective on February 2, 2020 with some provisions to enter into force on October 1, 2020.

The Law on Lease sets a new framework for leasing state and municipal objects, by: (i) revising the categories of landlords and tenants, and establishing restrictions for the latter; (ii) providing that state and municipal property may be leased based on a competitive (via eletronic auctions) or non-competitive basis; (iii) expanding the list of objects that may not be leased; and (iv) elaborating on the main aspects of the procedure of transfer of state and municipal objects into lease. 

However, the detailed procedure for state and municipal property leases is expected to be set by a resolution of the Ukrainian Government, and none has yet been adopted. 

Possibility to Privatize New Kinds of State and Municipal Objects

On October 20, 2019, the Law of Ukraine “On List of State Objects that are Not Subject to Privatization” No. 847-XIV expired. Thus, privatization of more than 500 state-owned objects (e.g.,  the Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv, JSC Ukrzaliznytsia (i.e.,  “Ukrainian Railways”), and JSC Ukrposhta), which was prohibited for 20 years, is now possible (although state property located in temporarily-occupied territories is not subject to privatization until the full restoration of the constitutional order of Ukraine within such territories is established).

Abolition of Social Development Contributions for Developers

As of January 1, 2020, developers will not be obliged to contribute to the development of social infrastructure in order to commission the object. 

Currently, local self-government authorities determine the amount of a mandatory contribution, which may not exceed: (i) 10% of the construction value for commercial objects, and (ii) 4% of the construction value for residential objects.

The abolition of the mandatory social development contribution was prompted by: (i) the absence of effective legal mechanisms to ensure that collected sums were used specifically for the development of social infrastructure (i.e.,  and not for other purposes of local self-government authorities), and (ii) an insufficient number of developers complying with the obligation to pay it to local budgets.

Conclusions

We believe that Ukraine will not only successfully implement the necessary reforms in the real estate, infrastructure, and construction sectors, but also that measures will be taken to make sure these reforms cannot be reversed.

By Maksym Maksymenko, Head of Real Estate, Avellum

This Article was originally published in Issue 6.11 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.

Acting on behalf of Hemoplast PJSC, Ilyashev & Partners has persuaded Ukraine’s Interdepartmental International Trade Commission to initiate a safeguard investigation into syringe imports to Ukraine regardless of the country of origin or export, which the firm says “protects the interests of all Ukrainian syringe manufacturers.”

Hemoplast PJSC is a Ukrainian manufacturer of medical products, including, primarily, disposable syringes and devices for blood and solution transfusion. In addition, it produces catheters, probes, and medical and laboratory products, as well as hundreds of non-medical plastic goods. The company was founded in 1973.

Depending upon the outcome of the investigation Ukraine may apply a safeguard duty or set a quota for the import of goods into Ukraine to prevent or eliminate serious damage to its economy. The safeguard investigation will take from 9 to 12 months.

“At the moment we are actively participating in the investigation conducted by the Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine, proving a serious damage to the domestic industry from the growing imports,” said Olena Omelchenko, the Partner and Head of International Trade at Ilyashev & Partners, who is leading the firm’s team on the matter. “We will provide all the information required to protect both the national producers and the consumers.”

Ironically, just last year, acting on behalf of a foreign producer of syringes (India’s Lifelong Meditech Private Limited), Ilyashev & Partners successfully persuaded the Interdepartmental International Trade Commission that it need take no measures against its client following an anti-dumping investigation on imports into Ukraine of syringes originating from the Republic of India, the Republic of Turkey, and the People’s Republic of China that had been initiated by Hemoplast and Tyumen-Mediko-Smila Private JSC.

Sayenko Kharenko has acted as legal counsel to the winners of both pilot tenders for the concession of Ukraine’s Kherson and Olvia seaports.

The concession projects provide for the operation and maintenance of functioning seaport infrastructure for periods of 30 and 35 years respectively.

The concession tenders, which were announced in September 2019 with support from the EBRD and the IFC, were designed as a multi-stage process that included pre-qualification shortlisting and a full invitation to tender. Sayenko Kharenko represented the interests of Risoil Kherson LLC and Risoil Olvia LLC from the outset. 

On January 20, 2020, Sayenko Kharenko’s client was declared the winner of the Kherson seaport concession tender as his bid provided for the best financial conditions. After the successful passing of the pre-qualification stage, that client made a strategic decision not to proceed with filing a financial bid for the Olvia seaport.

According to its investment commitments outlined in the financial bid, Risoil Kherson LLC will invest almost UAH 300 million in the development of the seaport and local infrastructure. The bid envisaged a high variable concession payment rate of 7% and a fixed concession payment amounting to UAH 12 million. In addition, Risoil Kherson LLC will invest over UAH 18 million into local infrastructure.

According to Sayenko Kharenko, the firm “provided full legal support for the project, including advising on bid strategy, assisting with setting up and structuring a special purpose vehicle, as well as collecting the relevant documents and submitting a tender bid, conducting legal due diligence and preparing an application to the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine.” The firm is now advising Risoil Kherson “on negotiating the concession agreement and submission of application for approval from the AMCU.” The closing of the transaction is subject to the approval of the AMCU, as well as the execution of the concession agreement, which will be negotiated between the parties within the next three months.

Sayenko Kharenko’s team working on the project was coordinated by Counsel Volodymyr Yaremko with support of Associate Vladlena Lavrushyna, who also managed the tender representation of Risoil Kherson LLC and Risoil Olvia LLC during the concession tender. Associates Timur Enkhbaiar, Ilhar Hakhramanov, Mykola Lykhoglyad, and Sviatoslav Kozak provided support from the corporate and real estate law perspectives, under the supervision of Counsel Dmytro Korbut.

Sayenko Kharenko Senior Associate Julia Kuyda and Associate Anastasia Bodnar are managing the process of applying to the AMCU for approval of the tender, working under the supervision of Partner Maksym Nazarenko.

Ilyashev & Partners has helped Druzhkovka Hardware Plant PrJSC initiate an anti-dumping investigation into imports of steel fasteners from the People’s Republic of China to Ukraine.

Druzhkovka Hardware Plant PrJSC specializes in the production of metal products, including bolts, nuts, rivets for general machine-building, fasteners for the upper structure of railway tracks, and high-strength fasteners for engineering and bridge structures. The plant’s products are used by Ukrainian railways and exported to Poland, Turkey, Moldova, and Kazakhstan.

“Our team is concentrating on gathering the proof of the existence of dumped imports into Ukraine, which is causing material injury to the domestic industry,” said Ilyashev & Partners Partner Olena Omelchenko, who is leading the firm’s team. “We believe that imports from China are significantly distorting competition in Ukraine and may result in driving national manufactures from the domestic market. The application of interim anti-dumping duties will help to keep jobs in Ukraine and attract investments in the metal industry in the future.”

Vasil Kisil & Partners has advised Lekhim-Obukhiv LLC on the acquisition of two land plots from Helikom LV, a manufacturer of wood-plastic composites in the Ukrainian community of Obukhiv.

According to Vasil Kisil & Partners, “the Lekhim Group of Companies is a Ukrainian pharmaceutical company specializing in the area of development, manufacture and sale of medicines, which offers a wide range of generic medicinal products of almost all therapeutic groups and annually registers about ten new products manufactured according to advanced technologies.”

Vasil Kisil & Partners’s team included Partner Alexander Borodkin, Senior Associate Roman Riabenko and Associate Maksym Reshtakov.

Tetiana Mylenka has joined Hillmont Partners to lead the firm’s energy practice.

Mylenka, who joins as Counsel, was previously Head of Legal at the state-owned JSC Main Gas Pipelines of Ukraine, where she was actively involved in the gas TSO unbundling process. She received LL.M degree in Competition Law from King’s College in London and her Master’s Degree from the Institute of Law and Economics at Kyiv National Linguistic University. 

According to Hillmont Partners: “Mylenka’s experience will strengthen the firm’s expertise in energy law, M&A and corporate, competition law and commercial law. She will concentrate on projects in the energy sector, particularly oil & gas, conventional and renewable power generation.”

“Developing our Energy practice is a key strategic priority of the firm,” commented Hillmont Partners’ Co-Managing Partner James Hart, “and Tetiana has the knowledge and experience to lead the practice and deliver professional expert advice of the highest quality to our clients.”

Eterna Law has extended its agreement to provide legal assistance to the Ukrainian Tennis Federation for another year.

According to Eterna Law, “for the 6th year in a row, we [will be] providing advice on various legal issues, including financing of athletes, preparation of sponsorship contracts, and other relevant issues of the Federation.”

The parties agreed to extend their relationship by having Eterna Law Partner Andrey Astapov and Ukrainian Tennis Federation Executive Director Eugeniy Zukin sign a memorandum to that affect on January 21, 2020.

Artem Kuzmenko and Konstantin Derbyshev have been promoted to Partner at Eterna Law.

Kuzmenko works within Eterna Law’s Corporate/M&A practice and focuses on corporate and IT law, as well as advising companies in the infrastructure, construction, gambling, and sports sectors. He obtained a Master’s in Law from the Academy of Advocacy of Ukraine and holds an MBA from the International Institute of Business. Prior to joining Eterna in 2011, he spent two years in-house with the Praim company.

Derbyshev has been the head of Eterna’s Kazakhstan office for the past two years. He graduated from the Public Caspian University Academy of Law. Prior to joining Eterna in 2013, he spent over three years at KPMG Law.

Eterna Law’s promotions round also saw Igor Mulyarchuk and Karina Pavlyuk become Counsels, Mykhailo Lytvyn become Senior Associate, and Philip Taranenko become Associate.

The International Tax practice of Ukraine’s SK Group, which since 2015 also represented the Avidbiz brand in Ukraine, has left the SK Group and is now doing business solely as Avidbiz.

Avidbiz, which is based in Estonia and also has offices in Vienna, Munich, and Warsaw, specializes in international tax law, tax planning, and business structuring. The Ukrainian team is led by Partner Olga Solovyova. According to Avidbiz, “She is one of few lawyers in Ukraine with an LL.M degree in International tax law, [which she] obtained from the Vienna University of Economics.“