UKRAINE BUSINESS NEWS - NINE ARTICLES
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1. UKRAINE'S RIVAL LEADERS TO MEET TUESDAY ON IMF DEAL
By James Marson, The Wall Street Journal, NY, NY, Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009
2. DPM HRYHORIY NEMYRIA SAYS IMF HAS NOT REFUSED TO CONTINUE COOPERATION WITH UKRAINE UNTIL END OF PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
Interfax, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, November 9, 2009
3. IMF WILL RESUME WORK WITH UKRAINE ONLY AFTER PRESIDENTIAL VOTE
Reuters, St. Andrews, Scotland, Sunday November 08, 2009
4. NBU CONTINUING TO COOPERATIVE WITH IMF
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, November 9, 2009
5. UKRAINE - TIME TO TAKE A PUNT?
By Timothy Ash, RBSMarketplace
Emerging Markets Strategy | EM Alert | CEEMEA
Royal Bank of Scotland, London, UK, Monday, Nov 9, 2009
6. UKRAINE - THE POLITICAL SAGA DRAGS ON
By Timothy Ash, RBSMarketplace
Emerging Markets Strategy | EM Alert | CEEMEA
Royal Bank of Scotland, London, UK, Friday, Nov 6, 2009
7. COMMERZBANK CUTS UKRAINE DEBT TO NEUTRAL FROM OVERWEIGHT
By Riva Froymovich, Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, NY, NY, Mon, Nov 9, 2009
8. USA BLIMP MAKER IGOR PASTERNAK AIMS TO EXPAND
Fascinated by airships since his childhood in Ukraine
By W.J. Hennigan, "How I Made It: Igor Pasternak"
Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA, Sun, Nov 8, 2009
9. AEROSVIT UKRAINIAN AIRLINES RECONFIRMS ITS IOSA CERTIFICATE
AeroSvit Ukrainian Airlines, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, Nov 9, 2009
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1. UKRAINE'S RIVAL LEADERS TO MEET TUESDAY ON IMF DEAL
By James Marson, The Wall Street Journal, NY, NY, Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's feuding political leadership plans to meet Tuesday in an attempt to thrash out a deal to secure much-needed further lending from the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF has called for political consensus after President Viktor Yushchenko signed a bill on Oct. 30 raising wages and pensions. The Fund and the Ukraine government had said such programs would break the budget and jeopardize the next $3.8 billion loan installment.
Agreement at the meeting between top officials from the government, the president's office and the central bank will be hard to achieve, with a contentious presidential election approaching in January, and Mr. Yushchenko at loggerheads with the head of the government, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the IMF, raised fears in Kiev on Saturday that the ship had already sailed. "Certainly we have to wait for the result of the election to be able to resume our work with the government," he said, according to a Reuters report.
An IMF representative clarified his remarks Monday as saying that given the political animosities, it is unlikely that a consensus on how to proceed with the program would be reached before the elections.
Mr. Yushchenko said in a televised interview Sunday that he didn't expect to receive the next installment.
Without the funds, Ukraine will struggle to cover a budget gap that is widening, even without the new expenditures. "The continuation of the IMF program means continuing to pay pensions and wages at a level that can be afforded at a time of economic crisis," Deputy Prime Minister Hryhoriy Nemyria, a close ally of Ms. Tymoshenko's, said Monday.
Ukraine did, however, avert fears of a gas crisis -- like the dispute in January this year that resulted in cuts to the European Union -- after paying its October bill to Russia on Friday.
Mr. Yushchenko's energy adviser said Monday that Ukraine had enough gas in storage to safeguard supplies to the EU over the winter.
LINK: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125780990513339789.html?
mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond
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2. DMP HRYHORIY NEMYRIA SAYS IMF HAS NOT REFUSED
TO CONTINUE COOPERATION WITH UKRAINE UNTIL END
OF PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
Interfax, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, November 9, 2009
KYIV - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not refused to continue to cooperate with Ukraine until the end of the presidential campaign in the country, Ukrainian Vice Premier Hryhoriy Nemyria has said.
"The International Monetary Fund was and is ready to continue its cooperation with Ukraine without waiting for the end of the presidential election in Ukraine," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday.
He said that at 1405 on Monday he had had a phone conversation with IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who noted that his statement on such a possibility [the end of cooperation with Ukraine] had been misinterpreted by the media.
Nemyria said that a key condition for continuing cooperation with the IMF and receiving the next tranche by Ukraine is the need to draft a joint position on this issue in Ukraine.
"This will depend on when the government, the National Bank of Ukraine ... and the Presidential Secretariat reach agreement on the minimum parameters required to continue the program [of cooperation with the fund]," he said.
Nemyria said that one of the greatest difficulties in talks is the law on a rise in social standards, which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada and signed by the head of state. He said that the adoption of this law foresees a budget deficit of 3-7% in the state budget for next year.
He also said that the fund described as "regular" the situation with the implementation of an IMF demand for a rise in minimum gas tariffs for the population and municipal heat suppliers.
"The fund doesn't insist on this [rise in these tariffs] as an urgent measure required to continue the review [of the cooperation program]," he said.
Nemyria said that the government would do all it can to reach understanding with the National Bank of Ukraine and the Presidential Secretariat on the need to continue cooperation with the fund.
In particular, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko ordered the holding on Tuesday of a meeting of the monitoring committee on the implementation of Ukraine's cooperation program with the IMF in order to discuss the steps required to continue this cooperation. Representatives from the Presidential Secretariat and the National Bank of Ukraine were invited to the meeting.
Nemyria also said that he had spoken with representatives of the European Commission on the possible provision of a EUR 610 million loan to Ukraine.
He said that this sum could be provided to the country after the continuation of the cooperation program with the IMF.
He said that the loan would be allocated in three tranches. The provision of the first tranche, worth EUR 110 million, has already been agreed with all of the EU agencies, he said. The allocation of the second and third tranches, worth EUR 500 million, would require additional confirmation.
If Ukraine gets the next tranche of the IMF loan, the respective funds could be sent to the country by the end of this year.
LINK: http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/24277
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3. IMF WILL RESUME WORK WITH UKRAINE ONLY
AFTER PRESIDENTIAL VOTE
Reuters, St. Andrews, Scotland, Sunday November 08, 2009
ST ANDREWS, Scotland - The International Monetary Fund said on Saturday it would resume work with Ukraine only after January elections, after a move to hike wages pushed its $16.4 billion bailout "off-track".
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko -- who faces a Jan. 17 vote battle to keep his post -- signed the wage bill last month, flaunting IMF recommendations and putting a further strain on the budget
The IMF initially said it would continue to work with Ukraine, expressing hope that the government could return its focus to economic stability even before the election. But on Saturday IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn seemed to signal a resolution was not near.
"When people are running for elections, decisions may be a bit different from what you decided with them one year ago when the programme was being set up," he told Reuters television on the sidelines of a G20 finance ministers' meeting in Scotland.
"Now we are in a special period, so certainly we have to wait for the result of the election to be able to resume our work with the government." Elections have also prompted IMF to delay its aid review to Romania, where a centrist government was toppled last month. [ID:nL6448258]
But Strauss-Kahn said the situation there -- unlike in Ukraine -- did not give serious cause for concern. "On Romania, it is a normal programme. Of course there is a change of government, so there is some delay, but I have no special concern about this programme," he said. (Writing by Toni Vorobyova, editing by Mike Peacock)
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4. NBU CONTINUING TO COOPERATIVE WITH IMF
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, November 9, 2009
KYIV - The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) is continuing to work on a memorandum of economic and financial policies as part of its cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to Serhiy Kruhlyk, the director of the NBU department for foreign economic liaison.
"The National Bank is continuing to work on the memorandum. We're working out our block of issues," he told Interfax-Ukraine on Monday.
Kruhlyk said that Ukraine had already received a significant amount of funds from the IMF and was continuing to fulfill the commitments it has undertaken.
In the autumn of 2008, the IMF decided to allocate a Stand-By loan worth around $17 billion. Ukraine has already received nearly $11 billion via three tranches of the loan.
The allocation of the fourth tranche, worth $3.8 billion, was planned for November following the third review of the fund's program with Ukraine. The IMF mission ended its work in Kyiv late in October, but it has not yet issued a positive statement on the completion of the review.
"The mission is now awaiting endorsement of the agreed policy package from the signatories to the program - the President, the Prime Minister, the finance minister, and the governor of the National Bank of Ukraine - including assurances that the wage and pension law approved by Ukraine's parliament, the Rada, this week, which is at odds with the objectives of the authorities' program, will be vetoed," reads the statement.
Following the departure of the mission, Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko refused to veto the law increasing social standards and signed it. IMF Mission Chief Ceyla Pazarbasioglu said that the IMF was concerned over this decision by the president and stressed the need for the government to review the draft state budget for 2010, as it contains an excessive budget deficit.
She said that the fund had urged Ukraine to stick with recovery policies and to try to forge a consensus to support economic recovery, while avoiding measures that would fuel inflation and unemployment.
Director of the IMF's External Relations Department Caroline Atkinson said that IMF might consider the possibility of providing Ukraine with the fourth tranche of the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) only after the country reaches a broad consensus concerning the implementation of the anti-crisis program.
However, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in an interview with western media that the fund would continue to cooperate with Ukraine only after the presidential elections in the country, which are scheduled for January 2010, are over.
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5. UKRAINE - TIME TO TAKE A PUNT?
By Timothy Ash, RBSMarketplace
Emerging Markets Strategy | EM Alert | CEEMEA
Royal Bank of Scotland, London, UK, Monday, Nov 9, 2009
President Yushchenko has just appeared on TV in Ukraine affirming that presidential elections will be held on schedule on January 17, 2010. He noted that he did not want the country paralysed for any longer than necessary during the presidential election campaign.
Only last week a member of the presidential administration had warned that the election could be put back to May if a state of emergency was called to tackle the swine flu outbreak currently racking the country. Any such attempt would likely have been greeted by strong opposition from Yushchenko's political opponents, including PM Tymoshenko, and the leader of the opposition, Yanukovych.
Yushchenko's comments are encouraging, and should ease back political risks somewhat.
In further positives for the credit story this morning:
[1] The Russian authorities also confirmed that Ukraine paid for gas delivered during the month of October, by the November 7, 2010 deadline, thereby easing the risks of a re-run of the gas supply/pricing scraps which have beset relations with Russia in recent years.
[2] Fitch affirmed that it was comfortable with the language attached to the sovereign guarantee extended to the recent restructuring external liabilities of the state-owned gas transit company, Naftogaz; extending a B rating to the newly issued debt. The latter should finally begin to ease market concern over the restructuring process, and also more broadly with respect to gas transit/pricing, including the relationship with Russia.
Less encouraging were comments by IMF MD Straus-Kahn over the weekend, suggestive that the IMF would now take a time out from Ukraine, with IMF disbursements under the US$16.5bn SBA stalled until after the presidential elections. The 20% hike in public sector wages/salaries approved by parliament at the end of October seems to have been the straw that broke the camel's back in terms of the IMF programme.
There had perhaps been hope that the presidency could work together with the government to enact legislative changes to reign in the budget deficit, and bring the budget back on track before year end, thereby facilitating a compromise deal with the IMF.
Comments over the past few days by President Yushchenko have, however, suggested that he is unwilling to support such changes, and he is also working on the assumption that Ukraine and the IMF take something of a time-out until the election cycle is completed.
Cynics might argue that Yushchenko was fearful that IMF disbursements might be used to fund pork barrelling by the Tymoshenko government in the run up to the presidential elections. Members of the presidential administration have even suggested bias by the IMF in favour of the Tymoshenko government.
A delay in IMF disbursements beyond the election had all along been our base line scenario, so the formal comments by Straus-Kahn do not particularly represent new news in our minds. And, in many respects, with 5Y Ukraine CDS trading at around 1,350bps it is probably already in the price, having widened out a couple of hundred basis points over the past month.
We argued in a piece last Friday that on a risk/reward basis, Ukraine probably now offers value given the relatively limited default probability. Our main concern then was a delay in the presidential election, which now seems to have abated following President Yushchenko's comments this morning. We now think it is worth taking another look at Ukraine:
Credit positives include:
(+) We think the presidential elections will clear the air, producing a victory either for PM Tymoshenko, or the leader of the opposition, Viktor Yanukovych. With the incumbent Viktor Yushchenko having been sidelined though we think the chances of co-habitation between Tymoshenko and Yanukovych are now quite high. This should ease the policy making environment from Q1 2009, allowing perhaps for the resumption of IMF disbursements.
(+) Russia seems content to take a back seat in this election, having reasonably strong relations with both the main contenders (Tymoshenko and Yanukovych) in the presidential election it seems to be in a win-win scenario; above all Moscow wants to see the departure of Yushchenko from the presidency, which seems inevitable now given the incumbent's lowly poll ratings. It will be interesting to see how Russia seeks to use its election dividend after the election by seeking to acquire assets in Ukraine, e.g. through the privatisation process.
(+) With the debt service hump in August - September having been covered via redemptions, and restructuring (e.g. Naftogaz) quasi sovereign external liabilities falling due over the next year appear modest/manageable, given the NBU is still sitting on US$27bn in FX reserves. As of the end of September, total public sector debt amounted to US$35bn (80% external, and equivalent only to around 30% of GDP), i.e. close to 80% covered via FX reserves. We estimate sovereign/quasi- sovereign external liabilities falling due over the next year at just US$2-3bn, which seems manageable on an assumption that IMF lending resumes early in 2010;
(+) The current account deficit has collapsed, with the collapse of imports as domestic demand has deflated, and is expected to amount to only 1-2% of GDP, at most, in 2009, and will be fully covered via net FDI. Debt amortisations have been covered via a combination of redemptions, debt restructuring and official financing.
(+) It has been evident by events over the past couple of months that the IMF is willing to cut Ukraine slack, wherever possible - only with the latest 20% wages/pension slack it was a case of a bridge too far as the increase would have broken the back of public finances. Ukraine's strategic position in ensuring energy supplies to Europe suggests that it has friends in Washington and Brussels. As noted above this suggests the early resumption of IMF financing in 2010 (likely March - April, given the need to form a new government after the presidential election).
(+) The IMF-backed bank restructuring programme is making progress, helped by the fact that the sector is small and still relatively manageable in terms of the contingent liabilities to public finances (restructuring costs are likely to be less than 10% of GDP). Foreign banks have generally been willing to recapitalise their local operations, and Russian investors still appear willing to pick up assets in the banking sector when opportunities arise.
(+) Finally, the shear extent of the loss of economic output in 2009 (i.e. 15-20%) inevitably creates a very low base for recovery in 2010, which should also be helped by Ukraine's position as a commodity (metals) exporter.
This material is for information only. It is not an offering document and its terms are qualified in their entirety by the final transaction documents in respect of the securities described therein. Certain transactions mentioned may give rise to substantial risks and may not be suitable for all investors. RBS may have positions, deal or make markets in these securities or related derivatives. Prices are based on current information, are subject to change, are not offers to transact and cannot be relied upon as representations that transactions can be effected at such prices. This material is based on information considered to be reliable, but we do not represent its accuracy or completeness.
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6. UKRAINE - THE POLITICAL SAGA DRAGS ON
By Timothy Ash, RBSMarketplace
Emerging Markets Strategy | EM Alert | CEEMEA
Royal Bank of Scotland, London, UK, Friday, Nov 6, 2009
Covering Ukraine is never dull.
[1] First, the government confirmed that earlier today it made the US$480m payment to Gazprom for gas delivered over the month of October, thereby meeting the requirement to pay the bill by the 7th day of the month after the delivery of the gas. Earlier in the week the presidential administration, and indeed some members of the Tymoshenko government, had suggested that the government lacked the funds to make the payment.
There was also concern that elements within the Ukrainian administration were using the gas issue to lever concessions from the IMF and the EC/EU and secure the early release of the next tranche of US$3.8bn in IMF funding.
Not sure Ukraine's official creditors were particularly impressed by this tack, and EC President Barroso made it fairly clear in his comments yesterday that this time around Ukraine (and importantly not Russia) would be held responsible for ensuring the maintenance of gas supplies to Europe.
Officials in Moscow have yet to confirm payment, but we reckon that Ukraine got the message, and backed off from forcing a gas crisis with Russia this time around. Reports suggest that Ukraine may have converted SDR300m from its additional SDR allocation made over the summer to dollars to cover the gas payment to Moscow.
[2] Second, the Naftogaz US$1.5bn restructuring deal finally closed today. Fitch marked the move by lifting the restrictive default rating on the company and rating it CCC. Fitch noted, however, that the stand-alone strength of the company had been undermined by the government's failure to push through with further domestic gas price hikes. Notwithstanding this, it noted that it could still raise the company's rating to par with the B-rating of the sovereign, reflective of the new sovereign guarantee extended to the company.
Fitch indicated that they are still reviewing the documentation to determine the strength of the sovereign guarantee - as we are. We are also unclear whether a new incoming Yanukovych government would challenge the extension of the guarantee in the courts; there have been suggestions in this regard, albeit given the importance of the company, and gas transit more generally, to Ukraine we doubt that these threats would be carried through in practice.
Arguably the above two developments are positive, in that they bring closure to outstanding issues; aside from the fact that with the Naftogaz restructuring contingent liabilities on the state in effect explicitly increase now to include those of Naftogaz.
[3] Third, and less encouraging, a member of the presidential administration hinted today that the date of the next presidential election (currently scheduled for January 17, 2010) could be put back to May, 2010 if a state of emergency is called as a result of the on-going outbreak of swine flu in the country. The swine flu epidemic is no doubt serious in Ukraine, with over 100 deaths thus far reported, along with over 600,000 cases. Ukraine's healthcare system has suffered years of underfunding and hence is no doubt stretched.
However, talk of emergency rule will raise political tensions in Ukraine as there have been long-running rumours that President Yushchenko would use such a ruse to extend his own term in office, perhaps enabling early parliamentary elections and his own move from the presidency to a leading role in parliament. Yushchenko is currently languishing in the opinion polls, with a low single digit rating, and stands next to no chance of securing a second term as president.
Even the chances of Yushchenko's supposed apostle, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, of emerging as a surrogate leading contender in the presidential election appears to be fading if opinion polls are to be believe. Indeed, current poll ratings suggest that the presidential poll will be a two horse race between the prime minister, Yulia Tymosenko, and the leader of the main opposition party, and former prime minister and presidential candidate in the 2004/05 elections, Viktor Yanukovych.
Comments from within the presidential administration, threatening a delay in holding the presidential elections are worrying for two reasons.
[1] First, we think that any attempt to delay the elections would be seen by both the Tymoshenko and Yanukovych camps as blatant political manipulation by Yushchenko, and would likely be challenged both through the courts, and likely also as is no a tradition in Ukraine, through street protests.
[2] Secondly, any delay in holding presidential elections would also likely delay the formation of a new government and also would perhaps delay the resumption of lending by the IMF. Already, it seems that following parliament's decision last month to vote big hikes in public sector pensions and wages, the existing IMF programme is in effect in limbo until the political situation clarifies. A delay in holding the presidential elections to May, would threaten to deprive Ukraine of key budget and balance of payments support until mid-2010, which would just further undermine the fragile state of the economy.
Net-net, yields on Ukrainian sovereign debt have backed up by a good 200bps over the past month, and indeed since we moved our own recommendation on Ukraine to underweight. However, with Ukraine 16s now yielding close to 13%, and with limited sovereign debt falling due over the next year, on a risk-reward basis Ukraine does look to offer value.
The question most investors are asking is do they invest now, or wait for the conclusion of presidential elections. Can the Ukrainian political situation get any worse? Or should it be just a case of closing your eyes, buying now, on the assumption that the presidential elections in January will help clarify the political situation - perhaps at best bringing cohabitation between at least two of Ukraine's 3 main political forces. Threats from the presidential administration to delay the date of the elections would suggest that investors keep their powder dry for the time-being.
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7. COMMERZBANK CUTS UKRAINE DEBT TO NEUTRAL FROM OVERWEIGHT
By Riva Froymovich, Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, NY, NY, Mon, Nov 9, 2009
NEW YORK -- Commerzbank is cutting its outlook on Ukrainian sovereign debt from overweight to neutral. Ukraine's debt has been vulnerable to some tumult lately on uncertainty regarding the government's relationship with the International Monetary Fund.
Ukraine's president defied warnings from the Washington-based group late last month and approved an increase in social spending that would balloon the government deficit by boosting government-sector wages and pensions by 20%.
This step puts Ukraine's entire Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF "in danger," said Luis Costa, an emerging markets debt strategist at Commerzbank in London. SBAs are designed to help countries address short-term balance of payments problems.
The IMF's Ukrainian mission chief has said boosting public-sector wages and pensions by more than 10% could stoke inflation or necessitate significant job cuts.
"If the social standards law is implemented as voted, it could cost as much as 7% of [gross domestic product] in 2010, which is totally unsustainable," IMF Ukrainian mission chief Ceyla Pazarbasioglu said in an interview with the Fund's Survey magazine.
"We believe the curve will continue underperforming in the following months," said Costa. He added that the Ukrainian bond curve will also see volatility on the looming Naftogaz credit default swap auction.
"We are now officially cutting our 60bp overweight on the Ukrainian sovereign curve, back to a neutral positioning," Costa said in a report. "[We] believe fast money will likely lighten-up on the Ukraine allocation to explore other opportunities elsewhere."
Costa named Venezuelan debt as an alternative, particularly if energy commodities remain positive into next year.
-By Riva Froymovich, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2217; riva.froymovich@dowjones.com
LINK: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091109-710346.html.
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8. USA BLIMP MAKER IGOR PASTERNAK AIMS TO EXPAND
Fascinated by airships since his childhood in Ukraine
By W.J. Hennigan, "How I Made It: Igor Pasternak"
Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA, Sun, Nov 8, 2009
MONTEBELLO, CA - The founder of Worldwide Aeros in Montebello has been fascinated by airships since his childhood in Ukraine. His firm has sold more than 35 different platforms flown on four continents.
The gig: Igor Pasternak, 45, is the founder and chief executive of Worldwide Aeros Corp., a Montebello-based developer and maker of blimps used for surveillance, advertising and transport.
Childhood: Pasternak grew up in Lviv, a Ukrainian city of 700,000 near the Polish border in the former Soviet Union. It was his childhood dream to become an airship designer after he saw pictures of blimps in a magazine.
"It was something that I fell in love with right away," he said. "I don't remember ever wanting to do anything else as a profession."
Early years: After earning a degree in civil engineering at Lvov Polytechnic University, he formed his own company in 1987 and began working on production of airships for advertising and scientific applications as well as on a Russian project to develop mammoth airships to transport cargo to the remote Siberian oil fields.
The endeavor was one of the first private business enterprises permitted under Mikhail S. Gorbachev's perestroika reforms. But when the Soviet Union collapsed, Pasternak's investment capital dried up. Pasternak fled Russia and immigrated to the U.S. in 1993.
Moving to America: After arriving in New York, Pasternak immediately began working to get Worldwide Aeros off the ground. To do that, he had to woo clients.
He taught himself English by watching Arnold Schwarzenegger movies -- because he said they were easier to understand -- and eventually became proficient enough that he attracted a handful of customers.
"Starting the business was a real struggle at times," Pasternak said. "But I secured some customers and moved to California. We stuck here ever since."
Worldwide growth: Since launching the business, Worldwide Aeros' more than 35 different lighter-than-air platforms have been sold and flown in about 10 countries on four continents. "We are all around the world," Pasternak said.
Now with about 70 employees, Worldwide Aeros expects more than $10 million in revenue this year from selling commercial airships for advertising and surveillance work. In addition, the company has won several multimillion-dollar Pentagon contracts to develop a military transportairship.
Tragic setback: In 2000, Pasternak's sister Marina, 32, and Levon Samamyam, 35, an employee and friend, died repairing an airship at San Bernardino International Airport.
The two suffocated while patching holes in a ballonet, a balloon inside the helium-filled blimp, that had been damaged during flight tests. "It was a very tragic event," Pasternak said. "But we had to go back to work."
The future: Pasternak is developing the Aeroscraft, an airship as long as two football fields, to be used for transcontinental and transoceanic transport for cargo and passengers.
It may conjure up images of the Hindenburg, but Pasternak assures that, in distinct contrast to earlier-generation airships, the Aeroscraft is a new type of aircraft that combines airplane and airship technologies.
The craft would be like a flying cruise ship capable of traveling several thousand miles. It could hit a top speed of 174 mph, meaning it could go from Los Angeles to New York in about 18 hours. And by flying at an altitude of 8,000 feet and lower -- compared with airlines' 30,000 -- passengers would have a clear view of the landscape below.
"You have to stay innovative in this business," Pasternak said. "You always have to stay on the cutting edge if you want to be successful."
Link: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-himi8-2009nov08,0,4151588.story; Writer: william.hennigan@latimes.com
PHOTO: 'I don't remember ever wanting to do anything else as a profession,' says Worldwide Aeros' Igor Pasternak, who now is developing an airship as long as two football fields to be used for transcontinental and transoceanic transport for cargo and passengers. (Allen J. Schaben, Los Angeles Times / October 26, 2009)
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9. AEROSVIT UKRAINIAN AIRLINES RECONFIRMS ITS IOSA CERTIFICATE
AeroSvit Ukrainian Airlines, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, Nov 9, 2009
KYIV - After thorough assessment under IATA’s Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), AeroSvit Airlines have successfully reconfirmed its conformity with requirements of IATA in the field of flight and operational safety. The validity term of AeroSvit’s current IOSA Operator certificate has been prolonged until October 14th, 2011.
Airlines that hold an IOSA certificate have to undergo a recurrent biennial audit to determine their conformity with operational safety requirements of IATA. It was in 2005, when AeroSvit first obtained a certificate of an IOSA Operator.
As explained by Volodymyr Gaidash, PR Director of the airline: “AeroSvit has reconfirmed that it operates in line with international safety standards. An IOSA certificate is unconditionally recognized by other airlines. This programme enables airlines to guarantee high safety level for their passengers when signing contracts on aircraft leasing, launching new flights, concluding different partnership agreements. In other words, IOSA certificate holders are on the list of leading companies that continuously take care of safety. ”
The IOSA (ІATA Operational Safety Audit) is an audit program designed to assess airlines regarding their conformity to the strictest aviation safety requirements based on internationally recognized standards.
IOSA allows standardization of evaluation programs and requirements to airlines. IOSA is conducted to assess eight major operational activities:
Organization and Management System;
[1] Flight Operations;
[2] Operational Control and Flight Dispatch;
[3] Aircraft Engineering and Maintenance;
[4] Aircraft and Passenger Ground Handling;
[5] Cabin Operations;
[6] Cargo Operations;
[7] Operational Security
IOSA standards comprise requirements of regulatory documents of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Federal Aviation Administration of the USA (FAA) and Joint Aviation Authorities of EU (JAA).
“AeroSvit – Ukrainian Airlines”, established in 1994, today is a major Ukrainian carrier, operating a wide route network and a possessing a powerful fleet, including long- and medium haul Boeing aircraft.
Today “AeroSvit” operates more than 60 international routes, including 5 transcontinental – New-York, Toronto, Beijing, Delhi and Bangkok and conducts passenger transportations to main regional centres of Ukraine. Flights to Dehli and Toronto has been suspended during the winter season.
Press-service of “AeroSvit – Ukrainian Airlines”, press_service@aerosvit.com
NOTE: AeroSvit Ukrainian Airlines is a member of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Washington, D.C., www.usubc.org.
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