Fact of the Day

It's a very interesting fact that almost 80 percent of Ukraine's mass media is owned by only four entrepreneurs (oligarchs, tycoons): Dr. Pinchuk, Mr. Akhmetov, Mr. Taratuta, and Mr. Kolomyisky.

Good News for Ukraine’s Steel Industry

It looks like Ukraine's steel industry has better prospects in 2010 thanks to … the US International Trade Commission (USITC). The US steelmakers just won a case against surging imports of Chinese steel pipes.

WSJ writes that: "The ruling Wednesday (Dec 30) will result in duties of between 10% and 16% on future imports of Chinese steel pipes used to extract natural gas and oil. It is the latest in a string of trade decisions against China and threatens to further aggravate trade tensions between the two nations."

As far as I know, there are only few countries producing this kind of steel pipes in the world, including China, Russia, and Ukraine. Given the current state of foreign affairs, USA is more likely to buy steel pipes from Ukraine rather than from Russia. Happy New Year, Mr. Pinchuk and Mr. Akhmetov!

Elton John, Too Old to Adopt a Child According to Ukrainian Law

Maria Danilova, Associated Press journalist, writes in today's The Washington Post that Elton John won't be able to adopt a 14-month-old HIV-positive child from Ukraine because the pop star is too old and isn't married. Family, Youth and Sports Minister Yuriy Pavlenko told the Associated Press that the adoption wouldn't happen because adoptive parents must be married and because the pop star was too old. Elton John is 62 and his life partner David Furnish is 47. But Ukraine's law requires a parent to be no more than 45 years older than an adopted child. Oh, common! Does it really make a difference whether a parent is 46 or 45 years older? Another problem with John & Furnish is that Ukraine does not recognize gays unions as marriages. In 2005 John & Furnish tied the knot in one of the first legalized civil unions in Britain. So what is good enough for England is not good enough for Ukraine, ha? Even John's Ukrainian connections did not help with the child adoption situation. His friend, Elena Franchuk, a founder of ANTI-AIDS charity, and her husband, the richest man in Ukraine, Viktor Pinchuk, could not do anything. Minister Pavlenko said that "Elton John would not be able to adopt a Ukrainian child anyways. The law is the same for everybody: for a president, for a minister, for Elton John". At least, it's good to know that no one is above Ukraine's law. But I wonder whether the child situation would have the same outcome if it were heterosexual couples such as Angelina Jolie with Brad Pitt or Madonna? Brad Pitt is 46 yo and Madonna is 51 yo. Dear Minister Pavlenko, what will be your decision in this case?

Ukraine’s List of Billionaires Got Much Shorter

The 2008 recession hit Ukraine pretty well. Almost 40% of small-scale firms filed for bankruptcy. Ukraine's GDP shrank by 18%. Industrial output dropped by almost 30%. A 4% growth of agro-producing output is one of the few bright spots in a dismal picture of Ukraine's economy.

According to the Forbes, the Ukrainian billionaires also got hit by the 2008 recession really hard. Ukraine had seven billionaires listed on the Forbes's World's Billionaire List in 2008. Now there are only four billionaires on the Forbes' list. Approximately, a net worth of Ukraine's top CEOs dropped more than by three-fourths. It's just crazy. Moreover, Rinat Akhmetov, who was the richest CEO all those years before the recession, had to step down from the first place.

Btw, I wonder how the 2008 recession will affect the 2009 presidential campaign in Ukraine. Will it be the cheapest campaign in the modern history of Ukraine?

Table 1. Forbes' List of Ukraine's Billionaires, 2006-2009.

Year   Name, Corporation	2006	2008	2009
	Net Worth (USD bln) & Forbes' World Rank (#)
Ihor Kolomyisky, CEO Privat	n/a	4.2 (#253)	1.2 (#601)
Sergei Taratuta, CEO ISD	1.2 (#645)	2.7 (#428)	n/a
Rinat Akhmetov, CEO SCM	1.7 (#451)	7.3 (#127)	1.8 (#397)
Viktor Pinchuk, CEO Interpipe	1.2 (#645)	5.0 (#203)	2.6 (#246)
Henadyi Boholubov, CEO Privat	n/a	4.0 (#260)	1.2 (#647)
Konstantine Zhivago, CEO F&C	n/a	3.4 (#327)	n/a
Vitaly Haydook, CEO ISD	n/a	2.7 (#428)	n/a
Total Net Worth	4.1	29.3	5.6