KIEV, Oct. 23 - Ukraine and the European Union could have a new agreement on trade in selected steel commodities in 2007 ready by the end of 2006, Roelof Plijter, head of the European Commission Directorate-General for Trade, told a metals forum in Kiev.

LONDON, Oct. 24 - Moody's Investors Service announced it has assigned a rating of B2 (positive outlook) to $100 million of loan participation notes due in October 2009 issued by Standard Bank Plc for the sole purpose of financing a loan to Bank Forum (Ukraine).

MOSCOW, Oct. 24 ??“ An arbitration court in New York on Dec. 7 and Dec. 8 will hear an appeal by Norway's Telenor against Strom Ltd. in connection with Storm's alleged violations of a shareholder agreement relating to Ukrainian mobile operator Kyivstar GSM, according to a Telenor press release.

KIEV, Oct. 24 ??“ Ukraine, encouraged by the successful privatization of steel giant Kryvorizhstal, will sell more state assets to foreign investors to speed up restructuring of the economy, President Viktor Yushchenko said Monday.

KIEV, Oct. 24 - Mittal Steel, the world??™s No. 1 steel producer, won the auction to acquire a 93% stake in Kryvorizhstal, Ukraine??™s largest steelmaker, by offering 24.2 bln hryvnias, or $4.79 bln, a government spokesman said Monday.

KIEV, Oct. 24 ??“ Donetsk's mini-metallurgical works ISTIL (Ukraine) is to increase its exports of metallurgical products to European markets after talks with big German metal producers and sellers.

KIEV, Oct. 24 ??“ A U.S. company is seeking damages it said it incurred as a result of today??™s Kryvorizhstal tender.

KYIV, Sept 24 – A bill (No. 12058) on growing energy crops and producing biodiesel has been registered in Ukraine's Parliament, as announced by MP Serhiy Labaziuk (For the Future Party).

He highlighted that large areas of land in Ukraine have been degraded due to war and natural factors. Restoring such land is expensive, while conservation leads to wasted time and resources.

KYIV, Sept 24 - The transition of the Ukrainian agricultural sector to new EU standards should be gradual so that farmers can implement them in production and ensure sustainable development of villages, said Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaliy Koval at a meeting with the EU Delegation to Ukraine and the EU project "Institutional and Policy Reform for Smallholder Agriculture" (IPRSA).

KYIV, Sept 24 – The European Commission plans to begin selecting applications from international financial institutions (IFIs) with projects aimed at financing Ukrainian businesses under the second phase of the investment component of the Ukraine Facility (UIF) by the end of September.