KIEV, Aug. 22 – The growth in oil and gas extraction by the national Naftogaz Ukrayiny's companies is being impeded by a lack of funds, partly due to its constantly increasing tax burden, according to Naftogaz Ukrayiny Board Chairman Yevhen Bakulin.

KIEV, Aug. 22 - Ukraine has been seeking to increase prices it charges Russia for shipping natural gas to Europe as part of negotiations over gas supplies in 2008, Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Kliuyev said Wednesday.

KIEV, Aug. 20 - Ukraine is to begin operating an industrial unit to develop the Novokostiantynivske uranium ore deposit with Russia's corporate participation primarily to secure the needs of domestic nuclear power plants.

KIEV, Aug. 21 – Germany's E. H. Harms GmbH & Co. KG, Automobile-Logistics, one of the largest logistics companies in Europe, and Kiev-based VD group, one of the largest players on the Ukrainian transport market, plan to invest over EU20 million into the activities of a joint logistics venture, Automobile Logistics Ukraine, according to an agreement signed last week, VD group reported on Monday.

KIEV, Aug. 21 – Mariupol Illich Steel Mill in Donetsk region in H1 increased investment in building, reconstruction, repairs and upgrades, buying new equipment and machinery by 19.6% or by UAH111 million year-on-year, to UAH677.5 million, the mill reported.

KIEV, Aug. 22 - UkrGaz-Energo, a joint venture of Naftogaz Ukraine and RosUkrEnergo AG, is ready to invest $400 million - $500 million to develop Odessa and Bezimenne offshore gas fields, Naftogaz Ukraine head Yevhen Bakulin said at a press conference Tuesday.

PRAGUE, Aug. 21 - Czech financial PPF group has bought Privatinvestbank, a small Ukrainian bank, the financial group's third acquisition in Ukraine in the space of a month, the daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) reported Monday.

KIEV, Aug. 22 - Astarta N.V. (the Netherlands, the parent company of Ukrainian agrarian holding Astarta) has raised PLN95 million (around $31.7 million) through the initial public offering (IPO) of a 20% stake on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Astarta-Kiev Director General Viktor Ivanchik said Monday, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

KIEV, Aug. 22 ??“ Russia??™s Lukoil-Nefetkhim has signed a contract with German engineering company UHDE Gmbh, a part of ThyssenKrupp Concern, on the construction of a suspended polyvinylchloride (PVC) plant at KarpatNaftoKhim Ltd. (Kalush in Ivano-Frankivsk region).

BRUSSELS, Aug. 22 - The European Chemical Industry Council, CEFIC, said on Tuesday it fears the EU market will again be flooded by Ukrainian and Russian imports of cheap silicon carbide now that the European Commission has decided not to renew anti-dumping measures against the two countries.