LONDON, March 18 - Fitch Ratings has affirmed Ukraine's Long-term foreign and local Issuer Default ratings (IDR) at 'BB-' (BB minus) with Positive Outlooks, the agency said in a press release.

The agency has also affirmed the Country Ceiling at 'BB-' (BB minus) and the Short-term IDR at 'B'.

KIEV, March 17 – AvtoKrAZ Holding Company (Kremenchuk, Poltava region), Ukraine's sole producer of large hauling vehicles, announced it has completed the certification of a 6x4 KrAZ-65055 dump truck in Saudi Arabia.

KIEV, March 17 - Price hikes and low salaries and pensions are the biggest concerns of Ukrainians, the Ukrainian Sociology Service said in comments on a nationwide poll of 2,700 respondents held on February 27 - March 8.

KIEV, March 18 - Kerch-based Zaliv Shipyard (Crimea) has started building a hull for an offshore ship to service drilling platforms for Norway's ULSTEIN HULL AS shipbuilding holding, the company told Interfax-Ukraine.

KIEV, March 18 – Kiev-based AeroSvit – Ukrainian Airlines plans from April 26 to start regular flights on the Kiev-Almaty route, the company reported.

The company said that the carrier has received a special permit from the Kazakh aviation authorities to carry out regular flights to the capital of the state.

KIEV, March 16 ??“ Ukraine??™s new car sales, led by strong demand, are likely to increase 28% on the year to 519,600 vehicles in 2007, according to a report by an investment group.

KIEV, March 16 ??“ Chocolate and cacao product output in Ukraine in February 2007 grew by 19.3% year-on-year to 26,200 metric tons, according to the State Statistics Committee.

KIEV, March 16 ??“ Grain supplies at Ukrainian farms and grain storage enterprises rose 2% on the year to 9.9 million metric tons as of March 1, the State Statistics Committee reported.

KIEV, March 16 ??“ Pivdenny bank, Ukraine??™s No. 20 bank by assets, is to increase its statutory capital by 1.1%, or UAH 5 million, to UAH 468.5 million, the bank reported on Thursday.

KIEV, March 16 ??“ TAS-Kommerzbank, Ukraine??™s No. 19 bank by assets, is to boost its statutory capital by 52%, or UAH 252.5 million, to UAH 735.1 million, via an additional issue of shares.