Fairfax bought into Astarta in 2016, continuing its history of taking chances in troubled countries
has always been stuffed with insurance companies and banks. But take a look at its under-the-radar Ukrainian spread and you will find an entirely different set of assets: eggs – millions of them – thousands of cattle and vast amounts of sugar, soybeans and milk.
Fairfax bought into Astarta in 2016, when the share price was much higher. But at least the stock is now moving in the right direction. Barring Russia’s unlikely takeover of the whole of Ukraine – the front lines have barely changed since last winter – the company’s bosses think the worst is over. “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger,” Astarta chief executive Viktor Ivanchyk told The Globe and Mail in an interview in Kyiv in February.
A separate minority Fairfax investment, Ovostar, is Ukraine’s biggest producer of eggs and liquid egg products. It has almost eight million hens and, last year, exported 530 million eggs to 50 countries. On the non-agribusiness side, Fairfax, through three subsidiaries, ARX Insurance, Colonnade Ukraine and Universalna, is Ukraine’s top property and casualty insurer.
Take Eurobank Ergasias, one of Greece’s biggest banks. Fairfax first invested in Eurobank in 2015, betting on a Greek economic revival. The revival was a long time coming, but it did come. Eurobank is now making profits of more than €1-billion a year and its shares have climbed 37 per cent in the past 12 months, giving it a market value of €7-billion . Fairfax owns 32 per cent of the bank.
In the late 1990s, he ended up with a sugar plant when its owners could not pay him cash for his fuel deliveries. Within a few years, he owned four other plants. The initial public offering came in 2006. The second decade of this century saw Astarta, expand its land holdings, build storage silos and a soybean processing plant, enter the dairy farm business, develop a carbon-credit trading system under the Kyoto Protocol framework, establish an in-house IT arm and recruit Fairfax as an investor.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Our food source is our livelihood: a First Nation’s plea for sustainable salmon farmingThe Hill Times
Read more »
Indoor Vertical Farming Company in Alberta Expands to Feed CattleAn indoor vertical farming company in Alberta is branching out into a new agriculture initiative: feeding hungry cattle. The company is working with ranchers to set up the technology to grow feed in response to the increasing difficulty of sourcing cattle feed at a good price due to the drought in the province.
Read more »
Less bureaucracy key to getting things built, former PM Harper tells ORBA audienceCanada's construction news
Read more »
Property of the Week: A Newly Built Townhome in CurrieThis bright townhome features nine-foot ceilings in the main living area, three bedrooms and an oversized balcony.
Read more »
2 workers die after part of a bridge being built over a Dutch canal collapsesCanada's construction news
Read more »
How a Ukrainian couple fled war and built a food business in CalgaryThe Posikeras were inspired to take a leap of faith and start a business of their own after introducing their friends to their colourful twist on the traditional perogy.
Read more »