By the end of 2021, the mobile network operator Kyivstar plans to increase the base of contract clients by 500,000, President of Kyivstar Alexander Komarov told reporters on Wednesday.
At the end of 2020, the operator’s total client base was about 25.9 million mobile subscribers. At present, according to the operator, almost 90% of the Kyivstar network are prepaid mobile subscribers and the company has more than 10% are contract subscribers.
“The [number of] contract [subscribers] should grow by 500,000 new clients this year. This is a definite ambition of Kyivstar. We are generally supporters of identifying our client base and transferring it to more stable forms of connection,” Komarov said.
According to him, despite the fact that, in general, Kyivstar’s client base is stable (no more than 1% decrease year-on-year), in 2020 the prepaid subscriber base decreased 4%, which were redistributed into two segments: FMC (clients using fixed-line and mobile communication) and the contract subscribers.
“Our enemy of the contract is a very low average bill. The main means of transferring a client to a contract is a combination of a phone and payment for communication services. An average smartphone in Ukraine costs UAH 5,000-6,000, and communication services for 12 months – about UAH 1,000. Accordingly, we have very little of this added value to transfer a client to a contract. And in the gray market, the difference in price for a phone between a legal store and an online seller can reach 10-15%,” the president of Kyivstar said.
Kyivstar is a market-leading telecoms operator in Ukraine. It provides communication and data services based on a wide range of mobile and fixed-line technologies, including 3G. By the end of 2020, its services were used by about 25.9 million mobile subscribers and about 1.1 million fixed Internet customers.
The shareholder of Kyivstar is the international group VEON (earlier – VimpelCom Ltd.). The group’s shares are listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange (New York).
The new Ukrainian airline Bees Airline intends to operate flights from Kyiv to Samarkand (Uzbekistan) from July 2021.
As reported on the website of the State Aviation Service of Ukraine, the company’s application will be considered by the regulator’s commission at a meeting on Thursday.
At the meeting, the State Aviation Service Commission will also consider the application of Bees Airline on granting it the right to operate the Kyiv-Helsinki-Kyiv air line from June this year.
In addition, the issue of canceling the right of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) to operate the Odesa – Baku (Azerbaijan) – Odesa line and granting SkyUp the right to this line will be considered.
In addition, the issue of granting SkyUp the right to operate the Kyiv – Dalaman (Turkey) – Kyiv and Lviv – Bodrum (Turkey) – Lviv lines and Azur Air Ukraine the right to operate the Kyiv – Istanbul – Kyiv flights will be considered.
The average price of apartments in the primary housing market of Kyiv may grow by 15-20% and reach $1,300 per square meter already in 2021, and by the end of 2023 it may reach $2,000 per square meter, Director General of Kovalska Group Serhiy Pylypenko has said.
“The trend continues, and this year we expect housing prices to rise no lower than last year by 15-20%. This is the minimum level of increase. The market is very active, not overheated, demand is stable. Amid rising prices for construction materials, inflationary processes, lower interest rates, affordable mortgages and other factors, we expect a rise in prices. My expectations: already this year, the average price in Kyiv may reach $1,300 per square meter, and by the end of 2023 – already $2,000 per square meter,” Pylypenko said during the discussion panel “Post-Quarantine Development” hosted by the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine in Kyiv on Wednesday.
According to him, the growing shortage of high-quality land sites for construction in the Ukrainian capital also influences the rise in housing prices.
“The old General Plan has lost its relevance, the new one has not yet been adopted, so in the next one or two years it will not be easy to find a site which is intended for residential construction, and this will create a certain shortage of sites for future development, which will also influence the rise in prices,” he said.
In addition, the expert predicts an increase in prices for construction materials on average within 15-20% during the year. According to him, this trend forces developers to take this into account at different phases of the construction.
“All developers have experienced an increase in the cost of basic construction materials, in particular metal, which has grown by 30-40%, and other materials are also growing in price. This year, I expect that the prices for basic construction materials and construction costs may rise by 15-20%. This should to be taken into account in pricing,” he said.
According to the forecast of Pylypenko, the rise in housing prices will lead to an enlargement of the development market and displace unreliable developers.
Kovalska industrial and construction group has been operating in the construction market of Ukraine since 1956. It is a leading manufacturer of construction materials, developer and builder of the country.
Ukraine has successfully evacuated from the Gaza Strip 109 citizens of Ukraine, 13 citizens of Moldova and four citizens of Bulgaria, they are in Cairo and will soon fly to Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
“The Gaza Strip. We have successfully evacuated 109 citizens of Ukraine, 13 citizens of Moldova and four citizens of Bulgaria. They are already safe in Cairo and will soon fly to Kyiv. Ukraine and Egypt have made great efforts to ensure the security corridor. The operation was postponed twice, but we made it,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
He said that Ukraine was one of the first to successfully complete an international humanitarian mission to evacuate citizens of the three countries from Gaza.
“We never abandon our citizens and help our partners. I am grateful to Egypt and the entire Ukrainian diplomatic team for successful cooperation,” the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
The medical group Adonis has opened a multidisciplinary clinic in Kyiv with a surgical hospital for 24 single wards.
The company told the Interfax-Ukraine agency, in particular, the clinic will provide services of innovative reconstructive surgery for malignant neoplasms of the stomach, conduct radiation diagnostics (computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging MRI, high-tech X-ray operating room), instrumental and laboratory diagnostics.
In addition, the clinic will provide innovative cell therapy, recovery and rehabilitation services after COVID-19.
Earlier it was reported that the Adonis medical group plans to open four branches in 2021.
Adonis is a network of private full-cycle medical centers for adults and children. The private clinic Adonis was founded over 20 years ago. The network includes ten branches in Kyiv and the region, including two of its own maternity hospitals and a stem cell laboratory. In the branches of the clinic, doctors conduct appointments in 60 medical directions.
Khlibni Investytsii holding company has opened a new line for the production of frozen semi-finished goods from puff pastry at the Chanta Mount enterprise, which is part of it (Novi Petrivtsi village, Kyiv region).
According to the company’s website, investments in an automated production line with a capacity of up to 700 kg of frozen semi-finished products per hour amounted to EUR4.5 million, and the total investment in the construction and launch of the enterprise operating since 2019 – EUR15 million.
The company specified that finished products are supplied to the leading national chains of Ukraine and the largest regional distributors under the Chanta Mount brand, as well as for export.
As reported, in April 2021, the international law firm Integrites announced that Khlibni Investytsii had attracted a $ 3 million loan from Raiffeisen Bank International for the construction of this line to strengthen the holding’s position in the local market.
Chanta Mount is an automated facility with minimal human involvement in the workflow. The company specializes in the production of frozen bakery products for the Ukrainian market, and also produces baguettes, croissants, rye breads and a number of breads with original recipes.
As reported, Khlibni Investytsii LLC is one of the largest Ukrainian holdings for the production of bakery.
