PJSC MTS signed a legally binding agreement with Telco Solutions and Investments LLC, being under control of Azerbaijan’s Bakcell telecom company, which in turn is incorporated in NEQSOL Holding, on the sale of MTS business in Ukraine.
The shareholders of the Russian company will have special dividends following the transaction.
“With the acquisition of Vodafone Ukraine, the second telecommunications operator in the Ukrainian market, we continue the strategy of expanding the international presence and entering the new markets by the companies belonging to the NEQSOL Holding group. The telecommunications industry is among the priority areas of our group’s work, therefore we constantly invest in innovative and reliable telecommunication solutions,” NEQSOL said in a report, citing CEO of NEQSOL Holding Yusif Jabbarov as saying.
He said that the state of the business, the growth pace and the effectiveness of Vodafone Ukraine are a reliable basis for further development, because NEQSOL holding is ready to invest in a new asset in order to continue introducing innovations and advanced technologies in Ukraine.
According to the statement of NEQSOL, under the agreement, MTS through its fully-owned subsidiary Allegretto Holding S.a.r.l. (Luxembourg) sells a 100% stake in Preludium B.V. (Netherlands), the sole shareholder of PrJSC VF Ukraine (the Vodafone Ukraine trademark), for $734 million, including deferred payment of about $84 million.
The purchase of a company in Ukraine is financed mainly from resources provided by international financial institutions.
“The change of ownership will not affect the operating activities of Vodafone Ukraine. The company will continue providing services under the Vodafone brand and meeting all obligations to employees, customers and partners,” the NEQSOL said.
The shares will be transferred soon.
“The company will continue providing services under the Vodafone brand. All tariff plans and services, as well as contracts and other obligations of the company are relevant and continue to be in effect,” Vodafone Ukraine’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
The mobile operator also confirmed the information that the change of ownership will not affect its operations, the provision of services to customers, interaction with partners, suppliers and contractors.
Ukraine and Turkey are planning to liberalize motor transportation services between the countries at the beginning of 2020, reads a post on the website of the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine following a meeting between Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Krykliy and his Turkish counterpart Mehmet Cahit Turhan in London on Monday. The sides are preparing relevant documents, the ministry’s press service said.
The ministers also praised the countries’ dialogue on cooperation in the spheres of maritime search and rescue and air services.
Azerbaijan’s Buta Airways low cost carrier will operate flights to Kyiv at Boryspil International Airport from January 22, 2020, the airline’s website said. Earlier the airline operated flights to the capital of Ukraine at Kyiv Zhuliany Airport.
As part of the airline’s winter schedule for 2019/2020, which is valid until March 27, Buta Airways flights on the Baku-Kyiv-Baku route are operated three times a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. According to the same schedule, it is planned to continue flights in the summer schedule of 2020.
“Flights to Boryspil are carried out by most Ukrainian and foreign carriers, which will allow Buta Airways passengers to plan more convenient connections with other airlines,” the airline said.
Passengers who have already purchased tickets will be notified in accordance with the airline’s procedure by the phone numbers indicated when purchasing the ticket.
Buta Airways is the first low cost airline in Azerbaijan, a structural unit within Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), founded in December 2016. The first flight was performed on September 1, 2017. The airline fleet consists of modern Embraer aircraft. The airline is based in Baku, at Heydar Aliyev International Airport.
The improvement of logistics and development of infrastructure should continue for boosting transportation and export of grain cargos, new effective silos should be built and the handling capacity of near-port stations should be increased. Representatives of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia and the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) have come to this conclusion at a meeting devoted to urgent issues of transportation of grain by rail, the press service of Ukrzaliznytsia reported. Ukrzaliznytsia Business Development Director Andriy Riazantsev said that the railway seeks to satisfy the market needs in the transportation of cereals, whose yields are growing annually, as much as possible. For this, in particular, it is necessary to build additional capacities for storing these products, primarily in port areas.
He said that the total shortage of certified storage facilities could be about 40-65 million tonnes. In addition, there is a significant gap in the regional coverage among the regions. Some areas are provided with storage only 20-30% of the crop.
“According to experts, the amount of funds needed to cover this shortage is around $16 billion. According to our estimates, for the rhythmic transportation of grain during the year, additional capacities are needed to store about 13 million tonnes of cargo in port areas, which can then be used during peak season deliver to ports either by rail or by road,” the press service of Ukrzaliznytsia said, citing Riazantsev.
At the same time, representatives of the UGA said that for the efficient transportation of grain cargo, it is necessary not only to develop port stations, but also to improve infrastructure throughout the country. This will allow quickly transporting grain from any region.
According to UGA president Mykola Horbachev, there are currently about a thousand silos that do not meet the modern requirements of Ukrzaliznytsia for transportation, therefore, new silos are needed and they should be arranged uniformly across the regions.
“Business is ready to build silos in the regional context in those places where it will be effective. And today, we want to identify these places together with Ukrzaliznytsia,” Horbachev said.
UGA representatives also drew attention to the need to develop infrastructure on the western borders of Ukraine, through which grain cargo is exported to European countries – Poland, Slovakia, and also to Belarus.
The association said that annually Ukraine is able to export about 5 million tonnes of grain to Europe through the western borders of Ukraine. Therefore, it is necessary to provide capacities for storing this volume at the borders, in particular at stations such as Kovel (Volyn region), Mostyska (Lviv region), Mukachevo (Zakarpattia region), which are located closer to the European gauge.
The meeting participants also said that the increase in the number of grain transport stations will contribute to the growth of grain transportation volumes. In addition, effective schedules for transporting grain cargo from those stations that are not route are required.
After the meeting, Ukrzaliznytsia and UGA plan to prepare a joint appeal to the government and parliament with a proposal to consider the possibility of prioritizing the delivery of agricultural products by rail during peak traffic, as well as to develop programs to stimulate the construction of modern silos in port areas and on the borders of Ukraine with neighboring states.
Ukraine in January-September 2019 acquired nuclear fuel for a total amount of $259.132 million.
According to the State Statistics Service, in the nine months, Russian-made fuel for $158.496 million was purchased for Ukrainian nuclear power plants, while fuel worth $100.636 million was bought from Sweden.
Thus, the share of Ukrainian purchases of nuclear fuel for the indicated period from TVEL (Russia) in monetary terms amounted to 61.2%, from Westinghouse (Sweden) some 38.8%
The Ukrainian low cost airline SkyUp Airlines (Kyiv) will launch direct flights from Kyiv to Pisa (Italy) from April 1, 2020.
According to the press service of the airline, flights will be operated twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The cost of a one-way ticket without baggage is from UAH 1,667.
SkyUp Airlines LLC was registered in Kyiv in June 2016. The founder is ACS-Ukraine LLC of Tetiana and Yuriy Alba, who also own the JoinUp! tour operator.
According to the unified register of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, the ultimate beneficiaries of SkyUp are Oleksandr (50%) and Yuriy (50%) Alba.
The company began charter flights from the end of May 2018.
