Regional structure of retail trade turnover in Ukraine in Jan–Aug, 2019
NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy and its member companies paid UAH 83.7 billion in taxes and dividends to the national budget in January-September 2019, the company’s press service said.
Budget payments from the group accounted for about 15% of total budget revenue for the nine months of 2019, the company’s press service said.
As reported, in 2018 Naftogaz and its affiliated companies paid UAH 137.8 billion in taxes and dividends to the state budget in 2018, which was 27.2% more than in 2017. In particular, dividends were paid in the amount of UAH 29.5 billion, oil and gas production royalties totaled UAH 28.5 billion, VAT payments stood at UAH 37.4 billion, payments of corporate profit tax were UAH 23.9 billion.
Naftogaz brings together the country’s biggest oil and gas producers. It holds a monopoly on the transit of natural gas and its storage in underground facilities and on the transportation of crude oil by pipeline throughout Ukraine.
Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the European Union Mykola Tochytsky has discussed at a meeting with Special Envoy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Ričardas Degutis the organizational aspects of the preparation of the International Ukraine Reform Conference, as well as current issues of Ukraine-EU cooperation.
“On October 10, Ukraine’s representative to the EU Mykola Tochytsky met with Special Envoy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Ričardas Degutis, who is preparing the International Ukraine Reform Conference, which is scheduled to be held in Vilnius in 2020,” the press service of the Ukrainian mission in the European Union said.
Degutis emphasized the priority of the Conference, which is considered in Vilnius as part of the overall strategy to support the reform process in Ukraine.
In turn, Tochytsky thanked Degutis for the consistent support of Lithuania to Ukraine both at the bilateral level and within the EU, especially in the context of confronting Russian aggression and introducing systemic reforms in the state.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is trying to find a fruitful friendly format for relations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) without damaging Ukraine’s interests.
“I don’t think that the IMF should impose any other conditions other than economic ones. Is this happening? Not really. I think that we need to try to find the right contact with everyone, friendly contact, a profitable one without losing ourselves,” Zelensky said during a press marathon with journalists in Kyiv on Thursday.
“But at any moment you know what can be done. Just stand up and hit the table with your fist. Dialogue does not start from this, but it’s where dialogue can end,” he said.
Zelensky noted that the IMF “is more about money,” and he is “more about emotions” and thinks dialogue should begin with the latter.
PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region) whose major shareholder is the largest steel producer, ArcelorMittal, will channel UAH 10.845 billion into payment of dividends, which will be UAH 2.81 per ordinary registered share.
This decision was taken by shareholders of PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih at an extraordinary general meeting on October 10, the company’s press service said.
The procedure and timing for the payment of the dividends will later be determined by the enterprise’s supervisory board. After that, the funds will be transferred to shareholders. At the same time, it is specified that, according to the Law on Joint-Stock Companies, dividends must be paid within six months from the date of the decision by a meeting of shareholders.
The press service recalls that the last time dividends were paid for 2007, before the 2008-2009 crisis. After that, ArcelorMittal use funds to modernize production and carry out large-scale investment projects. The current dividend payment will not affect the implementation of the investment program. In the next five years, $1.8 billion will be invested in the development of production. Of the amount, about $300-350 million is to be invested in the construction of a pelletizing factory. It will produce pellets that will partially replace sinter as raw materials for blast furnaces. Therefore, the enterprise will be able to close two worn sinter plants and thereby reduce emissions by 50–55%, according to the press service.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest producer of rolled steel in Ukraine. Its staples are long products, in particular, reinforcing bars and wire rods.
ArcelorMittal owns the largest mining and metallurgical plant ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih in Ukraine and a number of small companies, in particular PJSC ArcelorMittal Beryslav.
The number of regular Internet users in Ukraine by the end of the third quarter of 2019 (Q3) increased by 7% to 22.96 million, the Ukrainian Internet Association (UIA) reported on its website with a link to the results of a study by Factum Group Ukraine.
The Association notes this indicator for the first time in the past few years has grown significantly. The main reasons for the growth in the association are called ‘smartphoneization’ of the population and an increase in the number of network users in villages and small towns.
So, by the end of September, Internet penetration increased from 71% to 74% in towns whose population exceeds 100,000 inhabitants, from 63% to 70% in towns whose population is lower than 100,000 inhabitants, and from 53% to 58% in villages.
“Alignment of the structure of Internet users in accordance with the structure of the population continues. This process has actually been completed by gender, and continues by other indicators: regional, professional, educational, income, age. Almost all Ukrainians younger than 35 are Internet users,” the Association said when commenting on the findings of the survey.
The most active users are Ukrainians aged 15-24 years (97% of Internet users), they are followed by people aged 25 to 34 years (96%). Users over 65 years old account for 29% (only 14% a year ago). The share of women in the total number of Internet users is still 52%.
Some 44% of Ukrainian Internet users have an average income level, 48% are below average. Some 40% have secondary specialized education, 36% have complete higher education.
The first place among Internet devices is a smartphone (66%), the second is a home laptop (40%), and the third is a PC (36%).
The share of users using exclusively mobile devices for access to the Internet in Q3 was 22%.
