According to the results of a survey conducted by Active Group in cooperation with the Experts Club think tank, most Ukrainians have a neutral attitude towards Malaysia — 69.0% of respondents chose this option.
A positive attitude was expressed by 16.6% of respondents: 12.5% chose the answer “mostly positive,” and another 4.1% — “completely positive.” In turn, 4.9% of Ukrainians expressed a negative attitude, of which 3.7% said “mostly negative” and 1.1% said “completely negative.” Another 9.5% of respondents were unable to decide on an answer.
“Malaysia remains a relatively unknown country for Ukrainians, which is why neutral attitudes prevail. However, we see that positive assessments are three times higher than negative ones, which indicates a positive image of the country in the minds of Ukrainians,” comments Maksim Urakin, candidate of economic sciences and founder of the Experts Club analytical center.
Ukrainians are mostly neutral about Malaysia, but among those who have a clear idea about the country, positive assessments are three times higher than negative ones. This indicates a friendly background for the development of intergovernmental relations and tourist interest.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
A nationwide sociological survey conducted by Active Group and the Experts Club analytical center in April 2025 examined Ukrainians’ public attitude towards Armenia. The results indicate a moderately positive perception of the country.
38.3% of respondents expressed a positive attitude toward Armenia: of these, 29.9% were mostly positive, and 8.4% were completely positive. At the same time, 49.0% of Ukrainians expressed a neutral position toward the country. Only 7.9% of respondents have a negative attitude: 7.3% are mostly negative, and 0.6% are completely negative. Another 4.9% were unable to give a definite answer.
“Ukrainians’ attitude towards Armenia shows a tendency towards neutrality, which indicates that emotional ties remain limited,” commented Maksim Urakin, PhD in Economics and founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
Shareholders of Ukrainian Fire Insurance Company (UPSK, Kyiv) at a meeting on May 1, 2025, decided to allocate UAH 11.2 million of undistributed profit for 2024 to dividends, the company reported in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC).
The dividend per share is UAH 0.7.
Earlier, the draft resolution of the shareholders’ meeting reported that UPSK’s profit for 2024 amounted to UAH 15.788 million, of which UAH 11.2 million was planned to be allocated for the payment of dividends and UAH 4.588 million was to be left undistributed.
As reported, UPSK shareholders at the meeting on November 5, 2024, considered the issue of allocating UAH 4.8 million of undistributed profit for 2023 to dividends, and at the meeting on May 7, 2024, UAH 25.6 million for 2022.
PJSC UPSK was registered in 1993. It specializes, in particular, in insurance of motor vehicles, financial risks, tourists, property, cargo, and luggage.
The insurer is a member of the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine and has 36 licenses to conduct insurance activities: 20 for voluntary insurance and 16 for compulsory insurance.
According to the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, as of the second quarter of 2024, Alexander Mikhailov owns 99.999% of the insurer’s shares.
The insurer’s authorized capital is UAH 100 million.
According to the results of a nationwide survey conducted by Active Group in collaboration with the Experts Club think tank in April 2025, most Ukrainians have a positive or neutral attitude towards Azerbaijan.
Thus, 42.4% of respondents expressed a positive attitude towards the country, of which 33.6% were mostly positive and 8.8% were completely positive. A neutral attitude was chosen by 45.4% of respondents. Only 7.7% of Ukrainians expressed a negative opinion: 6.9% were mostly negative, and 0.7% were completely negative. Another 4.5% were undecided.
“Azerbaijan is perceived quite positively by Ukrainians, which is the result of both historical contacts and current support in the international arena. At the same time, the high level of neutrality indicates the absence of deeper emotional attachment,” said Maksim Urakin, PhD in Economics and founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center.
Ukrainians generally have a positive or neutral attitude toward Azerbaijan, while the percentage of negative assessments is quite low.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has published its first forecast for grain exports from Ukraine for the 2025/26 marketing year (MY): it expects wheat exports to grow to 16.5 million tons from 16 million tons in 2024/25 MY and corn exports to grow to 24 million tons from 22 million tons.
According to the forecast on the US agency’s website, this year’s wheat harvest in Ukraine will decrease slightly to 23 million tons from 23.4 million tons last year, while domestic consumption will decline to 6.6 million tons in this MY from 6.7 million tons in the previous MY, with carryover stocks remaining at 1.49 million tons.
As for corn, the USDA expects its harvest to increase to 30.5 million tons from 26.8 million tons last year, as well as an increase in domestic consumption to 6.23 million tons from 5.15 million tons and carryover stocks from 0.31 million tons to 0.6 million tons.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, the total harvest of feed crops this year will amount to 37.04 million tons, compared to 33.47 million tons last year, and their exports in 2025/26 MY will reach 27.58 million tons, up from 24.48 million tons in 2024/25 MY.
Overall, the USDA expects wheat harvests to increase this year to 808.5 million tons from 799.7 million tons last year, and corn harvests to increase to 1,265.0 million tons from 1,221.3 million tons.
As for wheat exports, according to the US Department of Agriculture, in 2025/26 MY, they will increase to 212.99 million tons from 206.12 million tons this MY, and corn exports will increase to 195.81 million tons from 189.35 million tons.
OTP Bank has been ranked among the top three business champion banks by Forbes Ukraine magazine. It took second place in terms of efficiency and stability.
The article calls OTP BANK a model of balance in key ranking indicators. “Restrained growth, no excessive liquidity, which is typical for many banks with foreign capital, but top-three efficiency and good stability,” the Forbes article notes.
In particular, OTP Bank was included in the list of banking institutions with assets exceeding $1 billion, where it ranked third. The magazine’s analytical department also compiled a list of the “Second League” – leaders among banks with less than $1 billion in assets.
In total, the magazine’s rating includes the 20 largest and most efficient banks in Ukraine. Their activities were analyzed based on an integrated indicator of efficiency (profitability), dynamics, stability, and liquidity. As stated in the article, the main task was to find out which bankers had built (or rebuilt) a high-quality banking business during three years of full-scale war. The material is available in the print version of the magazine No. 2 (35), April-May 2025.
As a reminder, in March, OTP BANK was among the top five leaders in the bank stability rating according to the Minfin portal.
