The bitcoin exchange rate continues to decline sharply, with the cryptocurrency dropping below $80 thousand during trading for the first time since November last year.
Bitcoin fell by 3.9% to $80,150 thousand by 14:35 on Friday, according to Coindesk. Earlier in the session, quotes fell to $78.239 thousand. Over the past month, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency has fallen in price by 21%.
The bitcoin rate rose above $109 thousand on the day of the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, hoping that the new administration would be more favorable to digital assets. However, in the absence of specific measures to support the sector, cryptocurrencies fell along with other global markets.
“Bitcoin has dropped like a stone amid investor exodus from risky assets, which has rocked financial markets,” said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Suzanne Streeter. – “The euphoria in the cryptocurrency market was closely linked to the general enthusiasm of investors, and when it declined, there was nowhere to hide.
Kremenchuk Metalware Plant (KrZMW, Poltava region), a part of the assets of Kryukov Carriage Works (KVSZ), ended 2024 with a net profit of UAH 5.569 million, up 4.2 times compared to the same period in 2023.
According to the agenda of the company’s general meeting of shareholders scheduled for April 3, it is planned to leave the profit undistributed.
The shareholders are also planning to consider, among other things, the termination of the audit committee and early termination of its members’ powers, approve the supervisory board’s decision to appoint an external auditor (Poltava Bureau of Forensic Economic Expertise and Audit LLC) and the terms of the contract with it.
KrZMW specializes in the production of metal and wooden structures (impregnated wooden sleepers for broad gauge railways, supports for overhead telecommunication and power lines, kiosks, pavilions, containers).
The plant has been part of KVSZ since 2008. According to the Clarity Project, 75% of the company is owned by Estonian Skinest Finants, and the ultimate beneficiaries are Volodymyr Prykhodko, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and President of KVSZ JSC, and his wife Natalia.
In 2023, KrZMW earned UAH 1.32 million in net profit, up from UAH 0.28 million a year earlier, with net income growing by 44% to UAH 40.84 million, and in January-September last year, its net income more than doubled to UAH 60.1 million.
Retained earnings as of October 1, 2024 amounted to UAH 10.88 million.
In 2023-2024, the State Customs Service of Ukraine cleared 103.7 million shipments, of which 94.6 million were imports and only 9.1 million were exports, according to a joint report by the customs office and Ukrposhta.
Of the total number of shipments processed over two years, about 60 million were delivered by Ukrposhta, according to the Ukrposhta website on Thursday.
The largest volume of shipments (73.7 thousand tons) was imported from China. Poland was in second place (38.6 thousand tons), and the United States was in third place (16.1 thousand tons). In addition, 4 thousand tons of shipments were received from the UK, 2.3 thousand tons – from the Czech Republic, 2.1 thousand tons – from Israel, 1.6 thousand tons – from Canada, 1.4 thousand tons – from Germany, 1.3 thousand tons – from Estonia.
According to the report, the most popular export destinations were the United States, which accounted for 46.65% of shipments during the period, the United Kingdom – 8.19%, Germany – 6.61%, Canada – 5.59%, France – 3.07%, Australia – 2.66%, Poland – 2.32%, Israel – 2.1%, Switzerland – 1.67%, Italy – 1.36%.
According to Ukrposhta, the most frequently ordered items by Ukrainians abroad were jewelry (6.23%), phone cases (5.37%), women’s clothing (3.28%), makeup and manicure products (3.28%), lighting devices (2.29%), toys (2.03%), cables (1.62%), phone protectors (1.51%), socks (1.3%), and chargers (1.14%).
The predominant value of goods ordered by Ukrainians over the past two years (81.33%) did not exceed EUR10. In the range of EUR10-20, 10.6% of goods were ordered, EUR20-50 – 5.3%, EUR50-100 – 1.9%, EUR100-150 – 0.5%, and more than EUR150 – 0.3%.
In 2024, 71.5% of all shipments were processed in less than three hours, 28% were processed up to 24 hours after arrival, and only 0.5% took longer than a day, Ukrposhta reported, emphasizing that electronic declaration was a significant step towards speeding up delivery.
The company reminded that 100% of parcels in Ukraine go through customs procedures exclusively electronically (paperless format).
After signing an agreement with the United States to establish the terms and conditions of the Ukraine Recovery Investment Fund, the Cabinet of Ministers will approve a delegation to draft an international agreement on the Fund, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
“The next steps after the signing are the creation of an appropriate delegation, which will be approved by a government decision, as required by the law of Ukraine on international treaties. The delegation will receive the relevant directives. Next, there will be relevant intergovernmental work between the government of Ukraine and the government of the United States to draft an agreement on the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Development and Construction of Ukraine,” Shmyhal said during an hour of questions to the government in the Verkhovna Rada on Friday, which was broadcast live on YouTube by MP Oleksiy Honcharenko (European Solidarity faction).
The Prime Minister emphasized that all the next steps are clearly spelled out in the law on international treaties.
“The agreement on the creation of the Investment Fund will have the character of an international agreement, so it will be approved by the government and ratified by the parliament. It will describe all the specifics of how the fund will work,” Shmyhal said.
The creation of the Investment Fund is envisaged by the so-called subsoil agreement to be signed on Friday in the United States.
Former Kyiv City Council deputy Vyacheslav Suprunenko has invested $2 million in the bankrupt Kyiv Rosinka plant, which he bought in 2023 and will resume operations in May 2025, Forbes Ukraina reports.
According to the publication, the launch of production cost $1 million. The company plans to invest more than $1 million in 2025-2026. The company expects to recoup the investment in five years.
“In 2024, Rosinka has already resumed production of contract bottled lemonades at the Orlan plant in Kyiv and at a plant in Cherkasy region.
The company has obtained a license to extract mineral water from a spring on the plant’s territory at a depth of 327 meters. The first line of Sofia Kyivska mineral water will be launched in April-May 2025. This will be followed by juice drinks with four flavors. The production of classic lemonades at the Rosinka plant is scheduled for 2026, said Inna Yarmolenko, director of the Rosinka plant in Kyiv.
“Sophia of Kyiv will be bottled in 0.5-liter and 1.5-liter bottles, and juice drinks will be packaged in 180-200 ml soft packs. The redesign of Sofia Kyivska has already been completed, and the next step is to change the label of Rosinka. The names of the drinks will not change.
“The plant plans to launch production of functional drinks in 5 years, including kombucha, energy drinks and vitaminized drinks,” Yarmolenko said, adding that they will be produced under different brands, not just Rosinka.
Currently, the Kyiv-based Rosinka plant is negotiating sales with national retailers such as ATB and Silpo.
As reported, in August 2023, Prozorro.Sale successfully held an auction for the sale of the bankrupt Rosinka plant, which was sold for UAH 138.5 million to the Cyprus-based Alviva Group LTD, whose beneficiary is former Kyiv City Council member Viacheslav Suprunenko.
Forecast of dynamics of changes in Ukrainian GDP in % for 2022-2025 in relation to previous period
Source: Open4Business.com.ua
