Exports of selected agricultural products, mln tons
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
ADONIS Clinic estimates the level of security of its IT structure at almost 97%, using the services of various mobile operators and Internet providers to ensure wide availability and stability of IT services.
“The security of ADONIS clinic’s IT structure is 96.99%. To guarantee a high level of protection, we are constantly improving our equipment through the processes of updating and modernization. This allows us to effectively counter modern cyber threats and maintain the confidentiality and integrity of our patients’ data,” the clinic told Interfax-Ukraine.
Commenting on the dependence of IT services on the work of mobile operators and Internet providers, ADONIS noted that “the clinic uses the services of various mobile operators and Internet providers to ensure wide availability and resilience of IT services.”
“Partial dependence on Internet providers is necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our network infrastructures,” the clinic said.
ADONIS emphasized that the clinic’s work was affected by the recent cyberattack on mobile operator Kyivstar, but ADONIS “quickly identified the problems and took the necessary measures.”
“We quickly and efficiently switched to other networks, ensuring the continuity of our communications and IT services. This experience has emphasized our ability to effectively manage contingencies and ensure the smooth operation of our IT systems in the face of cyber threats,” ADONIS emphasized.
Thanks to coordinated cooperation with international partners, Ukraine has managed to attract more than $39 billion in external financing since the beginning of 2023, compared to $32.1 billion for the entire last year, Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said.
“By the end of this year, donor assistance will reach about $42.3 billion,” he was quoted as saying in a release from the Finance Ministry on Wednesday after a meeting the day before with the heads of central banks of the G7 countries, the leadership of the European Union, the IMF and the World Bank.
Marchenko also noted that Ukraine’s need for external financing in 2024 was reduced from the initial $41 billion to $37.3 billion due to measures to maximize state budget revenues, activate the domestic debt market, and reduce all capital expenditures of the state budget.
The Minister of Finance emphasized that in 2024, the priorities for financing are the military campaign and social support, the former to be provided exclusively at the expense of domestic budget revenues, and Ukraine is counting on the help of partners to finance the latter.
The desired amount of external financing in 2024, including grants, mentioned by Marchenko, was confirmed in the materials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) based on the results of the second review of the EFF program. “Support from official donors will remain the main source of financing the deficit next year,” the Fund emphasized.
He noted that net financing through the placement of domestic government bonds, although significantly lower, will also remain an important source of financing, amounting to $3.8 billion under the baseline scenario.
“Net domestic market issuance and the use of unencumbered deposits also serve as an important shock absorber and are easier to increase quickly compared to external financing. However, the risks associated with this financing plan are significant, and it is important that guaranteed external financing is provided in a timely manner,” the IMF said.
According to the materials of the second revision of the EFF program, the United States is expected to receive $8.5 billion, Japan – $2 billion, the United Kingdom – $1 billion, and another $20.4 billion from the EU, Canada and Japan.
Earlier, Marchenko clarified that Ukraine expects to receive EUR18 billion from the EU in 2024 as part of the Ukraine Facility, which is being discussed and is expected to total EUR50 billion for 2024-2027.
Copper is ending 2023 with the most significant price increase among non-ferrous metals due to supply disruptions, the Financial Times reports.
Copper rose by 2.5% to $8.6 thousand per tonne this year. This is due to signs of improvement in China’s economy amid production problems in Latin America.
The closure of a copper mine in Panama and the forecast of a significant reduction in Anglo American’s production will lead to a decrease in global supplies by 750 thousand tons, or 3% of the global figure, in 2024, according to Bank of Montreal analysts. The world’s largest mining companies, Vale and Rio Tinto, also recently published production forecasts that did not meet the expectations of some analysts.
Earlier, traders assumed that due to increased supplies from copper mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Peru and Chile, supply would exceed demand next year, but now a balanced market is expected.
“Only two months ago, expectations for the copper market in 2024 were downright pessimistic,” said Colin Hamilton, Managing Director of Commodities Research at BMO. – “But now the expectations of a bad year for copper have disappeared.
“The Chinese economy is doing well, although everyone seems to be talking about it as if it is in a recession,” said Daniel Smith, a spokesman for London-based metals broker AMT.
Goldman Sachs predicts that in the next twelve months the copper price will reach $10 thousand per tonne amid an expected decline in supplies.
Overall, this year has been a challenging one for the base metals market, particularly due to one of the most aggressive interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. Higher rates pushed up the US dollar (the dollar index has gained more than 3% since the beginning of the year), making commodities more expensive for importers. The higher cost of borrowing also led to a reduction in capital-intensive investments and higher financing costs for metal stockpiles, prompting producers to reduce inventories.
These bearish factors put downward pressure on aluminum, lead and zinc, making non-ferrous metals the worst performing commodity sector for the second year in a row, the article notes. The price of nickel fell by 45% to $16.75 thousand per tonne due to a sharp increase in supplies from Indonesia.
Of the six major industrial metals, except copper, only tin has risen in price this year due to the suspension of mining in Myanmar, the world’s third largest producer.
Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecommunications operator, reported difficulties with voice communication and the use of its mobile app in a number of cities in western and southern Ukraine on Wednesday morning.
“Dear subscribers, we are aware that there are currently difficulties with voice communication and the mobile application in a number of cities in western and southern Ukraine. The company’s specialists are working to restore services. We are doing our best to fix the technical issues as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience,” the company said in a post on Facebook.
Users write in the comments under the post that there is no connection in Lviv, and it is lost in Rivne and Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad and Sumy regions. At the same time, everything is working in Ternopil and Vinnytsia. A number of users also reported problems with “home internet” in Dnipro.
Earlier, Kyivstar restored high-speed mobile Internet in the Kyiv and Kharkiv subways. The company said that it plans to achieve full stabilization in the provision of services by the end of the week.
After a disruption in the early morning hours of December 12 caused by a large-scale cyberattack, Kyivstar began restoring voice services in the evening of December 13, and within a day mobile internet was back online in some regions, with the company announcing its full restoration across the country on the evening of December 15.
On December 17, Kivestar resumed providing voice services, including roaming, mobile data, Home Internet, virtual private network (VPN) services and started restoring access to M2M (Machine-to-Machine) services for business customers. Kyivstar restored access to SMS services, including international roaming, and M2M services on 18 December.
Export of agricultural products during the marketing year, mln tons
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
