State-owned Oschadbank (Kyiv) has put the Ramada Encore hotel and the Europa business center up for sale through the OpenMarket (SE “SETAM”) the Ramada Encore hotel and the Europa business center under a financial leasing procedure, setting the initial value of the capital property at over UAH 797 million.
The bank’s statement notes that the administrative and hotel complex with a total area of 39,590 square meters and a two-level parking lot of 17,500 square meters is being auctioned off under financial leasing terms. The property includes a 22-story four-star Ramada Encore hotel and the Europa business center.
The hotel has 332 rooms and 58 apartments, and its infrastructure includes a conference center of over 4,000 square meters with 20 conference rooms, a two-level parking lot, fitness centers, and restaurants.
The property is located in Kyiv on Stolychne Shosse, 103, at the intersection of three major highways in the direction of Obukhiv and Koncha-Zaspa, which ensures high traffic and accessibility.
According to the terms of the auction, the starting price of the financial lease property is UAH 797.7 million.
The winner of the auction will be determined by the highest bid for the amount of the first lease payment, which participants will submit during the auction. The bid increment is UAH 1 million.
The term of the financial lease is 10 years (120 months), with a schedule of subsequent payments specified in the lot documentation. The lessor’s remuneration is 8.59% per annum, calculated on the outstanding balance. To participate in the auction, a guarantee payment of UAH 10 million must be made.
The auction is scheduled for August 19, 2025.
As reported, Wyndham Hotel Group (WHG) opened its largest four-star hotel under the Ramada Encore brand in June 2012 as part of the Stolychny multifunctional complex (formerly Domosfera) at 103 Stolychne Shosse in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv.
In March 2024, Oschadbank put up for sale through the Atmosfera shopping and entertainment center’s electronic trading system the Ramada Encore Kyiv hotel in the capital, 11 land plots in Kozin (Kyiv region), and a monetary claim against Niteo Company LLC for UAH 1.79 billion.
According to Opendatabot, the owner of Niteko Company LLC is FC NJ Management LLC, and the ultimate beneficiary is Dmytro Buryak.
Global insured losses from natural catastrophes in the first half of 2025 reached $80 billion, which is almost double the 10-year average, according to the Swiss Re Institute.
According to its website, this already exceeds half of the projected annual figure of $150 billion.
Swiss Re Institute notes that wildfire losses have risen sharply over the past decade as rising temperatures, more frequent droughts and changing rainfall patterns combine with suburban sprawl and a concentration of high-value assets.
For example, he said, wildfires in Los Angeles County, USA, in January resulted in insured losses of about $40 billion in the first half of 2025, while insured losses from severe convective storms (SCS) reached $31 billion.
“By 2015, insured losses related to wildfires accounted for about 1% of all natural catastrophe-related insured losses. Since eight of the 10 most expensive wildfires in recorded history occurred in the last 10 years, the share of insured losses related to wildfires has risen to 7%,” the Swiss Re Institute explained.
Meanwhile, the institute said: although the first half of 2025 saw several devastating thunderstorms with severe hail and tornado outbreaks in the US, total losses caused by SCS fell below both the projected trend of $35 billion and the record-breaking events of 2023 and 2024.
“However, SCS continue to be a major driver of global natural catastrophe insurance losses, with annual volatility highlighting their ongoing threat to property and infrastructures,” Swiss Re Institute said in a statement
As insured losses rise globally, overall economic losses are also rising, with Swiss Re Institute reporting $143 billion in the first half of 2025, up from $130 billion in the same period in 2024.
Soybean exports from Ukraine in the 2025-2026 marketing year (MY, July-June) may decrease by more than a third and amount to about 2.7 million tons due to the expected reduction in crop production, the possible impact of export duties, and the continued attractiveness of processing, according to the information and analytical agency APK-Inform.
Experts recalled that Ukraine exported 3.97 million tons of soybeans during September-July 2024-2025 MY, which is 28% more than in the same period last year and set a new record for the season.
“The significant increase in export rates was achieved primarily thanks to the record harvest of this crop in the country in 2024, as well as attractive prices and geographical proximity to key global importers,” analysts explained.
At the same time, in their opinion, the record pace of soybean shipments in the summer may be stimulated by the expected introduction of a 10% duty on soybeans from September 2025, if the Ukrainian president signs the relevant bill.
Among the top buyers of Ukrainian soybeans in the current season, experts named Turkey (968,600 tons, up 39% from the previous season), Egypt (673,000 tons, down 31%), and the Netherlands (546,000 tons, up 2.7 times).
“In total, in the 2024/25 season, soybean exports from Ukraine could reach about 4.1-4.2 million tons (+26%), which could be a new record for the industry,” APK-Inform concluded.
The loan portfolio of the international financial service NovaPay (TM NovaPay) has grown by 60% since the beginning of the year and reached UAH 1.35 billion as of early August, the company said on Wednesday.
“More than 50,000 customers have active loans, more than 85% of which are consumer loans. Our portfolio has grown by 60% since the beginning of the year,” said Bogdan Gryvko, NovaPay’s risk management director, in a press release.
The company added that customers most often choose installment plans for their loans: the portfolio for this product amounts to UAH 607 million.
In addition to installment plans, UAH 232 million in the portfolio consists of customer obligations on credit cards, the number of which has reached 30,000 since the launch in May, according to the release.
As NovaPay reminded, since last summer, the company has been lending to sole proprietors and businesses, with more than 250 customers already taking out loans worth UAH 144 million.
As reported, NovaPay issued UAH 1.7 billion in loans in 2024. In particular, the amount of loans issued last year to small and medium-sized businesses amounted to UAH 281.4 million.
Since the launch of installment services in July 2024, 97,000 loans totaling UAH 600 million were issued by the end of last year. NovaPay is an international financial service founded in 2001. It is part of the Nova group and provides online and offline financial services at Nova Poshta branches.
It was the first non-bank financial institution in Ukraine to receive an extended license from the NBU in 2023, which allowed it to open accounts and issue cards, and was also the first non-bank to launch its own financial app at the end of last year.
According to YouControl, NovaPay’s revenue in the first half of this year grew by 9.3% to UAH 4.53975 billion, while net profit fell by 42.1% to UAH 966.98 million.
Loan services are also provided by a subsidiary, NovaPay Credit, which actively raises money through bond placements. According to reports on its website, NovaPay Credit increased its net profit in the first half of this year by 52.2% compared to the first half of last year, to UAH 53.92 million, with revenue growing 2.7 times, to UAH 260.36 million.
Ferrexpo plc, a mining company with its main assets in Ukraine, reduced capital investments by 49.1% in January-June this year compared to the same period last year, from $55 million to $28 million.
According to the company’s interim report on Wednesday, of the total amount spent in the first half of 2025, capital expenditures for maintenance and modernization amounted to $15 million (in the first half of 2024 – $19 million), covering the activities of all the group’s main business units.
It is also reported that investments in strategic development projects in the reporting period amounted to $13 million (in the first half of 2024 – $36 million).
In total, 55% of capital investments were directed to supporting projects and 45% to development.
It is specified that the largest strategic capital investments included additional funds for a new press filtration complex and a new concentrate conveyor line, which amounted to $5 million and $3 million, respectively.
The aim of these projects is to increase the production of high-quality iron ore products so that the business can make its production portfolio more flexible and adapt to short-term changes in demand for various products.
The Group also funded $2 million for development work for future production and $1 million for the development and exploration of the Belanivsky deposit.
Given the decline in cash flow generation, no ordinary dividends were declared or paid during the first half of fiscal years 2025 and 2024.
The group has a shareholder return policy that sets out the group’s intention to pay up to 30% of free cash flow as dividends for a given year. The group’s ability to pay dividends also depends on developments in ongoing litigation in Ukraine, the report said.
As reported, Ferrexpo maintained its capital investments in 2024 at the previous year’s level of $101.688 million (in 2023 – $101.247 million, in 2022 – $161.010 million, and $361 million in 2021). In particular, capital expenditures for maintenance and modernization in 2024 amounted to $37 million (in 2023 – $31 million, in 2022 – $57 million, and in 2021 – $113 million). At the same time, the group reviewed the timing of investments in strategic development projects, resulting in expenditures of $65 million compared to $70 million in 2023.
Some of the larger capital expenditures included additional funds for a new press filtration complex and a new concentrate conveyor line along the production circuit, which amounted to $24 million and $2 million, respectively. These investments will enable the group to increase production of high-quality products in the near term when production returns to full capacity and to produce iron ore concentrate and pellets simultaneously.
In addition, the group spent $9 million in 2024 (2023: $22 million) on stripping work for future production growth and $18 million on a concentrator and pelletizer project (2023: $22 million) as part of the first wave (Wave 1) of the production expansion program.
The group also spent $3 million on the development and exploration of the Belanivskoye deposit (2023: $3 million) and $1 million on a hydrolysis plant (2023: $1 million) to test the use of hydrogen as fuel in the group’s granulator.
Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine. Ferrexpo owns 100% of Poltava Mining, 100% of Yeristovo Mining, and 99.9% of Bilanivsky Mining.
During a telephone conversation with Brazilian Special Assistant to the President for International Affairs Celso Amorim, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi exchanged views on the “crisis in Ukraine,” with Wang noting that “the process of resolving the crisis is now at a decisive stage,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
“Russia and Ukraine have taken an important step forward by starting negotiations. The crisis settlement process is now at a decisive stage,” he said.
The head of the foreign ministry added that China and Pakistan can continue to maintain communication and make joint efforts to promote the “Friends of Peace” group with the aim of further bringing together the consensus of the global South on “ceasing fire, end the war, convince people of the need for peace, and promote negotiations to play their role in the political settlement of the crisis.”
