Light will overcome darkness. Every day of every Ukrainian begins and ends with these words. But the approaching holidays allow us to be filled with hope and dream of great things. This is an unusual year, so the gifts should be extraordinary. Christmas is a time for miracles, and we invite everyone to become real wizards.
Parimatch, jointly with the National Ukrainian fundraising platform UNITED24, supported by President Volodymyr Zelensky, has launched the Light up Christmas for Ukrainians campaign and is appealing to donors from all over the world to help raise funds for generators for Ukrainian hospitals.
The goal is to raise 500,000 euros, which is enough to purchase generators for 50 hospitals, and thus save thousands of lives. The first donation of 100,000 euros was made by Parimatch Ukraine. Being an official partner the company has already transferred UAH 74 million to UNITED24 projects.
Support the campaign and make your contribution on the official DonorBox platform
We feel and appreciate everyone’s support. We see significant things and human values as truth, honesty, love, and peace. Your help is essential and inspires us to continue our struggle for freedom!
Make a miracle! Light Up Christmas for Ukraine
The Verkhovna Rada Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Committee has recommended that the draft laws on the cancellation of VAT and customs duties on imports of generators and other energy equipment, as well as Starlinks, be passed in the second reading, the head of the parliamentary committee for financial, tax and customs policy Daniil Getmantsev said.
“The purpose of the bills is to introduce short-term tax and customs incentives for the restoration of energy infrastructure, namely exemption from import duty and value added tax (VAT) on imports of generators and other components until May 1, 2023,” he wrote in Telegram.
The corresponding bills № 8196 and № 8197 were voted for by 23 members of the committee.
People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak (faction “Voice”) noted that the bills will go to the session hall during this session and may be adopted.
He specified that the documents also take into account the exemption from payments for postal and express consignments and provide the opportunity to store fuel without a license up to 2 thousand liters.
Nardep noted that the import of equipment under the Energy Community technical assistance is also exempted from VAT and duties.
Ukrainian steelmakers in January-November this year, according to operational data, reduced the production of total rolled steel by 70.1% compared to the same period last year – to 5.242 million tons.
According to the association Ukrmetallurgprom, for eleven months of 2022, steel production fell by 68.6% – to 6.157 million tons, iron – by 68.4%, to 6.144 million tons.
As reported, in 2021, 21.165 million tons of cast iron (103.6% by 2020), 21.366 million tons of steel (103.6%), 19.079 million tons of rolled steel (103.5%) were produced.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is opening a regional office in Ukraine, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said.
“We have just concluded an agreement in Paris that officially gives grounds for launching the so-called “Liaison Office” of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Kiev. Since Ukraine is recognized as a potential OECD member, the office will tentatively operate until 2026 to support our country during the recovery,” Shmygal wrote in his telegram channel on Monday.
He said the OECD was a co-sponsor of the Marshall Plan and is now helping to develop Ukraine’s Recovery Plan.
“This month, we also received a description of the provisions of the OECD program, which will help to implement the Organization’s standards in various sectors. We are ready to start preparing it together so that we can join the “club of successful countries” as soon as possible. This will be a marker of Ukraine’s readiness to join the EU and will help establish the state as a regional leader,” Shmygal wrote.
The cost of London offices may fall significantly in the next two to three years as demand for office space will remain low amid remote working and downsizing in some companies, experts believe Citi.
According to analysts of the investment bank, the cost of offices in the British capital will decrease by 38% over the period specified in the forecast.
Analysts say that the owners of office buildings in the next four years will have to reduce the cost of rent by 43%. Against the backdrop of falling rental prices office buildings will have to sell at a price more than 40% below current market value.
At the same time, analysts note that the duration of such a decline will mainly depend on how soon the inflation rate will slow down.
Agroindustrial holding “Astarta”, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, plans to process up to 2 million tons of sugar beet, grown at the own enterprise and supplied by the third-party farmers in the current season.
To date, the sugar plants have already produced 241 thousand tons of white sugar from more than 1.7 million tons of beets, and plan to process more than 200 thousand tons more, the holding said in a statement on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
“Astarta” in 2022 began the sugar season on September 16, a total of five sugar refineries of the group were working during the season.
As reported, on December, 9 sugar beet in Ukraine is harvested from 98% of the planned areas, totally 8.9 million tons (+0.3 million tons for the last week) from 177 thousand hectares (+3 thousand hectares).
“Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding, which operates in eight regions of Ukraine. It consists of six sugar factories, agro-farms with land bank of 220 thousand hectares, dairy farms with 22 thousand cattle, oil extraction plant in Globino (Poltava region), seven elevators and biogas complex.
Agroholding increased its net profit in 2021 14 times compared to 2020 – up to EUR 122.5 mln, EBITDA – 1.8 times, up to EUR 201.5 mln. Its revenue increased by 18.2% up to EUR 491.35 mln, one third of which (EUR 170 mln) was generated by sugar production and sales.
