Biopharma (Kyiv) plans to open a biology school on July 1 in Bila Tserkva (Kyiv region), where the company’s main production facilities are located, said Konstantin Efimenko, president and co-owner of the company, member of the Council for Support of Entrepreneurship under Martial Law (Council of Seven).
“Our goal is to popularize biology at school; create a base for preparing the Ukrainian team for participation in the International Biology Olympiads; organize a place for the practical round of the All-Ukrainian Biology Olympiad; become one of the leaders at the International Olympiads,” Yefymenko wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.
According to him, by July 1, Biopharma plans to create a team of 10 best teachers in various fields of biology, form classes for theoretical and practical classes, and fill them with the necessary equipment, including pH meters, systems for the isolation of RNA/DNA nucleic acids, biological, digital, digital microscopes, immunohistochemistry equipment, CO2 incubators, gas and liquid chromatographs, Dewar cryostorage, etc.
It is expected that classes at the Bioschool will be available for 30-40 best biology students in grades 8-11, and scholarships will be provided for teachers who have taught the winners of the All-Ukrainian Olympiad and winners.
The Bioschool project aims to create a school biology classroom as a product with subsequent installation in Ukrainian schools, as well as online lectures for free access.
In January of this year, Express Insurance (Kyiv) collected insurance premiums in the amount of UAH 59.7 million, which is 12.5% more than in the same period of 2023.
As specified on the insurer’s website, during this period, contracts were concluded 2.5 times more than in 2023, and 2.4 times more than in January 2021.
Premiums for motor hull insurance amounted to UAH 47.723 million (+0.9% compared to January 2013), for MTPL – UAH 9.667 million (2.9 times more), VHI – UAH 1.3 million (+25.8%), and for other types of insurance – UAH 1 million (+97.8%).
As reported, in January, the company paid UAH 270.9 million, which is 53.8% or UAH 10.3 million more than in the same period of 2023. In particular, payments for motor hull insurance amounted to UAH 26 million, which is 58.4% more than in January 2023, for MTPL – UAH 2.842 million (+ 24.3%), VHI – UAH 684.7 thousand (+ 21.5%), and for other types of insurance – UAH 257.2 thousand (2.8 times more).
“Express Insurance” ALC was founded in 2008 and is a part of UkrAuto group of companies. The company specializes in motor insurance. Since April 2012, it has been an associate member of the Motor Transport Insurance Bureau of Ukraine.
In January of this year, Ukraine reduced exports of titanium ores and concentrate in physical terms by 2.4 times compared to the same period last year – to 865 tons from 2,066 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service on Friday, exports of titanium ore and concentrate decreased by 57.3% to $1.414 million in monetary terms.
The main exports were to Turkey (67.26% of supplies in monetary terms), the UAE (14.50%) and the Czech Republic (5.16%).
Ukraine did not import these products in the period under review.
As reported, in 2023, Ukraine reduced exports of titanium ores in physical terms by 96.4% compared to 2022, to 11,648 thousand tons, and revenue by 85.1%, to $19.426 million. At the same time, the main exports were to Turkey (38.21% of supplies in monetary terms), Japan (16.53%) and India (6.12%).
During this period, Ukraine imported 1 ton of such ore from the Netherlands for $2 thousand.
In 2022, Ukraine decreased exports of titanium ore by 41.8% year-on-year to 322.143 thousand tons, and by 19.6% in monetary terms to $130.144 million. The main exports were made to the Czech Republic (47.91% of supplies in monetary terms), the United States (11.94%) and Romania (9.75%).
In 2022, Ukraine imported 196 tons of similar products from Senegal (70.41%) and Turkey (29.59%) for $115 thousand.
In Ukraine, titanium ores are currently mined mainly by the United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC), which manages Vilnohirsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant (VGMK, Dnipro region) and Irshansk Mining and Metallurgical Plant (Irshansk, Dnipro region). ) and Irshansk Mining and Processing Plant (IGOK, Zhytomyr region), as well as Mezhirichinsky GOK and Valky Ilmenite (both based in Irshansk, Zhytomyr region). In addition, Velta (Dnipro) has built a mining and processing plant at Birzulivske deposit with a capacity of 240 thousand tons of ilmenite concentrate per year.
In addition, Velta, a Dnipro-based industrial and commercial company, has built a mining and processing plant at the Birzulivske deposit with an annual capacity of 240 thousand tons of ilmenite concentrate.
In 2023, PZU Ukraine Insurance Company (Kyiv) collected UAH 1.869 billion in premiums, which is 46.1%, or UAH 589.5 million, more than in 2022, according to a press release from the insurer.
The largest increase in payments over the past year was recorded in the Green Card insurance segment by 2.2 times, or by UAH 266 million, voluntary health insurance (VMI) by 70% (+UAH 100 million) and compulsory motor third-party liability insurance (MTPL) by 55% (+UAH 178 million), voluntary motor vehicle insurance (VMTPL) by 29% (+UAH 83 million), and accident insurance by 9% (+UAH 3 million).
The company also reports that the share of MTPL in its portfolio in 2023 amounted to 27%, or UAH 499.4 million, Green Card – 26%, or UAH 488.9 million, CASCO – 20%, or UAH 368.5 million, VHI – 13%, or UAH 243.3 million, other types of insurance – 14%, or UAH 268.9 million.
In 2023, PZU Ukraine paid out UAH 701.4 million in insurance claims, which is 22% more than in 2022.
In the motor hull segment, UAH 167.4 million, or 24% of total claims, was settled last year, UAH 195.0 million (28%) in MTPL, UAH 109.7 million (16%) under Green Card contracts, 21% of all claims were paid out in VHI and 12% in other types of insurance.
The average period of settlement of insurance claims, from the date of the accident to the date of payment, under MTPL contracts was 37 days, and under hull insurance contracts – 14 days.
The company also reported that, according to the auditor’s report, the financial result before tax for 2023 amounted to UAH 103.8 million.
PZU Ukraine has been operating in the Ukrainian market since 1993. PZU Ukraine is supported by one of the largest insurance groups in Central and Eastern Europe – PZU Group (which includes the parent company of PZU Ukraine – PZU S.A.).
The traditions of the PZU Group date back to 1803, when the first insurance company Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń Spółka Akcyjna (PZU SA) was founded in Poland.
A blockade continues at six Ukrainian-Polish border crossing points (BCPs), with protesters, Polish farmers, allowing one or two trucks to pass in both directions per hour, resulting in increased traffic at BCPs with other countries, where traffic flows have been redirected, State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS) spokesman Andriy Demchenko said on a national TV marathon Wednesday.
According to him, the most difficult situation is at the Yahodyn-Dorogusk and Shehyni-Medyka checkpoints, where protesters are not letting trucks traveling from Ukraine to Poland through at all.
“Yesterday (February 20 – IF-U) the situation was different, because Polish farmers scaled up their actions to block traffic for vehicles. They made it virtually impossible for trucks to move in all directions, and at the three checkpoints Ustyluh-Zosin, Uhryniv-Dovhobochev, and Rava-Ruska-Krebenne they restricted traffic for other categories of vehicles, including cars and buses, which for some time could not cross the border either towards Ukraine or Poland. Gradually, after 4 p.m., until 6 p.m., traffic in these directions for cars and buses returned to normal,” Demchenko said.
He also said that on Wednesday, cars and buses were passing through the blocked checkpoints without any problems.
The total number of blocked trucks in the queues at the Polish-Ukrainian checkpoints due to the protest of Polish farmers has reached more than 2,500, the SBGS spokesman said.
Demchenko noted that the work of the checkpoints with other countries is going on as usual, but due to the fact that drivers choose them as an alternative to Polish crossings, the load is increasing. In particular, he said, this is evident in the situation on the borders of Slovakia and Hungary.
“While a few weeks ago there were no queues, as of Wednesday morning, there are about 600 trucks in the queues in Slovakia opposite the Uzhhorod-Vysne Nemecke checkpoint. In Hungary, about 750 vehicles are waiting to cross the border opposite the Tisa checkpoint (Chop-Záhony – IF-U),” Demchenko said.
He emphasized that the traffic intensity at these checkpoints corresponds to the capacity of each of them.
OTP Bank and SVD-Development LLC have signed the first agreement on provision of factoring services under the joint program to support financing of Ukrainian business between OTP Bank and the USAID Project “Investments for Business Sustainability” (formerly USAID Financial Sector Reform Project).
The factoring agreement provides for financing in the amount of UAH 20 million for the supply of products by SVD-Distribution LLC to the network of a Ukrainian retailer of household appliances and electronics.
“Our company was established in difficult times – in November 2022. We decided not to postpone the implementation of the new project. Given our experience, the project is developing, creating jobs (16 people), gaining momentum, and we plan to grow in 2024, including through the OTP Bank and USAID program. Providing financial support, namely factoring on special terms, which we receive under the OTP Bank and USAID program, will help us replenish working capital for the supplied household appliances to the chain of stores and provide additional resources and opportunities for further development. Given the lengthening of logistics chains, our project needs just such a financing instrument,” said Natalia Teslenko, Managing Director of SVD-Distribution LLC.
Olga Volkova, Director of the Sales Department for Medium and Small Corporate Clients of OTP Bank, said that a significant number of corporate clients, especially large companies, when concluding agreements with suppliers, ask for a certain delay in payments for the delivered goods, which can reach 90 days and significantly increases the need for working capital for their partners. “Factoring allows the supplier to receive funds for its goods in the form of a tranche from the Bank immediately after delivery, without waiting for the buyer to pay. This is an effective means of quickly replenishing working capital, which, I emphasize, does not require collateral. It is especially beneficial and convenient for MSMEs, and partial compensation of the interest rate under the OTP Bank’s program with USAID makes it even more economically attractive. Therefore, companies that provide deferred payments for the supply of their goods and need working capital to finance such cash gaps are welcome to apply to the Bank and receive financing at a reduced interest rate,” she emphasized.
The USAID Project “Invest for Business Resilience” increases the supply of financing for businesses by working with a wide range of financial intermediaries, including banks, leasing, insurance companies and others, who raise funds and channel them into effective investments. “We help to unlock access to financial products for MSMEs on acceptable terms to support their businesses. As part of our joint program with OTP Bank, we facilitate access to affordable factoring financing, as this tool has been successfully used in Europe and other parts of the world. It improves business cash flow and frees up funds associated with unpaid invoices. The Business Resilience Investment Project expects to increase the number of factoring transactions and will continue to support the development of the factoring market in Ukraine,” said Yulia Vitka, Acting Chief of Party of the USAID Business Resilience Investment Project.
To learn more about SME factoring financing under the joint program of OTP Bank and USAID, as well as to apply for the service, please follow the link.
