Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

INSURANCE COMPANIES OF UKRAINE IN 2021 INCREASED COLLECTION OF NET PREMIUMS AND PAYMENTS

Insurance companies of Ukraine in 2021 collected net premiums in the amount of UAH 45.987 billion, which is 14% more than in 2020 (UAH 40.350 billion), the National Bank of Ukraine reported on its website.
According to the regulator, the volume of gross insurance premiums collected by insurers last year amounted to UAH 49.708 billion, which is 10% more than a year earlier (UAH 45.185 billion). Of these, receipts from individuals amounted to UAH 27.912 billion, from reinsurers – UAH 1.890 billion (in 2020 – UAH 4.201 billion).
In addition, according to the regulator, in 2021, Ukrainian insurers paid UAH 17.671 billion of net insurance payments (+22.3% by 2020). The level of net payments increased to 38.4% from 35.8%.
According to the NBU, gross insurance payments increased by 20.9% to UAH 17.958 billion. The level of gross payments increased to 36.1% from 31.9%
According to the regulator, the volume of insurance payments owned by reinsurers in 2021 amounted to UAH 8.623 billion (+1.6%), of which non-resident reinsurers – UAH 4.9023.652 billion (+34.3%).
The regulator also reports that last year the volume of formed insurance reserves increased by 7.2% – up to UAH 36.566 billion. At the same time, with a decrease in the total assets of insurers by 1.1%, to UAH 64.209 billion, the volume of assets determined by law to represent insurance reserves increased by 2.3% compared to 2020, to UAH 47.159 billion. The volume of paid authorized capital decreased by 18.7% – to UAH 7.924 billion.
The regulator also reports that in 2021, 131.562 million contracts were concluded, while a year earlier, 120.586 million insurance contracts were concluded.
According to the NBU, the total number of insurance companies in Ukraine as of December 31, 2021 was 155, while on the same date a year earlier it was 208.

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UZBEK AUTHORITIES INTEND TO CONCLUDE NEGOTIATIONS ON JOINING WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

The Uzbek authorities intend to conclude negotiations on joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the near future, the press service for the Uzbek Investments and Foreign Trade Ministry said.
Deputy Prime Minister and Investments and Foreign Trade Minister Sardor Umurzakov spoke at the latest meeting of the working group on Uzbekistan joining the WTO, its fifth, in Geneva.
“The head of the Uzbek delegation confirmed firm determination to actively promote the process of the republic joining the WTO and concluding bilateral negotiations with all interested member states of the organization in the near future,” the press service said.
The working group has begun detailed discussion of the documents presented on Uzbekistan’s foreign trade conditions, including a fact-based digest, answers to the questions of member states, information on economic policy, measures implemented to privatize government assets, customs and tariff policy, state support for agriculture, and industrial subsidies, it said.
All 25 WTO member states speaking unanimously declared their full support for Uzbekistan’s entry into the organization, emphasizing that this will allow the republic to integrate into the multilateral trade system in full and give impetus for the further development of its trade-economic ties with all member countries.
“The results of the activities carried out by the interagency commission on work with the WTO within the framework of the process of Uzbekistan’s accession to the organization, including in the array of preparations for an expanded package of documents and bilateral talks on access to the country’s market, were given a positive assessment,” the press service said.
The Uzbek delegation is also holding a number of bilateral negotiations in Geneva on access to the goods and services market with the United States, the European Union, Canada, Brazil, Switzerland, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, and other key WTO member states.

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BORYSPIL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS ON SEVENTH PLACE AMONG TOP AIRPORTS IN EASTERN EUROPE

The British consulting company Skytrax has presented the winners of The World’s Best Airports in 2022 rating according to the results of a passenger survey, Boryspil International Airport took the seventh place.
According to a report on the airport’s website on Wednesday, the top ten included the airports of Batumi, Budapest, Tallinn, Bucharest, Riga, Tbilisi, Boryspil International Airport, as well as Belgrade, Bratislava and Zagreb airports.
In 2021, Boryspil ranked fifth in the Skytrax rating.
“The fact that Boryspil International Airport was ranked among the top ten airports demonstrates its standards of work with passengers to ensure their comfort and safety. The war suddenly suspended the operation of the airport. But nothing will change our confidence in the victory of Ukraine, its peaceful and independent development. I believe in the future of the main air gates of the country – Boryspil International Airport,” Oleksiy Dubrevsky, CEO of the airport, is quoted in the message.
Skytrax is a British consulting company that has been evaluating the quality of service for airports and airlines around the world since 1989.
The World Airport Awards are presented based on a survey of more than 13 million passengers at 550 airports around the world.

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CARDBOARD AND PAPER COMPANY RAISES PRODUCTION BY 43%

Cardboard and Paper Company LLC (Lviv), a major Ukrainian manufacturer of cardboard tubes and sanitary and hygienic products, increased production by 43.3% in January-May compared to the same period in 2021 – to UAH 403.7 million.
According to the statistics of the UkrPapir association provided to the Interfax-Ukraine agency, in natural terms, over this period, the company increased the production of paper – the basis for sanitary and hygienic products – by 16.1%, to 26.4 million tonnes, while increasing the production of toilet paper in rolls by 66.4% – to 1.8 million pieces.
At the same time, the output of cardboard products decreased by 4.8% – to 10.43 million tonnes.
According to the statistics of UkrPapir, the factory continued to work all months since the beginning of the year, reducing the production of paper and cardboard in March, but in April and May it already increased their production by 16.4% and 6.7%, respectively (compared to the same months last year).
Cardboard and Paper Company (until 2011 – Lvivkartonoplast) produces goods and semi-finished products from recycled cardboard (cardboard sheets, corners, tubes) and cellulose paper (toilet paper, towels, napkins of White Line and Papero trademarks).
In 2021, the company produced products worth UAH 782.7 million, which is 46.7% more than in 2020.

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ITALY TO CONTINUE TO RAISE FUNDS TO RESTORE BUCHA

Italy will continue to raise funds to restore the city of Bucha in Kyiv region, which suffered from Russian occupiers, Mayor of Bergamo (Italy) Giorgio Gori said during a meeting with Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhiy Marchenko and Managing Director of the Rothschild international banking group for the CIS region Giovanni Salvetti.
As the Ministry of Finance pointed out in a press release on the website on Wednesday following the meeting, in April 2022, the Italian humanitarian organization Cesvi, headquartered in Bergamo, allocated the first EUR 500 million for the restoration of Bucha, and Gori confirmed its readiness to raise funds in the future.
The mayor of the Italian city noted that the amount of financial support for the restoration of the communal infrastructure and social facilities of Bucha will be increased through charitable contributions from private and public donors, in particular from the municipality of the city of Bergamo.
“Today, the amount of infrastructure damage reaches $104 billion, but the war is not over yet. Now, even after the victory, a difficult path for the restoration of Ukraine awaits us,” the Minister of Finance of Ukraine said in turn, quoted by the ministry’s press service.
Priority areas for the recovery of Bucha are the restoration of destroyed infrastructure, housing, refurbishment of fleets of special equipment, including ambulances, fire engines and public transport, the ministry added.

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AMERICAN ZOOM PROVIDES FREE ACCESS TO SERVICES TO UKRAINIAN UNIVERSITIES FOR 2022-2023 ACADEMIC YEAR

American Zoom Video Communications for the 2022-2023 academic year will provide free access to Zoom Meetings for Education software.

“This is very important during the war, when all education takes place online. Now some students are defending their theses in the trenches, protecting the state, and teachers are conducting lessons for schoolchildren directly from bomb shelters,” wrote Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mikhail Fedorov on his Telegram channel on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Education and Science, in a letter to educational institutions published on the Osvita.ua portal, said that the extended access of Large Meeting allows participants in the educational process to record meetings, as well as conduct training sessions for 1000 participants at the same time.

Also, according to the Ministry of Education, educational institutions that have applied for advanced features of Google Workspace for Education will receive the corresponding update until August 2022.