Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Forecast of changes in discount rate of National bank of Ukraine, %

Forecast of changes in discount rate of National bank of Ukraine, %

Source: Open4Business.com.ua

Datagroup-Volia-lifecell Group to invest UAH 1.5 billion in development of energy-efficient Internet network

The Datagroup-Volia-lifecell Group (DVL) plans to invest UAH 1.5 billion in the development of an energy-efficient GPON internet network over three years, with plans to achieve 60% penetration of the technology in every city undergoing modernization by 2025.

“DVL continues to develop its optical network by introducing GPON throughout Ukraine. We also have ambitious plans in this area: the company plans to invest UAH 1.5 billion in the development of the GPON network over three years… Our goal for GPON by the end of 2025 is to achieve penetration of up to 60% in every city where we are carrying out large-scale modernization,” said Sergey Tereshchuk, technical director of the merged company Datagroup-Volia-lifecell (DVL), in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

He noted that the pace of construction depends on external factors, including the restoration of infrastructure destroyed by shelling, the organization of backup key network nodes to ensure stable operation, and the ability to hire workers.

By 2025, DVL plans to build a network of connections for 300,000 apartments. Of this volume, as of early May, 100,000 have already been built. Since the start of the project in May 2024, more than 270,000 apartments have been covered by GPON technology (within one year – IF-U).

“We are talking about a large-scale modernization of the network in Lviv, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro. We are also building additional networks in 26 cities across Ukraine,” said Tereshchuk.

DVL is also connecting base stations to GPON. As part of the pilot project currently being implemented by the company, it plans to reach around 800 sites connected to fiber optics by 2025. Of these, 300 sites have already been connected during the first phase, during which the solution was tested.

“We are connecting GPON and fiber optics that Datagroup has near its base stations. We have a list of sites that need additional capacity to increase speed. These are the first steps in preparation for the introduction of 5G,” said Tereshchuk.

https://interfax.com.ua/

 

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On May 22, Lavra Gallery will host opening of art project “Tribute to Fashion”

On May 22, at 6 p.m., the Lavra Gallery will host the opening of the art project “Tribute to Fashion.” The author of the project is a young Kyiv artist, Dana Ozova, a fashion artist who subtly and exquisitely combines fashion and personal emotions in her paintings.

The exhibition “Tribute to Fashion” is a visual monologue about the presence of feelings in space.

It is an exquisite performance about states and moods in colors and silhouettes. Architecture, chandelier light, fashion, and images are immersed in an atmosphere where the line between memory and reality is blurred. Interiors, the glare of spotlights, bodies, and light and shadow are scenes not of events, but of states.

At the intersection of fashion, painting, and theater, the artist’s paintings give birth to special stories — intimate, dramatic, seductive, in which each image is a moment between words and silence. Everything here is a gesture, a pause, a touch.

The combination of large-scale paintings and sophisticated fashion sketches in the exhibition creates a certain rhythm, a silent music of the soul that stays with us as a memory, an impression, an emotion. Emotion is the main artistic image of the project. It is the basis of inspiration and beauty, fashion, painting, music, and architecture.

Each canvas is a frame frozen in time.

Painting in which sensations emerge through texture, semi-gestures, and the silence after movement.

This scene is not for the viewer, but for those who know how to see.

Dana Ozo’s works exist on the border between fashion, theater, and painting — in those areas of perception where sophistication becomes emotion and the image becomes meditation.

Chairman of supervisory board of SK Veles and member of supervisory board have submitted their resignations

The chairman of the supervisory board of SK Veles (Odessa), Suren Sardaryan (who owns 56.249% of the insurer’s shares), and member of the supervisory board Karini Sardaryan (42.918%) have submitted their resignations. This was reported in the company’s information posted on the NSSMC information system. It is also specified that they held these positions from April 28, 2023, to May 16, 2025, and are currently vacant.

As reported, on May 5, 2025, the National Bank of Ukraine imposed sanctions on Veles Insurance Company (Odessa) for submitting its 2024 financial statements to the NBU after the deadline.

Veles Insurance Company has been operating in the market since 1998. It has 15 licenses for voluntary and compulsory types of insurance. It is a member of the Insurance Business Association. Its authorized capital is UAH 39 million.

 

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Income of Ukraine’s top construction companies grew by 41%

Nine companies from the top ten made a profit last year.

According to the OpenDataBot 2025 Index, the total income of the leading construction companies amounted to UAH 49.49 billion. This is 41% more than in 2023. The top three leaders have remained almost unchanged for three years in a row. Nine companies from the top ten managed to make a profit last year. Half of the top companies are engaged in the construction of roads and highways.

The top ten construction companies in the OpenDataBot Index 2025 earned over UAH 49 billion in revenue. This is 41% more than in 2023. The combined profit of the leaders grew 1.6 times to UAH 3.09 billion.

The lion’s share of the top companies’ revenue comes from five companies specializing in road construction: 75% or UAH 36.9 billion.

Four other companies are engaged in the construction of residential and non-residential buildings, with a more modest contribution of 20% of revenue. One company in the ranking operates in the narrow field of exploratory drilling.

For the third year in a row, the top three leaders in the Construction Industry Index have remained virtually unchanged. The absolute leader is Avtomagistral-Pivden from Odesa, owned by Oleksandr Boiko. In 2024, the company earned UAH 13.2 billion (27% of the total revenue of the top companies), which is 1.6 times higher than in 2023. Profit reached a record 1.36 billion UAH.

In second place is Vinnytsia-based Avtostrada, owned by Maksym Shkil. The company earned 10.8 billion UAH (+30%) and increased its profit 1.6 times to 74.6 million UAH.

The company notes that Avtostrada is one of the ten largest donors to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, having transferred more than UAH 2.1 billion since the start of the full-scale war. The company is actively involved in the reconstruction of critical infrastructure, including water pipelines and energy facilities. It is also one of the largest taxpayers in its industry.

Third place went to Rostdorstroy in Odesa (Yevgeny Konovalov and Yuri Schumacher). The company increased its revenue by 15% (to UAH 6.85 billion), while its profit fell by a quarter.

Onur Construction International from Lviv (owned by Turkish entrepreneurs Cetinjeviz Onur and Ihsan) climbed to fourth place. Its revenue grew by 30% to UAH 3.82 billion, and its profit almost tripled to UAH 418 million.

Fifth place went to a newcomer to the Index, Atelier de France Kyiv, a company engaged in the restoration of architectural monuments. Its revenue grew 6.4 times to UAH 2.9 billion, and its profit tripled (UAH 44 million). The owner is Frenchman Antoine Courtois, Philippe, Marie.

Ferrostroy from Poltava returned to the Index after a year’s hiatus, increasing its revenue 1.7 times to UAH 2.62 billion and its profit 2.6 times to UAH 298 million. The company is engaged in the construction of buildings.

Kosul (part of Rinat Akhmetov’s SCM Group) lost a quarter of its revenue and four places in the ranking, falling to seventh place with UAH 2.6 billion. At the same time, its profit grew by 8% to UAH 758.8 million. This company accounts for a quarter of the earnings of the top ten companies.

Vladimir Vypyrail’s Kyiv Energy Construction Company showed the largest profit growth — 8.8 times (to UAH 16.9 million), although its revenue fell by 6% to UAH 2.3 billion.

Techno-Bud-Center (Andriy Yarema and Yuriy Khanin) is another newcomer. Revenue grew 1.6 times to UAH 2.2 billion, and profit grew 1.5 times to UAH 26 million.

Vesta-I, which was headed by a new owner in March 2025, Tajik citizen Karimi Asolat Ismatzoda, showed a fourfold increase in revenue (UAH 2.2 billion), but instead of profit, it reported a loss of UAH 1.9 million.

Who dropped out of the Index?

So, in 2025, the following companies left the rating:

  • Solaagro, which changed its type of activity.
  • Natural Resources (the Pinchuk family) — revenue decreased by 15%, but profit increased to UAH 656 million;
  • Kyivmiskbud — revenue fell by half (904 million UAH), but the company finally moved into the black;
  • Monolit Budservice — figures remained almost unchanged over the year, but stability was not enough to make it into this year’s top ten;
  • Ukrhydroenergobud — despite an increase in revenue to UAH 2.03 billion, the company ended the year with a loss (UAH –61 million).

https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/index-construction-2025

PZU Ukraine’s premiums grew by 11%, profit rose to UAH 58 mln

In January-March 2025, PJSC Insurance Company PZU Ukraine (Kyiv) increased its gross premiums by 10.89% to UAH 541.961 million, and net insurance premiums by 17.82% to UAH 555.2 million.

According to Standard-Rating, which updated the company’s credit rating/financial stability (reliability) rating on the national scale to “uaААА” based on the results of the period, revenues from individuals increased by 15.56% to UAH 378.1 million. Thus, the share of individuals in the insurer’s gross premiums amounted to 69.77%, and the share of reinsurers – 0.06%.

The volume of insurance payments and reimbursements made by the insurer in the first quarter of 2025 was 20.13% higher than in the same period of 2024, and the level of payments increased by 3.97 percentage points (pp) to 51.60%.

In January-March, the company’s operating profit amounted to UAH 40.570 million, compared with a loss in the first quarter of 2024, while net profit rose to UAH 58.395 million.

As of April 1, the insurer’s assets increased by 1.97% to UAH 2.547 billion, equity by 6.15% to UAH 1.028 billion, while liabilities decreased by 0.67% to UAH 1.519 billion, and cash and cash equivalents decreased by 18.02% to UAH 341.567 million.

The RA reports that as of the reporting date, the insurer had made financial investments in the amount of UAH 650.594 million, consisting of government bonds (UAH 298.355 million) and bank deposits (UAH 352.239 million), which had a positive impact on its liquidity. Thus, liquid assets covered 65.33% of the liabilities of IC “PZU Ukraine.”

The RA emphasizes that PrJSC IC ‘PZU Ukraine’ is supported by one of the largest insurance groups in Central and Eastern Europe, the PZU Group (which includes the parent company of PrJSC IC ‘PZU Ukraine,’ PZU S.A.).

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