Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE IN FAVOR OF DELAYING ADMISSION FOR FOREIGNERS TO LAND PURCHASE

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is in favor of deferring admission of foreigners to land purchase when launching the land market.
“For a while, we should sell land only to Ukrainians. Only to them,” he said during a press marathon in Kyiv on Thursday.
This period may last several years, the president specified.

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SPORTBANK PLANS TO BOOST NUMBER OF CLIENTS TO 1.5 MLN

Sportbank, a joint project of the mobile bank of Dyvotech IT company and the N1 management company for sports enthusiasts, launched in October this year, could increase the number of customers in three years to 1.5 million, which corresponds to a 10% share in the credit card market, Dyvotech co-founder Denys Saprykin told Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.
“Our main product will be a credit card. In the first year from the start of the project, we plan to attract 100,000 active users, and in three years – 1.5 million, which will allow Sportbank to grow to 10% of the Ukrainian credit card market,” he said.
According to him, a beta version of the project is currently running. The project provides for the issuance of a payment card with a 10% cashback on expenses in sports facilities and its delivery to the client by courier. In the future, Sportbank plans to offer customers credit cards, deposit programs, utility bills settlement through a mobile application, and in the future – foreign currency cards, foreign currency deposits, and the functionality for buying and selling foreign currency through a mobile application.
According to Saprykin, in the Sportbank mobile application it will soon be possible to also pay for goods for sports.
Nick Izmaylov, founder and CEO of N1 Management Company, told Interfax-Ukraine that investment in Sportbank amounted to $1 million.
Izmaylov also said that the possibility of a Sportbank project entering the market of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Moldova with the participation of local partners is being considered in the medium term outlook.

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UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT COUNTS ON TRUMP’S SUPPORT AND PLEDGES NOT TO INTERFERE IN U.S. DOMESTIC POLICY

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he has no intention of interfering in U.S. internal affairs and elections in any way.
“I do not want to interfere in any way in the elections held by this independent nation, the United States, and I will not be doing it … Elect your own president and do not interfere in future elections of an independent Ukraine,” Zelensky said during a press marathon in Kyiv on Thursday.
“With due respect for the United States and America’s policy, we are not serving the latter’s purpose, as we are an independent country. However, we do not want to lose our relations, we wish to strengthen them instead,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine does not take sides in the U.S. domestic dispute, he said.
“We have no right to interfere in any elections in any country. We cannot back any candidates, I mean U.S. politicians,” he said.
It is a big mistake for the United States and bilateral relations to involve the Ukrainian president in these processes, Zelensky said.
Zelensky denied being acquainted and meeting with Ukrainian American businessman Sam Kislin.
“I could not tell who it was even from the photo,” he said.
Journalists asked whether Ukraine could count on U.S. President Donald Trump under the current circumstances.
“We count on support of the United States above all, including support of U.S. President Donald Trump. I’d rather not comment on what is going on in their domestic policy. It’s their domestic policy, and I do not see any change in their attitude towards us in international relations,” Zelensky said.
The problem of blocked deliveries of U.S. weapons to Ukraine has been solved, Zelensky said.
“This has nothing to do with Burisma [company],” he said.
“I do not anticipate any change [in Ukraine-U.S. relations] but if it happens, we will learn about that from Twitter,” Zelensky said jokingly.

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VOLUME OF CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTION IN UKRAINE BY TYPE IN JAN-AUG, 2019 (MLN.UAH)

Volume of construction production in Ukraine by type in Jan-Aug, 2019 (mln.UAH)

UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT’S CHAIRMAN SAYS THRESHOLD TO PARLIAMENT SHOULD BE LOWER

Verkhovna Rada Chairman Dmytro Razumkov has said that threshold to the parliament for the parties should be lowered.
“To my mind, a threshold must be less than 5%. This is my personal viewpoint. Each of the factions will have its own viewpoint,” he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
However, the speaker said that the Election Code, which was vetoed by president, should be improved, and the MPs will do this.
“It seems to me better when, nevertheless, the threshold will be less – 3% or 2%. So that new political forces could enter the Rada. It will be difficult for me to say what this indicator will be, since I am not directly involved in the work of the group (in preparing the Electoral Code for consideration),” said Razumkov.

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BILLS ON DETECTIVE SERVICES COULD REDUCE MARKET TO COLLECTING INFORMATION

Bills on detective services could reduce the market to only collecting and capturing information, lawyers of Kinstellar law firm – Counsel Iryna Nikolayevska and associate Julia Palaida – have told Interfax-Ukraine, commenting on bill No. 1228 submitted by MP Andriy Kozhemiakin (Batkivschyna parliamentary faction) and alternative bill No. 1228-1 submitted by MPs Mykola Halushko and Viacheslav Medianyk (both from the Servant of the People parliamentary faction).
The lawyers said that at present, the most popular services of private detectives are the search for missing persons, the search for children hidden by one of the spouses, the search for assets of a person in order to recover them, and the verification of the reliability of business partners and employees.
“If regulation of this sphere is introduced in the format proposed by bills No. 1228 and No. 1228-1, the functions of a private detective will actually be reduced to collecting and recording information, since none of these documents authorizes detectives with powers similar to those of law enforcement agencies. Moreover, the bills do not directly regulate the question of how the court should evaluate the evidence collected by the detective, and whether the court will consider it to be appropriate evidence,” the lawyers said.
The Kinstellar law firm experts believe that the information collected by the detective should be regarded as proper evidence (provided there are no violations during the collection).
“It would be nice to clarify the law in this matter,” Nikolayevska and Palaida said.
Moreover, in general, the lawyers consider attempts to regulate the sphere of private investigations to be positive.

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