Ribas Hotels Group is expanding its network to Moldova, with the management of the Tree House Relax Park hotel complex in Chisinau starting on June 1, the company’s press service reports.
“The opening of Tree House Relax Park is a strategic step in the expansion of the Ribas Hotels Group network abroad, which helps to strengthen the company’s position in the international hospitality market. Thanks to its location, high-quality amenities and integration of the company’s best practices, the complex has every chance to become a popular destination for leisure and business events in Moldova,” said Yulia Kosenko, CEO of Ribas Management.
Tree House Relax Park has been operating since 2013 and is aimed at nature lovers and conscious eco-vacationers, from couples with children to business travelers. The park offers comfortable cottages and villas with a sauna, a swimming pool, gazebos, a restaurant and a conference room for business and festive events, and a parking lot for 250 cars.
Artur Lupashko, founder of Ribas Hotels Group, told Interfax-Ukraine that at this stage the company is taking the hotel complex under management, and that its renovation and expansion are planned for the future, with the development concept to be presented later.
Ribas Hotels Group, which has been operating since 2014, is an international management company whose flagship service is the operational management of hotel and restaurant complexes. The company also provides concept development, design, support for all stages of project implementation, consulting, and franchising services for developers.
Its portfolio includes 55 hotels under management and construction, including five projects in Bali. The operator’s total room capacity is over 1000 rooms.
Currently, the company is developing properties in Poland, Montenegro, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Georgia, Armenia, Italy, and East Asia.
A snap presidential election in Iran, organized in the wake of the death of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, is scheduled for June 28, Al-Arabiya TV channel reported on Monday.
According to Iranian media, candidate registration will take place from May 30 to June 3. The deadline for campaigning is from June 12 to the morning of June 27.
The day before, a helicopter carrying Iran’s president crashed in a mountainous area in heavy fog in the northwest of the country, near the border with Azerbaijan. On Monday morning it became known that all the people in the helicopter were killed. In particular, in addition to the president, Iranian Foreign Minister Hosein Amir Abdollahian died.
On Monday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei confirmed that Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber will serve as the country’s president. Khamenei also said that Mokhber will have a maximum of 50 days to hold the country’s presidential election.
In addition, according to Iranian media, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has been appointed acting foreign minister.
Earlier Experts Club think tank presented an analytical material about the most important elections in the countries of the world in 2024, more video analysis is available here – https://youtu.be/73DB0GbJy4M?si=eGb95W02MgF6KzXU Subscribe to Experts Club YouTube channel here – https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
The State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) is finalizing the list of large-scale privatization objects to be agreed with the Cabinet of Ministers and submitted to the auction commission, said Vitaliy Koval, head of the agency.
“Large-scale privatization is when an asset is worth more than UAH 200-250 million at its book value or starting price. Today, the official list has been approved, all large-scale privatization objects must go through the procedure of approval by the Cabinet of Ministers, be included in the list and transferred to the auction commission under the regulation of the minister, who will approve the data on the auction conditions,” he said at the Business Breakfast with Forbes Ukraine on Wednesday.
Koval named 66.65% of the Ocean Plaza shopping mall (Kyiv), which will be put up for privatization at a starting price of UAH 1.63 billion, and one of the pre-war leaders in the aerated concrete market, AEROC Investment Deutschland GmbH, with three production sites at a price of about UAH 1 billion, as the most valuable assets included in the list of large-scale privatization. Among the state-owned assets, the Ukraina Hotel (Kyiv) will be put up for privatization at a price of UAH 1.8 billion.
In addition, the assets of the United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC), which has been given control of the Vilnohirsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant (VGMK, Dnipro region) and Irshansk Mining and Processing Plant (IGOK, Zhytomyr region), will be auctioned at a starting price of UAH 3.7-3.9 billion.
“We have a task from the Ministry of Finance – UAH 4 billion (to replenish the state budget in 2024 – IF-U). But I am confident that we will exceed it. The ambitious price is much higher,” said the SPF head.
Speaking about the target audience that the SPF is interested in transferring privatization objects into ownership, Koval said that the Fund manages a variety of assets: from a small shop, hair salon, service center and tailoring studio to large objects such as the UMCC. Accordingly, the target audience is very diverse – from individuals to corporations.
“A very cool client for us is someone who comes for the second, third, or fourth time. In addition, when it comes to international business, international groups that already have business in Ukraine, understand the country’s agenda, and are familiar with the context and feel the microclimate are of the greatest interest. Such clients are very important to us. As well as domestic investors who have small and medium-sized businesses – they are needed,” summarized the head of the SPF.
In April this year, Ukrainian steelmakers increased steel production to 715 thousand tons, up 24.5% year-on-year (574 thousand tons) and 17% compared to March this year (611 thousand tons).
At the same time, Ukraine took 20th place in the ranking of 71 countries – global producers of these products, compiled by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel).
At the same time, Ukraine produced 2.402 million tons of steel in 4M2024, up 32.8% compared to the same period in 2023 (1.809 million tons in 4M2023). The country ranks 21st in January-April.
At the same time, Ukraine produced 6.228 million tons of steel in 2023, which is 0.6% lower than in 2022. The country was ranked 22nd in 2023.
In 2022, Ukraine ranked 23rd with 6.263 million tons of steel produced (-70.7%).
The record for Ukraine in recent years was the eighth place in the ranking of steel-producing countries compiled by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel). Ukraine was ranked eighth in 2013, followed by a deterioration in its position and even a drop out of the top 20 steel-producing countries.
Ukrainian citizens and businesses, including banks, have purchased more than UAH 1 trillion worth of domestic government bonds on market terms, making investments in bonds the second largest source of state budget financing after international aid, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.
“Thanks to the funds raised from government bonds, we were able to finance more than 200 days of our defense and protection, which is equivalent to 15% of Ukraine’s GDP in 2023,” Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko was quoted as saying in the release.
According to the Ministry of Finance, there are currently more than UAH 1.6 trillion worth of domestic government bonds in circulation, of which the share of commercial banks is 42.2%, the National Bank – 41.5%, legal entities – 10%, individuals – 3.8%, non-residents – 2.4%, and territorial communities – 0.1%.
It is emphasized that the volume of investments by individuals has increased by about 600 times since 2016, and by more than 2.4 times since February 24, 2022. Legal entities have increased their investments in government bonds 7 times since 2016 and 2 times since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
The Ministry of Finance notes that from January 2022 to March 2024, coupon income was paid to Ukrainian individuals and legal entities (excluding banks) in the amount of UAH 31.5 billion, and to foreign ones – UAH 19 billion, which amounts to UAH 50.5 billion in total.
The agency emphasizes that, along with profitability, an important characteristic is the high liquidity of domestic government bonds in the secondary market, as investors can sell bonds at any time at the current market price. This is confirmed by the statistics of the average daily volume of transactions at par value, which amounts to about UAH 2.4 billion in equivalent, which is 26% higher compared to the average daily figure in 2021. Such data indicates that there are a sufficient number of market participants to ensure efficient trading.
“Convenient digital solutions for purchasing bonds, market yields that exceed inflation expectations, and a 100% guarantee of repayment from the state make government bonds the most attractive instrument on the market,” the Ministry of Finance summarized.
As reported, the Ministry managed to lower interest rates by another 0.1-0.27 percentage points (p.p.) at the last primary auctions for the placement of government bonds on Tuesday, May 21, bringing the total decrease to 0.92-1.37 p.p. after the National Bank cut the discount rate from 14.5% to 13.5% per annum on April 26. For one-year securities, the rate decreased from 15.15% to 15.05%, for two-year securities – from 16.2% to 16.08%, and for three-year securities – from 17.2% to 16.93%.
According to the Settlement Center, the number of registered private investors reached 183.56 thousand at the beginning of May this year, compared to 166.12 thousand at the beginning of this year, 126.79 thousand at the beginning of last year and 22.79 thousand at the beginning of 2022.
In January-March 2024, ALC Insurance Company ARX Life (ARX Life, Kyiv) collected insurance premiums in the amount of UAH 79.085 million, which is 0.13% less than in the same period a year earlier, according to the website of RA Standard Rating, which updated the company’s credit rating/financial strength (reliability) rating at uaAAA on the national scale.
The volume of payments and reimbursements made by the insurer in the first quarter decreased by 5.29% to UAH 17.01 million. Thus, the claims ratio decreased by 1.17 p.p. to 21.51%.
The insurer’s acquisition expenses for the first three months of 2024 decreased by 9.07% to UAH 43.567 million compared to the same period in 2023.
During the reporting period, the company generated a net profit of UAH 19.631 million, which is 55.43% more than in the first quarter of 2023.
As of April 1, 2024, the company’s assets increased by 7.19% to UAH 305.616 million, equity increased by 9.27% to UAH 231.404 million, liabilities increased by 1.17% to UAH 74.212 million, and cash and cash equivalents increased by 34.51% to UAH 53.069 million.
Thus, as of the beginning of the second quarter of 2024, the company’s capitalization level amounted to 311.81%, and the level of coverage of its liabilities by cash and cash equivalents was 71.51%.
At the same time, the Agency notes that as of the reporting date, the insurer made financial investments in the amount of UAH 246.039 million, which consisted of government bonds (91.90%) and deposits in banks (8.10%).
ARX Life is part of the international insurance holding Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. ARX Life is among the TOP-10 companies in the life insurance market in Ukraine.
