Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

YS Couture by Yanis Stepanenko: 5 years of style and beauty on the Kyiv catwalk

Designer Yan Stepanenko has created a new Live & Bloom collection.

On April 25, a show dedicated to the 5th anniversary of the brand, the spring collection and archival iconic models from YS Couture by Yanis Stepanenko took place at the Veranda art restaurant on the Dnipro River.

Designer Yan Stepanenko created the new Live & Bloom collection literally in the first days of spring. “This collection is very light, light and honest,” the designer addressed the guests.

“This collection is an ode to female strength and tenderness, confidence and lightness. It is a story of special women who live their own lives.

The main colors of the collection range from pistachio to fondant pastels. The collection is an allegory, appealing on the one hand to structured shapes in contrast to light, fluid dresses. One of the spring looks of the collection reveals the theme of spring bloom in the silhouette of a weightless purple bomber jacket with a transparent guipure bottom.

The collection uses the author’s hand embroidery techniques: a floral veil where a woven jacquard tapestry is combined with delicate handmade jewelry inlay, a combination of rough matting with an embroidered authentic symbol of the earth.

The designer presented several archival iconic looks that the brand dedicated to its 5th anniversary. In particular, an Oscar-winning pink silk dress with a charismatic corset bodice and a flying chiffon train.

The finale was the YS Couture bride. Top model Tatiana Bryk showed off a transparent, weightless white dress. The art object combines several textures of crêpe chiffon, silk organza, and tulle mesh. Romantic, bohemian, but built on a kind of modern reality. This is the YS Couture style.

The partners of the event were ZARINA Jewelry House, Corpus Fine Art, Art Kitchen, Pavel Andryushchenko’s perfume boutique, Kacharovska, and the House of Peonies.

Irina and Vyacheslav Dyudenko, Svetlana Volnova, Irina Ostrovskaya, Natalia Balabanova, Yulia Yermolaeva, Murat Nalkakioglu, and Anastasia Foxi came to congratulate the brand.

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USAID Launches Two Healthcare Infrastructure Rehabilitation Projects in Ukraine

The USAID Health Reform Support (HRS) Project has launched two projects to restore medical infrastructure in 45 communities in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

According to the Ministry of Health, the project partners will be KBS Start LLC in Kharkiv Oblast and the Alliance for Public Health in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

The projects will be implemented by December 2024.

In addition, within the framework of the project “Restoring Public Access to Health Care”, it is planned to cooperate with 36 primary health care centers.

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Experts club analyzed macroeconomic trends in Ukraine and world in first quarter of this year

The article collects and analyzes the main macroeconomic indicators of Ukraine. In connection with the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of the Interests of Business Entities during Martial Law or a State of War”, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine suspends the publication of statistical information for the period of martial law and for three months after its termination. The exception is the publication of information on the consumer price index, separate information on statistical indicators for 2021 and for the period January-February 2022. The article analyzes open data from the State Statistics Service, the National Bank, and think tanks.
Maksym Urakin, PhD in Economics, presented an analysis of macroeconomic trends in Ukraine and the world based on official data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the NBU, the UN, the IMF, and the World Bank.

Macroeconomic indicators of Ukraine
Maksym Urakin presented data from the National Bank of Ukraine on the improvement of the financial situation in 2023 compared to 2022 and the forecast for 2024.
“The baseline scenario of the NBU’s macroeconomic forecast assumes the continuation of prudent monetary and fiscal policies aimed at maintaining macrofinancial stability. Ukraine is also expected to fulfill its obligations under cooperation programs with international partners, which will continue to provide financial support in sufficient amounts. The forecast envisages a significant reduction in security risks starting in 2025, which will allow unblocking seaports, expanding opportunities for investment and economic activity, and facilitating the return of forced migrants to Ukraine. “, – emphasized Urakin.
The expert noted that the main risks for the economy remain the duration of the war and the instability of international assistance.
“Risks such as additional budgetary needs, in particular for maintaining defense capabilities and eliminating the consequences of destruction, as well as significant deficits, in particular in the energy sector, remain relevant. Significant damage to the port and energy infrastructure will limit exports, and the continued partial blocking of borders with certain EU countries for freight transportation will limit both imports and exports. Another risk is the deepening of negative migration trends,” the economist said.
According to the expert, the pace of international assistance to Ukraine decreased significantly in the fourth quarter of 2023
I quarter of 2024, which may negatively affect the economic recovery this year in the context of the war.

Prospects for the Global Economy
Maxim Urakin also analyzed the global economy, noting a slowdown in growth in 2024 to 2.2%.
“The analysis of the global GDP dynamics shows that the global economy continues to recover from the pandemic, but geopolitical instability has a restraining effect on this growth. According to Maxim Urakin, it is important to monitor developments and adapt to changing conditions to ensure sustainable economic growth in the future. In this context, Ukraine needs to focus on strengthening domestic political stability, restoring economic potential and continuing reforms to improve its post-war prospects and strengthen its position on the global stage,” the expert explains.
According to the expert, the current macroeconomic situation in Ukraine and the world requires further analysis. For Ukraine, the main challenges in the coming years will be the need to restore Ukraine after the war and manage the public debt.
Earlier, the Experts Club analytical center released a video on how the GDP of countries has changed in recent years, more detailed video analysis is available here – https://youtu.be/w5fF_GYyrIc?si=HO-KT2UC8pYdUwCH

 

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Insurer “TAS” has attracted almost UAH 300 mln of payments in March

Insurance group “TAS” (Kiev) in March 2024 attracted UAH 291.27 mln of insurance premiums under the concluded insurance contracts, which is 68% higher than the volume of payments collected by the company for the same period last year.

According to the insurer’s website, the volume of CASCO sales increased by 46.1% to UAH 57.39 mln of payments, which is 19.7% of the total amount of March premiums, MTPL – by 42% to UAH 90.54 mln or 31.1% of the total volume, Green Card – by 2.4 times to UAH 112.5 mln or 38.6% of the total volume.

Besides, the volumes of collections under property insurance contracts have grown by 29,3% – the company has attracted UAH 4,94 mln of payments under them in March.

Under contracts of voluntary medical insurance the company for the first month of spring 2024 collected UAH 2.73 million of payments, under other insurance contracts – UAH 23.21 million, which is 48.9% more than in the past.

As reported, in March the company paid out UAH 157.08 million – it is by 38.6% more indemnities of the company compared to March a year earlier. At the same time, a quarter of payments of the insurer for the reporting period (25,39%) came to CASCO – UAH 39,88 mln (+23,1%), MTPL – 34,48% of the volume of payments – UAH 54,16 mln (+14%), “Green Card” – 23,04%, or UAH 36,19 mln (+86,2%).

At the same time, the volume of payments under VHI has grown in 2,47 times, up to UAH 22,83 mln, that is equal to 14,54% of the total amount of payments of the company following the results of the reporting period. Under other insurance contracts the company’s payouts following the results of March totaled UAH 4,02 mln.

IG “TAS” was registered in 1998. It is a universal company offering its clients more than 80 types of insurance products on various types of voluntary and compulsory insurance. It has an extensive regional network: 28 regional directorates and branches and 450 sales offices throughout Ukraine.

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“Ukrburgaz” set record for drilling new wells in April

Ukrburgaz Drilling Department (a division of Ukrgasvydobuvannya JSC) drilled 40,059 meters in April 2024, which is 24% higher than the previous monthly record set in November-2023 – 32,423 meters.

“Despite the war, we continue to drill new wells, increase gas production, fill underground storage facilities and generally work on increasing production figures,” Naftogaz Group head Oleksiy Chernyshov said, quoted on the company’s website on Wednesday.

According to him, the record figures were achieved, in particular, due to the rapid construction of drilling sites, accelerated work on mobilization of equipment and installation of drilling rigs, as well as clear distribution of special-purpose vehicles to accelerate the start of drilling of 9 wells.

In turn, as the head of Ukrgasvydobuvannya, Oleg Tolmachev, commented, the acceleration of drilling is directly related to improved production performance.

“We have already significantly increased the penetration rate. This year we plan to drill 365 thousand meters,” he noted.

Naftogaz Group increased gas production by 12% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024.

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Ukraine exported record 13.1 mln tons of goods worth $3.3 bln

Ukraine’s exports in April this year increased by 11% compared to March and reached 13.1 million tons, the best result since the full-scale Russian invasion, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko said on Facebook on Wednesday.

“This is an absolute record for the entire period of the full-scale war. For example, in March, exports amounted to 11.8 million tons, in January – 12 million tons. Importantly, this figure is higher than the level of pre-war February 2022. Back then, we exported 12.8 million tons,” the Minister of Economy reminded.

According to her, in monetary terms, exports in April amounted to $3.3 billion compared to $3.2 billion in March.

Svyrydenko noted that the growth in exports was primarily due to the operation of an alternative sea corridor, which made it possible to partially compensate for losses in the economy due to the blockade of the Polish-Ukrainian border, as well as the introduction of a mechanism for insuring ships against military risks, which initially applied only to agricultural products, but was soon expanded to all non-military cargo.

“Of course, the growth and expansion of the capacity of the Solidarity Roads, primarily with Moldova and Romania, has also added to the growth. And the improvement of the conditions for the transportation of goods by rail to the Danube ports,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

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