“Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecommunications operator, and its parent company VEON have confirmed their intention to invest a total of $1 billion in the country between 2023 and 2027, First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko said following a meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) with VEON CEO and founder Augie Fabella.
“No less important is the potential listing of Kyivstar on Nasdaq, which will open Ukraine’s access to global capital markets. In addition, global technology partnerships with companies such as Starlink will support sustainable growth,” Svyrydenko said in a post on X.
Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov, who took part in the meeting, toldInterfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of the Davos Ukrainian Breakfast organized by the Pinchuk Foundation that the company has already invested more than $400 million of the $1 billion in investments it had declared.
“We are planning to continue, nothing has changed,” Komarov emphasized, speaking about increasing these investments to $1 billion.
The CEO noted that the first priority is to invest in critical infrastructure, network, and new technologies. According to him, Kyivstar is on track to meet its 2024 target, and the results achieved, in particular in terms of increasing data transfer speeds, are encouraging.
Komarov added that the company is also taking steps towards possible inorganic business expansion. According to him, Kyivstar has made a purchase of a small fixed-line operator in 2024.
“We are looking at other goals, including those within the digital ecosystem,” the CEO said.
He also said that an important task for the Ukrainian government is to attract domestic and foreign investors and unite with business to improve the investment climate and business opportunities.
“Kyivstar – as of September 2024, Kyivstar served about 23.3 million mobile subscribers and more than 1.1 million home Internet subscribers in Ukraine. The company provides services using a wide range of mobile and fixed technologies, including 4G, Big Data, Cloud solutions, cybersecurity services, digital TV, etc.
In mid-January this year, VEON announced the signing of a protocol of intent to place a part of Kyivstar shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange through the SPAC company Cohen Circle Acquisition Corp (CCIRU).
On Friday, Forbes Ukraine reported that Kyivstar had filed an application with the Antimonopoly Committee late last year to buy Uklon, a digital taxi service.
