South Korean giant Samsung has become the world’s largest smartphone vendor in the first quarter of 2024, according to research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
By the end of 2023, the leader for the first time was U.S.-based Apple Inc. Smartphone shipments in the world in the first quarter of 2024 increased by 7.8% year-on-year to 289.4 million units, IDC said in a preliminary report. The growth marked the third consecutive quarter of growth, indicating the market’s recovery from a two-year slump.
Samsung’s sales were down 0.7% year-on-year, while Apple’s sales fell 9.6%. Meanwhile, China’s Xiaomi increased shipments by a third, while the Transsion brand recorded a growth of nearly 85% and climbed to fourth on the list of the world’s largest smartphone vendors.
“As expected, the smartphone market recovery continues amid a gradual increase in optimism for leading brands,” said Ryan Rieth, vice president of Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers. – Apple fell out of the lead late last year, but Samsung successfully regained the top spot in the first quarter.”
IDC analysts expect Samsung and Apple to continue to dominate the top price segment, but also point to the potential for further growth and diversification by brandos such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Transsion, OPPO/OnePlus and vivo.
NNEGC Energoatom and the American company Westinghouse have launched a project to build KhNPP-5 and KhNPP-6 using AR1000 technology.
The project launch ceremony took place on April 11 at the Khmelnytsky NPP site with the participation of US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Halushchenko (information is being delayed for security reasons).
According to Energoatom’s acting Chairman of the Board Petro Kotin, the AR1000 is a proven III+ reactor with unique fully passive safety systems, modular standard design, industry-leading performance and the ability to operate in maneuvering mode.
“This is a more modern and safer technology than the ones we are currently operating. This is a new step towards more modern, reliable and safe energy. And it is in Ukraine that the first power unit in Europe based on AR1000 technology will be built. This will be KhNPP-5,” said Kotin.
“We are proud to be involved in the history that Ukraine is making in the energy sector. We can already say that our cooperation is the wedding of the year,” said Patrick Fragman, President and CEO of Westinghouse Electric Company.
He emphasized that this is an improved technology with increased efficiency, and the power unit itself is compact and has a lower cost compared to others.
“Here, at the KhNPP site, we note that the heavy equipment, which takes the longest time to produce, is already ready, and this will significantly accelerate the construction time. Thanks to the assistance of the U.S. government and the fact that the main agreements have been signed, it will be even faster,” he emphasized.
Fragman added that the AR1000 reactor is designed to operate for 60 years, but, according to him, it is likely to be longer.
“These units allow for balancing. This is a special feature of the American AR1000 technology. Now Russian aggressors are destroying Ukraine’s balancing capacities, and if we already had such a nuclear power unit, we could maneuver it and, accordingly, perform important functions for the power system,” Galushchenko emphasized.
“This is a project for the next many years. The United States is committed to fruitful cooperation with Ukraine… Together with the U.S. Congress, we are trying to support you not only in the context of armed aggression, but also economically,” Brink emphasized.
Regarding the sources of funding for the project, Kotin said the company could finance it on its own, as it has large profits, but the lion’s share of them goes to cover the electricity tariff for households (PSO).
“Last year, Energoatom spent UAH 128 billion of its net profit on PSO. If the company is exempted from PSO, we will have $3 billion of profit for which we can build a unit. If not, we will need to take out loans,” Kotin told reporters after the ceremony.
He added that the construction period for one unit is approximately 4-5 years, and its cost is about $5 billion.
As reported, on December 17, 2023, in Kyiv, Energoatom CEO Petro Kotin and Westinghouse CEO Patrick Fragman signed a contract for the purchase of a reactor unit for Ukraine’s first nuclear power unit using AP1000 technology.
Prior to this, in July 2022, the companies signed a contract to develop an updated feasibility study for the construction of two AP1000 units at the Khmelnytsky NPP site.
In September 2021, Energoatom and Westinghouse signed a memorandum on the construction of five nuclear power units in Ukraine. In June 2022, the companies signed agreements to increase the number of nuclear power units under construction using AP1000 technology in Ukraine from five to nine units and to establish a Westinghouse engineering and technical center in the country.
The OTP Bank UA mobile application now offers the possibility to pay utility bills.
“It is important for us to make daily banking as high-quality and convenient as possible for our customers: money transfers, payments in stores, deposit and installment management, and now utility bills. Our app is about gentle banking, which allows our customers to manage their finances easily and simply,” said Lyudmila Vaksa, project manager at OTP Bank.
To pay for utilities in the app, you need to click on the card, select “Payments” and go to the “Utilities and Internet” section. Then you can add the address – utility bills will be displayed immediately, all information about debts or overpayments, as well as meter readings provided by the company will be displayed. It is also possible to pay a bill for a separate company, which the customer will find by name or details (account number in IBAN or EDRPOU format).
All payments in the “Utilities and Internet” section from any OTP BANK card are made without commission. Even payments from a credit card are not charged, and these payments are included in the grace period.
In the “Utilities and Internet” section, the “Payment history” menu is available, where you can view all payments made, regardless of whether the payment was made with a debit or credit card.
Please note! If any of the fields in the “Utilities and Internet” section are inactive, you should update the application to version 1.18.0 in the Play Market (for Android phones) or App Store (for iPhone phones).
JSC Energy Company of Ukraine (ECU) is increasing electricity imports from the EU to compensate for losses in the Ukrainian power grid due to hostile attacks. Starting from mid-March, the daily volume of imports by the state-owned trader has increased by an average of 2 times.
The company continues to import electricity from Slovakia and Romania, and in March it also started supplying electricity from Hungary. Today, the company is the second largest importer of electricity in Ukraine.
“Over the past two years, Ukraine, together with the EU, has significantly increased its technical and organizational capabilities for electricity imports, which now plays a crucial role in the stable energy supply of consumers,” said Vitaliy Butenko, CEO of the Energy Company of Ukraine. “Given the continuing massive attacks on energy facilities, the Government of Ukraine continues to actively cooperate with European partners to obtain additional import opportunities.
Reference
Energy Company of Ukraine (ECU) is a national energy trading company that offers comprehensive solutions for the purchase, sale and management of energy resources. The company was established in 2022 without attracting or transferring state assets or property. Revenues are generated by high-tech trading products and instruments.
The company is one of the TOP-5 traders in Ukraine in terms of electricity sales, a leader in cross-border energy trading, and a TOP-2 trader of green electricity.
The company established the first state-owned balancing group of electricity market participants, which is now the second largest in Ukraine. The company’s customers generate 10% of Ukraine’s GDP. The company is 100% owned by the state.
In January-March this year, Ukrainian companies increased imports of copper and copper products by 47.4% in value terms compared to the same period last year, to $42.018 million.
According to customs statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine, exports of copper and copper products decreased by 16.9% to $18.138 million over the period.
In March, the country imported copper worth $12.893 million and exported it worth $7.242 million.
In addition, in January-March 2024, Ukraine increased imports of nickel and nickel products by 2.4 times compared to the same period in 2023, to $7.697 million (in March – $2.267 million), aluminum and aluminum products by 20%, to $98.535 million (in March – $38.102 million). At the same time, the country increased imports of lead and lead products by 30.1% to $281 thousand (in March – $140 thousand), imports of tin and tin products decreased by 4.3% to $620 thousand (in March – $113 thousand), and increased imports of zinc and zinc products by 55.6% to $11,860 (in March – $5,454 million).
Exports of aluminum and aluminum products in the first three months of 2024 increased by 1.2% compared to the same period a year earlier to $23.387 million (in March – $7.769 million), lead and lead products decreased by 36.1% to $2.834 million (in March – $1.076 million), nickel and nickel products amounted to $94 thousand (in March – $45 thousand), while in January-March 2023 it was $92 thousand.
Zinc exports for the first three months of this year amounted to $44 thousand (in March – $24 thousand), while in January-March 2023 it amounted to $46 thousand. Exports of tin and products amounted to $81 thousand (in March – $47 thousand) against $48 thousand in the same period a year earlier.
As reported, in 2023, Ukraine increased imports of copper and copper products by 2.2 times compared to 2022 – up to $140.795 million, while exports decreased by 20.1% to $72.078 million.
In addition, in 2023, Ukraine reduced imports of nickel and products by 74.2% compared to 2022, to $15.391 million, and increased imports of aluminum and aluminum products by 7.7%, to $366.463 million.
At the same time, it reduced imports of lead and lead products by 65.2% to $989 thousand, imports of tin and tin products by 23% to $2.728 million, but increased imports of zinc and zinc products by 18.8% to $45.966 million.
Exports of aluminum and aluminum products last year increased by 0.7% compared to 2022 to $97.616 million, lead and lead products increased by 23.5% to $14.778 million, and nickel and nickel products amounted to $532 thousand, while in 2022 it was $1.268 million.
In 2023, the company exported $130 thousand worth of zinc, compared to $1.331 million in 2022. Exports of tin and tin products amounted to $159 thousand against $424 thousand in 2022.
In 2022, Ukrainian enterprises reduced imports of copper and copper products in value terms by 64.3% compared to the previous year to $65.370 million, while their exports decreased by 56.3% to $90.245 million.
In addition, in 2022, Ukraine reduced imports of nickel and nickel products by 49.9% compared to 2021, to $59.754 million, and aluminum and aluminum products by 33.4%, to $340.398 million. At the same time, it reduced imports of lead and lead products by 66.6%, to $2.839 million.
Imports of tin and tin products fell by 33.5% to $3.312 million, and imports of zinc and zinc products decreased by 58.7% to $38.690 million.
In 2022, exports of aluminum and aluminum products decreased by 42.7% compared to 2021, to $96.972 million, lead and lead products – by 68.7%, to $11.970 million, and nickel and nickel products – by 73.9%, to $1.268 million.
Zinc exports in 2022 amounted to $1.331 million, while in 2021 they amounted to $550 thousand. Exports of tin and products in 2022 amounted to $424 thousand, compared to $346 thousand in the previous year.
Initial registrations of new buses (including minibuses) in Ukraine in March 2024 decreased by 17%, or 16 units, compared to March last year, to 78 units, according to statistics released by Ukravtoprom.
At the same time, the demand for buses decreased by 27.8%, or 30 vehicles, compared to February 2014.
According to the statistics, the Ukrainian Ataman retained its leadership in the market with 21 buses registered compared to 37 in March 2013. Etalon buses took the second place, with registrations increasing to 20 vehicles compared to seven in March 2023. But compared to February this year, their sales fell by a third.
Ford took third place, as it did a year earlier, with 19 buses (two less),
Volkswagen took fourth place with 10 vehicles (not registered in March 2023), and Fiat rounded out the top five with three vehicles.
Turkish buses Temsa were not registered in March (a year earlier – one car). This brand reportedly planned to significantly strengthen its position in Ukraine.
Thus, in January-March 2024, the initial registrations of buses in Ukraine decreased by 27.6% compared to the same period in 2023 – to 305 units.
“Ukravtoprom also reports that the share of new buses in the Ukrainian bus market in March was 53%, and taking into account the old ones, the bus fleet (including minibuses) amounted to 146 units, which is 18% less than in March 2023 and 19% less than in February this year.
The three leaders in the used car segment were Mercedes-Benz – 22 units; Volvo – 11 units; and Van Hool – 9 units.
In 2023, the total initial registrations of new buses of all classes in Ukraine amounted to 1701 units, which is 86% more than in 2022.
