Business news from Ukraine

BORYSPIL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KYIV) INTRODUCES NEW DISCOUNTS FOR AIRPORT CHARGES

State-owned enterprise Boryspil International Airport (Kyiv), the largest airport of the country, has introduced new discounts for airport charges.
According to the document posted on the airport’s website, it is intended to increase competitiveness of the Boryspil airport, boost passenger flow and airport’s revenue, expand the flight network and attract new carriers to the airport, as well as stimulate airlines as commercial partners of the airport.
Among the charges that are levied at the airport, the following are
indicated: the passenger service charge at the terminal and the charge for taking off/landing the aircraft. According to resolution No. 37 of the Ministry of Infrastructure, the take-off/landing charge for international flights is $10.50 per 1 tonne of maximum take-off weight; for domestic flights – $1.05.
The passenger service charge at the terminal for international flights is
$13 for each passenger; $8.50 for each transit passenger; $2.50 for each domestic passenger.
The base year for calculations is 2017. With the increase the number of passengers serviced by the carrier on regular international flights in the current month in comparison with the same month of the base year, the increase in the servicing of these passengers is calculated. Taking into account the monthly increase, the following discounts can be applied to the charge for the servicing at the terminal: in the first year, a reduction factor of 0.2, the second – 0.4, the third – 0.6 and the fourth – 0.8.
When the carrier increases the number of international regular flights serviced in the current month, the indicator of their increase is calculated. Based on this, the same coefficients as described above can be applied to take-off/landing charges.
When an airline carries transit passengers a coefficient of 0.2 is applied to the charge for servicing at the terminal.
According to the document, discounts are used for passenger servicing at the terminal, the size of which depends on the number of passengers serviced per month.
So with the number of up to 4,999 passengers per month, a discount is not provided. From 5,000 to 9,999 passengers per month it will be 5%; from 10,000 to 19,999 – 10%; from 20,000 to 29,999 – 15%. The maximum discount can be 55% when transporting more than 260,000 passengers per month.

UKRAINE RAISES AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS TO EUROPEAN COUNTRIES BY 37% IN 2017

Exports of Ukrainian agrarian products to European countries in January-December 2017 amounted to $5.8 billion and increased by 37.1% compared to the same period in 2016, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food has said.
According to the ministry’s website, the main Ukrainian products that were supplied to the EU market in 2017 were cereals ($1.7 billion), oil ($1.4 billion), and oilseeds ($1.1 billion).
The ministry notes that the growth of Ukrainian exports to the EU in 2017 was also due to the increase in the supply of niche processed and ready-made food products.
In particular, exports of poultry last year rose compared to 2016 by $64.9 million, to $133.7 million, bakery products and cereals by $32.4 million, to
$96.1 million, juices by $28, 3 million, to $70.7 million, honey by $25.5 million, to $98.8 million, confectionery products by $15.4 million, to $38.2 million.
The top five trade partners of Ukraine in the EU were the Netherlands with a share of 18%, Spain with 14.3%, Poland with 13.2%, Italy with 12%, and Germany with 10.5%.
“Last year we also imported 17.2% more European agricultural goods than in 2016. Overall, imports amounted to $2.3 billion. The main commodities of our imports were tobacco and tobacco goods, chocolate and products from cocoa beans, feed for animals, alcoholic drinks and other food,” Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food for European Integration Olha Trofimtseva said.

EXPORTS OF IT SERVICES FROM UKRAINE IN 2017 INCREASED BY 7%

Exports of IT services from Ukraine in 2017 increased by 7.58% compared to 2016, to $2.485 billion ($2.31 billion in 2016), the IT Committee of the European Business Association (EBA) has told Interfax-Ukraine, with reference to a study of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). “According to NBU preliminary data, the total volume of computer services exports for 2017 amounted to $2.485 billion, including operations for the sum less than $20,000 amounted to $842 million,” the report said.
According to the previously unveiled infographics of the IT Ukraine profile association on its website, exports of IT services in Ukraine in 2017 grew by 20% compared to 2016, to $3.6 billion.
The EBA is a non-governmental organization uniting more than 900 European, international and domestic companies operating in Ukraine. It was established in 1999 on the initiative of the European Commission, which is interested in supporting European business in Ukraine and establishing bilateral relations between Ukraine and the EU.
The IT Committee of the EBA is an industrial association of companies engaged in production of software and provision of software services.

ACINO PHARMA COMPANY SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH DUTCH PROBIOTIC MANUFACTURER

Switzerland’s Acino pharmaceutical group has signed a license agreement with Dutch Biocare Copenhagen A/S, the manufacturer of probiotics, and would present the Optilakt fifth generation probiotic line in Ukraine.
Acino said in a press release that the probiotic will appear in the Ukrainian pharmacy chain in February 2018. The financial conditions of the deal are not disclosed.
According to the conditions of the license agreement, Acino will be the exclusive representative of three products of this trademark in Ukraine until 2022 inclusively.
Acino Ukraine Director General Yevhen Zaika said that in 2017, Acino entered the pediatrics segment, signing the distribution agreement with France’s Laboratoires Gilbert SAS being authorized to sell and promote some over-the-counter medicines in Ukraine.

GOOGLE LLC (KYIV) SEES 75% RISE IN REVENUE FROM ADVERTISEMENT IN UKRAINE

Google LLC (Kyiv), under control of Google and providing advertising services, increased revenue by 75% in 2017, which is higher than the pace of 2016. The company entered the top 100 largest taxpayers of the country, Google LLC Director General Dmytro Sholomko has said.
“If two years ago the share of small and medium-sized businesses of revenue was 40%, now it exceeds 60%,” he said, explaining one of the main reasons for this growth during traditional discussion of the macroeconomic forecast for the year organized by the European Business Association (EBA).
Sholomko pointed out the rapid growth of the mobile Internet. He said that mobile Internet traffic has already exceeded the computer one, which also contributed to the good results.
In general, the general director of Google said that the technological business of Ukraine continues to grow rapidly, the country strengthens its image in this sector in the world, which is converted into the decision of major global technology companies to place their development centers here. He named PayPal, Samsung and Waze as an example. According to him, these centers are now being opened not only in Kyiv, Lviv and the cities with a million of population, but also in other regional centers.
Among the problems Sholomko pointed out the difficulties with financing this business in Ukraine, which reduces its competitiveness in comparison with neighboring countries, for example, Poland or Lithuania.
Google LLC in 2016 increased revenue by 61.3% – to UAH 1.004 billion, and in January-September 2017 it increased to UAH 1.082 billion. The net loss of the company in 2016 increased 2.7-fold, up to UAH 87.12 million, but in January-September 2017 it saw net profit of UAH 16.31 million.
According to the State Fiscal Service, in January-November 2017, Google has become the 94th largest tax payer in Ukraine, staying between FC Shakhtar (UAH 353.06 million of taxes) and Mariupol maritime merchandise port (UAH 339.85 million). Data on the exact amount of taxes paid by Google for this period are not available in the State Fiscal Service’s information.