Forecast of changes in discount rate of national bank of Ukraine, %
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
The Ministry of Digital Transformation (Ministry of Digital Transformation) will launch an updated statistics portal created as part of the global digital transformation of the State Statistics Service (Gosstat) by mid-year instead of the current website, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development – Digital Transformation Minister Mikhail Fedorov said in Telegram on Wednesday.
“At the heart of the transformation is an IT platform. It collects and processes data in real time, presenting it in the form of interactive dashboards so that scientists, journalists and businessmen can quickly find the necessary information,” Fedorov wrote.
According to the head of the Ministry of Digital, now all data are collected manually from different sources and in different formats. They are long processed in outdated systems and then distributed in the form of statistical files through Gosstat.
“Therefore, we need to fundamentally change this approach,” Fedorov stressed.
He specified that the Ministry plans to present an updated statistics portal in the summer.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation has been conducting transformations in the Gosstat since 2021 as part of the Swiss-Ukrainian program EGAP, implemented by the Eastern Europe Foundation.
The audit of business processes and IT infrastructure of Gosstat was carried out in cooperation with EPAM IT company. It also participated in developing a strategy of digital transformation, it said.
According to Forbres.UA, the total cost of the project is about 55 million UAH, which were allocated within the program EGAP. The publication also reported that after the implementation of changes, the staff of the State Statistics Service will be reduced by about 30%. In 2022, the staff of the state agency was reduced from 6,000 to 4,600 employees, including by eliminating duplicate functions in the regional offices.
EPAM Systems Inc. was founded in 1993 and develops custom software for various sectors of the economy. The company has offices in 25 countries and provides services to customers in more than 40 countries.
The EVA chain of perfumery and cosmetics stores has opened 11 new stores since the beginning of 2023 and plans to launch at least 50 new outlets mainly in the central and western regions of Ukraine this year.
“We have already opened 11 new EVA stores this year, and we plan to open at least 50 in total. Mostly in the central and western regions. We are also considering new locations in the de-occupied territories. As for the development formats, we are focusing on stores with a new design called “Women’s Energy,” the chain’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
Investments in the opening of a new store amount to UAH 2-4 million depending on the format, while investments in the restoration of an outlet depend on the degree of damage, the chain said.
The company also plans to reopen previously closed stores where the situation allows. For example, five stores have already reopened in Kherson, one in Pokrovsk, Dobropillya, Myrnohrad, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, and a previously closed store is planned to open in Rodynske, Donetsk region.
According to the chain, last year the company opened 26 new stores and restored 50 more after damage.
The company also plans to open a new warehouse at its distribution center in Dnipro this year. Currently, the chain’s warehouses are located in Lviv and Brovary. In addition, work is underway on a large warehouse project in Odesa, EVA noted.
As reported, the EVA network’s turnover in 2022 decreased by 7% year-on-year to UAH 15.7 billion.
RUSH LLC, which manages the EVA chain, was founded in 2002. It has more than 50 own brands, which are represented by household goods, perfumes, cosmetics, jewelry, personal care products, accessories, underwear and children’s products.
As of February 23, 2022, there were 1119 EVA stores in Ukraine. In April 2023, the chain had 996 operating stores.
According to Opendatabot, the owner of RUSH LLC is Korsolyushyn LLC (100%), and the company’s ultimate beneficiaries are Ukrainian businessmen Ruslan Shostak and Valeriy Kiptyk.
According to RUSH’s financial results, its net profit in 2022 increased by 16.7% to UAH 973.8 million, while the value of its assets decreased by 2.5% to UAH 10.3 billion.
Dynamics of changes in discount rate of NBU
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
The Dobrobut medical network has launched the second stage of the program of free medications for oncology patients.
The nursing network informed Interfax-Ukraine that the program is implemented with the support of Direct Relief International Charitable Foundation.
During the second stage of the program providing free drugs for cancer patients will be able to get drugs for pancreatic, intestinal and breast cancer – Cyclophosphamide 500mg, Cyclophosphamide 1g made in USA and Fluorouracil 50mg made in UK.
“Patients who are diagnosed with breast cancer or colon cancer or pancreatic cancer and prescribed the appropriate drug can receive the drug,” the company specified.
“Dobrobut” is one of the largest private medical networks in Ukraine. It consists of 17 medical centers in Kyiv and Kyiv region, emergency service, dentistry and pharmacy. Medical centers of network provide services for children and adults in more than 75 medical directions. Annually experts of “Dobrobut” carry out more than 7000 operations. The network has over 2,800 employees.
Collaborates with a number of international charities Direct Relief International, Children of War Foundation, International Medical Corps and the University of Miami Global Institute, as well as the Dobrobut Foundation, a charitable foundation founded by the clinic.
Oil prices are stable Wednesday ahead of the release of last week’s U.S. energy inventory data and the country’s March inflation report.
June Brent crude futures on London’s ICE Futures exchange stood at $85.65 a barrel by 8:05 a.m. Wednesday, up $0.04 (0.05%) from the previous session’s close. Those contracts rose $1.43 (1.7%) to $85.61 a barrel on Tuesday.
The price of WTI futures for May oil grew by $0.07 (0.09%) to $81.6 per barrel at electronic trades of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) by that time. Contracts rose $1.79 (2.2%) to $81.53 a barrel in the previous session.
“The recent OPEC+ decision to cut production continues to support the oil market,” said Warren Patterson, who is responsible for oil market strategy at ING Groep NV.
“However, at the moment all traders’ attention is focused on data on consumer price dynamics in the U.S., and higher-than-expected inflation will have a negative impact on risky assets,” Patterson was quoted by Bloomberg.
These data will be published by the Labor Department of the USA on Wednesday at 15:00 Moscow time. Experts questioned by Trading Economics on average predict a slowdown of inflation in the country in March to 5.2% on an annualized basis from 6% in February.
The market’s attention is also directed to the U.S. Energy Department’s report on the country’s energy inventories for the week ended April 7, which will be released at 5:30 p.m.
According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), released on Tuesday night, U.S. oil inventories rose by 377,000 barrels last week after falling by 4.3 million barrels a week earlier. Experts polled by Trading Economics, on average, had expected a 1.3 mln barrel increase in inventories.
Stocks at Cushing terminal, which stores oil traded on Nymex, decreased by 1.4 million barrels, API data show. If this estimate is confirmed by official data, the reduction in inventories in Cushing will be noted at the end of the sixth week in a row.
