ALC Insurance Company ARX Life (ARX Life, Kyiv) has collected UAH 266.3 mln of insurance premiums in 2022, which is 17.02% less than a year earlier, according to Standard-Rating RA website updated credit rating/rating of financial stability (reliability) of the insurer at the level uaAAA on the national scale. Credit-Rating notes that decrease of gross business of the company has been caused by Russian aggression, introduction of martial law, fall of business activity level in the country and is the general tendency in the insurance market of Ukraine.
The volume of payouts and indemnities, performed by the insurer in 2022, has grown by 2,57% in comparison with 2021 – up to UAH 50,294 mln. Therefore, the level of payments of the insurer has grown by 3,61 p.p. – up to 18,89%.
Acquisition expenses of the insurer have decreased by 19,42% down to UAH 151,264 mln in 2022.
According to the results of work for the year “IC “ARKS Life” has received a net profit of UAH 21,594 mln that is by 2,24% more than in the same period of 2021.
As of January 1, 2023 assets of the company have increased by 17.61% up to UAH 232,882 mln, shareholders’ equity – by 22.01% up to UAH 119,692 mln, liabilities – by 13.30% up to UAH 113,19 mln, cash and cash equivalents – in 2.58 times, up to UAH 66,205 mln.
Thus, as of the beginning of 2023, the company had a high level of capitalization (105,74%) and high level of liabilities coverage by monetary assets and their equivalents (58,49%).
At the same time, RA notes that as of January 1, 2023, the insurer carried out financial investments in the amount of UAH 144,893 mln consisting of government bonds (96,55%) and deposits in banks (3,45%).
ARX Life, like ARX, is a part of the international insurance holding Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. ARX Life is among the top 10 companies in the life insurance market in Ukraine.
Google Corporation has doubled its funding for Ukrainian companies as part of its startup support fund in Ukraine in 2022, allocating $10 million, Michał Kramarz, head of Google for Startups, CEE, said at the Tech Emerging Europe Advocates Meeting 2023 conference in Warsaw.
“The Ukrainian startups supported by the fund received $10 million in funding during the war and were able to hire 216 additional employees during 2022. But what is also very important: they were able to grow revenue by 200% year over year, which means that even in difficult times, in times of war, in a situation that requires resilience, they were able to achieve incredible results,” he said.
Kramarz reminded that last March Google announced creation of a $5 million fund to support startups in Ukraine, which was supposed to give grants of up to $100 thousand without any participation in the companies’ capital. Selected startups could also count on mentoring from the corporation, product support and Cloud loans.
“We received 1.7 thousand applications from startups in Ukraine, of which 300 were selected. Of that number, in turn, we originally planned to select 50, but the startups were so good that we said: let’s at least try to support more,” he said.
Kramarz did not say exactly how many companies were chosen, but said it could not have been 100 or 200, because if that were the case, the financial support program for each company would have been very low.
The representative of the corporation also reported on the launch of an online training program from Google for people who lost their jobs because of the war, but who remained in Ukraine and were willing to work. In three weeks, 32,000 people have gone through the program, and 10% of them have received positive feedback.
Google also supports women with its Founders Fund, which aims to level the playing field for everyone.
In addition, 60 startup founders from Ukraine and Belarus are hosted by Startups Campus Google in Warsaw.
Kramarz said he hopes the ecosystems of Poland, Ukraine and Britain will work even more together after the war than they do now.
“We have amazing skills. We have wonderful people. Let’s try to work more closely,” he said.
From April 1, prescription drugs will be sold both electronically and with a paper prescription, but pharmacies have caused an uproar over fears that there will be no possibility to buy drugs without a prescription.
“Starting April 1, prescription drugs will also be available at the pharmacy with an electronic prescription. This will make the prescription process more simple and efficient. At the same time, paper prescriptions will remain valid in Ukraine at least until the end of martial law,” the Ministry of Health reported.
The ministry reminds that the sale of prescription drugs and previously was carried out by the doctor’s prescription, in fact added only the possibility to use an electronic prescription.
“The Ministry of Health is not expanding or changing the list of prescription drugs”, – stressed the Ministry of Health.
At the same time, there was a stir in pharmacies due to fears that medications that are traditionally widely used by Ukrainians will be available only with a prescription.
In social networks patients report that in pharmacies “there are huge lines”, “pharmacy websites do not work”, “pharmacists do not know anything”.
At the same time, patients report that the list of drugs, the supply of which from April 1 will be available only with a prescription, are also included, in particular, antibiotics, cardiovascular drugs and painkillers.
Interfax-Ukraine awaits comments from pharmacy chains.
The Ukrainian government in nine months since the start of grant programs to create gardens, berries and greenhouses sent 489.2 million UAH, the total area of plantations and structures amounted to 1 375.64 hectares, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy on Friday.
According to the agrarian ministry, the leaders under the program are hazelnut and walnut, which were planted 493.3 hectares, blueberry and blueberry – 350 hectares, as well as apple – 296.1 hectares.
According to the release, the most hazelnut will be planted in the Kiev region – 157.8 hectares and in Transcarpathia – 121.9 hectares. Lviv region is the leader in planting the blueberry – 73.5 hectares. Appleberry orchards will be planted in Transcarpathia – 97.4 hectares, in Vinnitsa region – 50 hectares and in Bukovyna – 41.8 hectares.
Under the terms of the program, the area of cultivated land for the development or establishment of a new orchard must be 1 to 25 hectares. For the development of greenhouses, grants are provided for the construction of a modular greenhouse with an approximate area of 0,4 ha to 2,4 ha according to the standard project. The main requirement of the program is job creation.
The grant program provides for co-financing: the participant provides 30% of his own funds, and 70% – the state. These funds can be used to pay for the costs included in the estimate, which the applicant must submit along with the application for participation in the competition.
The European Commission has received a complaint from FC Shakhtar Donetsk against the International Football Federation (FIFA) for its decision to allow foreign players to suspend contracts with Ukrainian clubs until the summer of 2023 due to the war, causing $43.6 million in damages to the club.
The FA is demanding compensation.
“We have received a complaint, which we will consider on the basis of our standard procedures,” the European Commission told Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.
The EC did not provide further comment. “We have no further comments,” the EC said.
Earlier, the media reported that the European Commission is not the first instance to which Shakhtar is turning with this demand. The first suit against the federation was filed in the summer of 2022 in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, but in January 2023 it was dismissed. The lawsuit claimed that the emergency rules adopted by FIFA derailed the transfer of four foreign players to Shakhtar for EUR50 million.
“We expect the European Commission to understand and appreciate the extraordinary financial pressure that our club is under because of FIFA’s actions, while our country is being devastated by an illegal war,” said club general director Sergei Palkin.
Ukraine plans to raise fuel prices, the former head of the Ukrainian Gas Transmission System Operator Serhiy Makohon said.
“There are plans to increase fuel tariffs. Gasoline – up to 58 UAH, diesel – up to 53 UAH,” Makogon wrote on Facebook on Friday morning.
According to him, this is inevitable due to the need to fill the state budget and reduce currency outflows.
“Right now gasoline/diesel/LPG is 100% imports. Why not allow people and businesses that have HBO on methane to fill up with methane, which costs 25 UAH at the gas stations and does not require currency, because it is produced in Ukraine,” – he said.
According to him, “to do this, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine should simply oblige “Naftogaz” (through the ownership policy as the owner) to open a state network of CNG filling stations.
