On April 5, Ukrhydroenergo announced a tender for voluntary motor vehicle insurance (CASCO) for the branches of the Cascade of Kyiv HPPs and PSPs, according to the Prozorro electronic public procurement system.
The expected value of the insurance services procurement is UAH 192.041 thousand.
The deadline for submitting documents for the tender is April 15.
“Ukrhydroenergo operates all major hydroelectric power plants located on the Ukrainian sections of the Dnipro and Dniester rivers. The total installed capacity of the company’s hydroelectric power plants is 5,744.8 MW. The state, represented by the Ministry of Energy, owns 100% of the company’s shares.
hull insurance, hydroelectric power plants, motor vehicle insurance, Prozorro, PSPPs, TENDER, UKRHYDROENERGO
In 2023, VUSO Insurance Company (Kyiv) collected UAH 2.677 billion in gross premiums, which is 62.6% more than in 2022, the rating agency (RA) Standard Rating reported in information on the confirmation of the company’s financial strength rating at the level of “uaAA” on the national scale.
According to the information on the RA website, in particular, revenues from individuals increased by 48.98% to UAH 1.724 billion during the reporting period, and from reinsurers – by 60.62% to UAH 32.205 million. Thus, the share of individuals in the insurer’s gross written premiums for the twelve months of 2023 amounted to 64.39%, and the share of reinsurers – 1.20%.
Insurance payments sent to reinsurers increased by 19.75% to UAH 204.246 million. The ratio of reinsurers’ participation in insurance premiums decreased by 2.73 p.p. to 7.63%.
Net written premiums for the reporting period increased by 67.57% to UAH 2.473 billion, while earned premiums increased by 75.59% to UAH 2.337 billion.
VUSO paid UAH 972.7 million to its clients in 2023, which is more than twice the amount of insurance payments and reimbursements in 2022. Thus, the level of payments increased by 8.15 percentage points to 36.33%.
At the end of 2023, profit from operating activities increased by 19.34% to UAH 49.904 million, and net profit increased 2.7 times to UAH 44.048 million.
As of December 31, 2023, the company’s assets increased by 71.40% to UAH 1.748 billion, equity by 66.80% to UAH 634.114 million, liabilities by 74.13% to UAH 1.114 billion, and cash and cash equivalents by 26.10% to UAH 552.918 million.
At the same time, RA notes that the growth of the company’s equity was due to an increase in the authorized capital by UAH 187.585 million in the first quarter of 2023. In particular, in May 2023, the issue of ordinary registered shares in the amount of UAH 187.585 million was registered, which is 100% of the authorized capital of PJSIC ASKA, and in July 2023, the conversion of PJSIC ASKA shares into shares of VUSO Insurance Company was completed.
As reported, the decision to merge ASKA with VUSO and to continue working under a single brand was made during the general meeting of both insurance companies in March 2023, and the acquisition was announced by VUSO shareholders in August 2022.
The RA also reports that as of the beginning of 2024, the company had a sufficient level of capitalization (56.92%) and a good level of cash coverage of liabilities (49.63%). The company has formed a portfolio of investments in domestic government bonds in the amount of UAH 204.037 million, which increased the level of the insurer’s liquid assets, which together covered 67.95% of the company’s liabilities. In addition, the balance of funds in the centralized insurance reserve funds (MTIBU) as of the reporting date amounted to UAH 293.449 million, including UAH 219.978 million of additional guarantee premiums for the company’s liquidity.
VUSO was founded in 2001. The company holds 50 licenses: 34 – for voluntary and 16 – for compulsory types of insurance, and is represented in all regions of Ukraine. It is a member of MTIBU and USIF, a party to the Direct Claims Settlement Agreement and a member of the Nuclear Insurance Pool.
Businessman Igor Liski’s investment holding EFI Group (Effective Investments) has launched Beehive Cosmetics, a line of premium hair care products based on honey produced by the holding’s Beehive plant.
“A new business is always a love for creating something special. I’d like to introduce you to a new project that came about thanks to my great passion for quality honey. The whole team worked day and night on a unique formula, we are just very proud of its unique natural composition. And it is very, very beautiful! So, we are all in for something special – the presentation of our Beehive Cosmetics brand and a line of premium hair care products,” Liski wrote on Facebook.
The EFI Group press service told Interfax-Ukraine that the Beehive Cosmetics brand is a joint effort by EFI Group founder Igor Liski and former Henkel Ukraine CEO Nina Dombrovska, who have been working together to create the company for three years and are co-owners of the project.
“Our product line is a unique complex of natural honey-based hair care cosmetics that combines the best natural ingredients with state-of-the-art active ingredients and high production technologies. We have a great opportunity to produce high-quality products in Ukraine, which is important for stimulating domestic demand and supporting domestic producers,” Dombrowska said.
She added that the founders of the project aim to build a strong brand that can be competitive in other markets in the future.
The presentation of the honey-based cosmetics line will take place on Monday at the Superwoman forum. In addition, the brand’s Instagram page periodically holds contests among its followers. The winners are given the opportunity to test Beehive Cosmetics.
EFI Group was founded in 2007 and is engaged in the implementation of business projects in Ukraine. The company’s investment areas include healthcare and medtech, paper, food and woodworking industries, and agricultural supplies.
The company’s businesses include Feednova, an animal fats and feed additives producer, Bigaiv honey production plant, Medical Star healthcare network, Zhytomyr Cardboard Mill, Sam Ecopack, a cardboard packaging manufacturer, Forest Technology, an agricultural products supplier, Efi Agro, and Doc.ua, an online medical hub.
Global grain production in 2023-2024 may be 1.3% higher than a year earlier and amount to 2.828 billion tons, taking into account the increase in production of corn, rice and wheat, FAO (the UN Food and Agriculture Organization) predicts.
According to its review, world grain reserves at the end of the current marketing year (MY) will amount to 894 million tons, which is 2.3% more than at the beginning of the year, indicating a ratio of world grain reserves to consumption of 31%.
The FAO also forecasts that the world grain trade in 2023/24 MY will increase by 1.7% compared to the previous season to 485 mln tonnes, mainly due to the increase in shipments of coarse grains, while the trade in wheat and rice is likely to decline.
In addition, the FAO revised its forecast for global wheat production in 2024 to 796 million tons, down from a month earlier, but still 1% higher than in 2023.
The forecast indicates that wheat production is expected to decline slightly in the European Union and the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, where excessive humidity has led to a reduction in wheat crops. At the same time, localized drought is affecting the acreage in the southern and eastern parts of the European Union.
In the U.S., despite the reduction of plantings due to low prices, the total wheat production in the country will continue to grow in 2024 due to the expected increase in yields due to favorable weather conditions. In Canada, where spring wheat will be planted starting in May, experts expect a reduction in acreage due to lower profitability.
The conditions in Ukraine are assessed as unchanged from the previous month, as the war continues to put heavy pressure on the sector and production prospects.
In Russia, the wheat harvest in 2024 is forecast to be above average, although lower than last year.
In Asia, favorable weather conditions will boost grain production in India and Pakistan. A record wheat harvest is likely in 2024.
At the same time, a significant shortage of precipitation and hot temperatures across North Africa will lead to extremely low production in 2024 after the already poor results of last year.
Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) will not receive funding from the state budget in 2024; at the same time, in 2023, it decreased by 2.4 times compared to 2022, to UAH 4.179 billion, according to a presentation made by Yevhen Lyashchenko, chairman of the board of UZ, during a conversation with journalists.
In 2022, UAH 10.095 billion was allocated from the state budget for UZ. The funds were allocated for the uninterrupted operation of rail transport under martial law, as well as for emergency repair work at railway infrastructure facilities, repair of traction and rolling stock, and payment of wages, UZ said.
In addition, the funds allocated from the state budget financed the design and implementation of work to restore the European standard 1435 mm railway track from Chop station to Uzhhorod station with the extension to the platform of Uzhhorod railway station. UAH 6 million was allocated for these purposes. Almost UAH 83 million was used as a postpaid payment for a batch of passenger railcars delivered under the contract signed in 2021.
Of the UAH 4.179 billion received from the state budget in 2023, UAH 1.905 billion was an advance payment for passenger railcars under the 2023 supply contract, UAH 1.736 billion was a postpayment for passenger railcars under the 2021 supply contract, and UAH 538 million was used to finance infrastructure projects.
In addition, part of the funds was allocated for the reconstruction of facilities with electrification of the Vasylkiv – Vasylkiv II, Cherkasy – Taras Shevchenko section; reconstruction of facilities with electrification of the Vasylkiv – Vasylkiv II. Taras Shevchenko; reconstruction of the railway track on the section Goskordor – Mostyska II – Sknyliv (Lviv) with the construction of a new terminal at Sknyliv station; construction of a railway road bridge over the Dnipro in Kyiv (with approaches) on the railway section Kyiv-Moskovsky – Darnytsia.
Nationalized Sense Bank (Kyiv) and FUIB (Kyiv) note the demand for the buy now pay later (BNPL) service, which differs from traditional bank installment plans, and allow its introduction in Ukraine in the near future.
“We think that the client has a request for such a product as a purely European BNPL. (…) Therefore, we are now working with two fintechs, studying this model together with them and the possibility of joining them, because they have just implemented the European BNPL model,” said Inna Tiutiun, a member of the Sense board, at the Digital Lending 2024 conference initiated by the Ukrainian Association of Fintech and Innovation Companies (UAFIC) in Kyiv.
FUIB’s Deputy Chairman of the Board Dmytro Polishchuk, for his part, noted that there is “definitely a demand for the service.”
“And the most important thing is that when we talk about BNPL or installment payments, etc., we forget that the key client of this story is the merchant. (…) There is a very high demand from large retailers for this model, so if there is demand, there will always be a supply,” the banker added.
“I think that this year either we or Sense (Bank – IF-U) or someone else … one of us will show something this year. Because there are a lot of ideas, research, experience and a desire to try, because no one in Ukraine has actually tried this (implementation of the BNPL service – IF-U),” suggested Polishchuk.
According to him, FUIB has already tested a large number of customer experiences with full-fledged BNPL models, in particular, the bank’s team has worked out the legal component, which raised certain questions.
“(…) because in fact, BNPL in its purest form is the provision of a short-term loan to a non-bank customer and without onboarding in Diia, BankID, identification, passports. That is, it is not actually a loan, but a payment method with a certain installment plan for several weeks,” explained FUIB’s Deputy Chairman of the Board.
“We are very positive about this story. I think that this year there will be surprises in Ukraine (in the financial services market – IF-U),” the banker summarized.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of February 1, 2024, Sens Bank ranked 8th (UAH 131.89 billion) among 63 banks operating in the country in terms of total assets, while FUIB ranked 6th (UAH 158.86 billion). Sense Bank was among the three leaders in terms of net profit for 2023, it amounted to UAH 5.04 billion, while FUIB’s net profit was UAH 3.96 billion.
