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AMCU allows MasterCard and Visa to reduce interchange rate to 0.7%

The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has granted permission to MasterCard Europe S.A. and Visa International Service Association to reduce the amount of domestic interchange fees (interchange rate) paid by an acquirer to an issuer in Ukraine from 0.9% to 0.7% for the period of war.

“The planned changes in concerted actions are aimed at establishing an effective and balanced ceiling on interchange rates, taking into account the interests of all market participants under martial law,” the AMC commented on its decision of 5 October.

The Committee expects that these changes will allow retail chains to maintain the current price level for consumers, as well as contribute to the development of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs and the overall economic development of Ukraine.

The agency clarified that the 0.7% rate will be effective “not earlier than the next business day after 14 calendar days after the date of receipt of the Committee’s authorization until the next business day after 30 calendar days from the date of termination or cancellation of martial law.”

It is noted that after this period, MasterCard and Visa will return to the 0.9% rate agreed with the AMCU before the war.

“The introduction of a further reduction in the interbank commission is an attempt by government agencies and other industry representatives to respond to a request for assistance to retailers who have suffered significant economic losses caused by the war,” the AMCU said.

As reported, a memorandum signed in May 2021 between MasterCard, Visa and the NBU provided for the interchange rate to be set at 1.2% from July 1, 2021, and its gradual reduction, in particular from July 1, 2023, from 1% to 0.9%.

However, during the war, the rate was first reset to zero and then gradually increased to 0.7%. The decision of Visa and MasterCard to return it to 0.9% on July 1 this year was sharply criticized by retailers. The largest banks in the market – PrivatBank, Oschadbank and Raiffeisen Bank – for their part, kept acquiring rates for their clients unchanged (approximately 1.3-1.5%), but called on MasterCard and Visa to support this initiative and cancel the interchange rate increase from July 1, 2023 to 0.9%.

However, Oschadbank noted that “if payment systems do not reduce the interchange rate within one to two months, the bank will reconsider its decision.”

According to the NBU, the share of payment terminals of PrivatBank, Oschadbank and Raiffeisen Bank at the beginning of the year was 60.4%, 19.6% and 7.6%, respectively.

AMCU, MASTERCARD, VISA

Experts Club analytical center, Adonis medical group hold seminar on pre-medical care for teachers

The Experts Club analytical center and the Adonis medical group held a seminar on providing pre-medical care for teachers.

According to a press release, the workshop was designed taking into account the current situation and the importance of ensuring the safety of students and is designed to provide teachers with the necessary skills to provide first aid in the event of injuries.

“With the beginning of the new school year in Ukraine, new rules came into force, providing for different modes of education depending on the level of security in different regions. These measures were introduced in response to the high level of danger. Training teachers and educators to provide first aid to children is an important initiative aimed at ensuring safety in educational institutions,” the press release emphasizes.

Experts Club founder Maksim Urakin emphasized that teachers play a key role in the lives of children, and knowledge of pre-medical care skills is part of education, which can save lives.

In turn, Tetiana Lahovska, the executive director of the Irpin Community Foundation, which acted as a partner in the seminar, noted that “the main thing in pre-medical care is the speed of action to stabilize the victim’s condition.”

Experts Club and Adonis promise to continue to support and implement similar educational initiatives.

The training was attended by university and school teachers in Kyiv and Bucha district of Kyiv region.

EXPERTS CLUB, medical group, SEMINAR, TEACHERS, URAKIN, АДОНИС

High Anti-Corruption Court closes “Rotterdam+” case

The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has closed the Rotterdam+ case due to the expiration of the pre-trial investigation, and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) will appeal this decision.
“On October 9, 2023, during the preparatory hearing, the HACCJ panel of judges decided to close the Rotterdam+ case on the basis of clause 10, part 1, article 284 of the CPC of Ukraine, that is, due to the expiration of the pre-trial investigation period specified in article 219 of this Code after serving a person with a notice of suspicion,” the SAPO said on its Telegram channel on Monday.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the decision was made with a dissenting opinion of one of the judges of the panel. “The SAPO prosecutor does not agree with this court decision and will appeal it to the court of appeal,” the statement said.
The SAPO reminds that on March 14, 2023, SAPO prosecutors, based on the results of the NABU investigation, sent an indictment to the court against 6 people involved in the introduction of the so-called Rotterdam+ formula.
According to the investigation, the formula resulted in UAH 19.357 billion in losses to electricity consumers in 2016-2017. The prosecutor also filed a civil claim for compensation for damages caused by the criminal offense to the state in the amount of UAH 19.357 billion.
The full text of the decision will be announced on October 13, 2023 at 15.30.

HACC, Роттердам+

In 2023, 15 vegetable storages have already been built in Ukraine

In 2023, Ukraine resumed the construction of vegetable storage facilities, with 15 units built with a total capacity of about 10 thousand tons, Andriy Marushchak, Commercial Director of Van Dyke Techs LLC, told Interfax-Ukraine.
“In the first war year, only one storage facility with a capacity of 1,000 tons was built in Ukraine for storing potatoes in the Kyiv region on the basis of Brovary Potato LLC. In 2023, we can talk about a revival of the market, as 15 storage facilities with a capacity of 10 thousand tons were built. Farmers are far from reaching the pre-war level of investment – in 2021, they built potato storage facilities for 51 thousand tons, and these were mostly large projects with a capacity of 10 thousand tons. Only two market participants invested in projects of 2 thousand tons each,” he said.
According to Marushchak, farmers in Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Ternopil, Lviv, and Cherkasy regions built small vegetable storage facilities. They are designed mainly for storing onions (85% of the built capacity) and potatoes (15% of the capacity).
It is noteworthy that the farmers used their own funds for the construction, earned from the sale of vegetables at record prices set in the fall and spring of 2022-2023 MY due to the shortage of these products in the country caused by the loss of the main vegetable-growing regions – Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, he explained.
“Farmers will definitely not be able to increase the potential lost by the country on their own. After all, Kakhovka alone had vegetable storage facilities with a capacity of about 150 thousand tons. To restore them, more than UAH 3-4 billion will be needed. In addition, when restoring industrial vegetable production, it is advisable to take into account the “mistakes of the past” and avoid concentrating vegetable storage in one region. Their storage should be dispersed across all regions, each of which should cover its own needs by at least 50%,” the expert added.
Marushchak reminded that the construction of a potato storage facility with a capacity of 1 thousand tons costs a farmer UAH 10 million. A vegetable storage facility with a capacity of 4-5 thousand tons and a potato storage facility with a capacity of 2-3 thousand tons are optimal for storing vegetables. They are equipped with a sorting and packaging line, which, depending on the type and capacity, costs from UAH 4 to 20 million.
“Ukraine will not be able to restore the industry, which primarily meets the needs of the domestic market, without government assistance or regional programs aimed at developing industrial vegetable production,” the expert stated.
He added that targeted regional assistance is needed for farmers in Cherkasy and Dnipropetrovs’k regions who have the ability to provide irrigation necessary for growing vegetables. Given the willingness of farmers to invest in the construction of storage facilities, Vinnytsia region and regions of western Ukraine could also benefit.
Marushchak emphasized that the investments required to build and equip such vegetable storage facilities are quite large and beyond the means of micro and small farmers, and also beyond the means of farmers who grow vegetables on areas of up to 500 hectares.
As reported, according to vegetable sector experts, Ukraine needs 1.4 million tons of potato storage capacity and 300 million tons of vegetables to meet the needs of the domestic market. The optimal storage capacity for carrots should be 80 thousand tons, beets – 20 thousand tons, onions – 120 thousand tons, and cabbage – 80 thousand tons.
Before the war, Ukraine had a total of about 800 thousand tons of storage capacity, of which 600 thousand tons were for potatoes, and 200 thousand tons were for other vegetables.

More than 21 thousand used cars were imported to Ukraine in September

Initial registrations of used passenger cars imported to Ukraine from abroad in September 2023 did not change compared to August, but increased by 34% compared to September 2022 – to more than 21 thousand units, the Ukravtoprom association reported on its Telegram channel on Monday.
As reported, the August (2023) addition of used cars to the country’s fleet was the largest in the previous 12 months.
According to the association, the largest share in the segment of imported used cars in September, as before, belongs to gasoline cars – 44% (in August – 45%), followed by diesel cars – 31% (32%), electric cars – 16% (15%), cars with LPG – 5% (unchanged) and hybrids – 4% (3%).
Volkswagen Golf remains the leader in registrations (1575 units), and the top five remained unchanged compared to August: Renault Megane (1299 units), Skoda Octavia (923 units), Volkswagen Passat (755 units) and Nissan Leaf (590 units).
The TOP-10 of this market also includes AUDI A4 (414 units), Volkswagen Touran (406 units), Tesla Model 3 (405 units), Volkswagen Tiguan (401 units) and Nissan Qashqai (398 units).
The average age of used cars that switched to Ukrainian license plates in August is almost 10 years.
Overall, in January-September this year, 148 thousand used cars imported from abroad were registered for the first time in Ukraine, which is 3.4 times more than the number of new cars sold in the same period.
As reported, in 2022, Ukrainians registered 388.5 thousand imported used passenger cars, which is almost a quarter less than a year earlier, but more than 10 times more than the market for new passenger cars.

CAR

President of Ukraine Zelenskyy: we stand in solidarity with Israel and condolences

During a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the impact of the attack on Israel on the security situation in the region and beyond, and expressed Ukraine’s solidarity with Israel.
“The Prime Minister spoke about the situation in Israel and the actions of the armed forces and law enforcement agencies to repel the attack. We stand in solidarity with Israel, which is suffering from a brazen large-scale attack, and condolences over the numerous victims. Cooperation between the Israeli police and Ukrainian diplomats on the issue of security and protection of Ukrainian citizens in Israel is now important,” Zelensky wrote in a Telegram message on Sunday.
Earlier, Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky reported on the phone conversation between Zelensky and Netanyahu.

ISRAEL, ZELENSKYY

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