In January-June 2024, ALC Insurance Company ARX Life (ARX Life, Kyiv) collected insurance premiums in the amount of UAH 168.235 million, which is 10.6% more than in the same period a year earlier, according to the website of RA Standard Rating, which updated the company’s credit rating/financial strength (reliability) rating at uaAAA on the national scale.
The volume of payments and reimbursements made by the insurer in the first half of the year decreased by 0.89% to UAH 31.534 million. Thus, the insurer’s claims ratio decreased by 2.17 percentage points to 18.74%.
In January-June 2024, the company’s acquisition expenses decreased by 6.46% to UAH 88.782 million compared to the same period in 2023.
During the reporting period, the company increased its net profit to UAH 43.936 million, or 51.16% of its figure for the first half of 2023.
As of July 1, 2024, the insurer’s assets increased by 18.67% to UAH 338.346 million, equity – by 20.75% to UAH 255.709 million, liabilities – by 12.66% to UAH 82.637 million, and cash and cash equivalents increased by 82.56% to UAH 72.027 million.
Thus, as of the beginning of the second half of 2024, the company had a high level of capitalization (309.44%), as well as the level of coverage of its liabilities by cash and cash equivalents (87.16%).
At the same time, RA notes that as of July 1, 2024, the insurer made financial investments in the amount of UAH 254.827 million. They consisted of government bonds and government bonds (98.11%) and deposits in banks (1.89%).
ARX Life is part of the international insurance holding Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. ARX Life is among the top ten companies in the life insurance market in Ukraine.
At the same time, banks’ profits increased by 22% Almost UAH 120 billion was earned by Ukrainian banks in 7 months of 2024, according to the NBU. Net profit after tax amounted to UAH 93 billion. Income tax is also growing along with earnings. Thus, this year, financial institutions have already paid 1.8 times more income tax than last year. Privat accounts for 40% of the profit of all banks, and the MTB has grown the most – by as much as 13 times.
Banks in Ukraine made a total of UAH 119.44 billion in profit. This is 22% more than in the same period last year: UAH 97.53 billion.
This year, the amount of income tax increased by 1.8 times to UAH 25.83 billion. Despite the tax increase, net profit is still 13% higher than last year: UAH 93.61 billion compared to UAH 83.18 billion last year.
Alpari Bank withdrew its license of its own free will in June, so there are now 62 banks operating in Ukraine. 8 of them suffered losses.
The top 10 banks in Ukraine currently account for 86% of the total profit: UAH 80.13 billion.
State-owned banks
State-owned banks account for 63% of the total profit of all banks. Privat is a stable leader: UAH 37.16 billion of profit after tax. This is 8% more than last year.
Privat accounts for 40% of the total profit of all banks in the country. The bank’s tax expenses increased 1.5 times and amounted to UAH 12.13 billion.
In total, 5 out of 6 state-owned banks earned a total profit of UAH 58.84 billion during this period, and tax expenses amounted to UAH 14.6 billion.
Banks with foreign capital
Banks with foreign capital earned UAH 21.5 billion. This is 9% more than in the same period last year. The profit tax of banks in this group increased 1.7 times this year and reached UAH 7.26 billion. They currently account for 23% of the total profit of all banks.
Raiffeisen Bank remained the leader of this group: UAH 4.87 billion. This is 28% more than in the same period last year. Raiffeisen Bank’s tax expenses doubled to UAH 1.63 billion.
Banks with private capital
The total profit of banks with private capital increased by 29% to UAH 13.39 billion. Accordingly, taxes doubled to UAH 3.95 billion. Currently, this group of banks accounts for 14% of the total profit.
FUIB is the leader of the group with UAH 4.24 billion. At the same time, MTB Bank showed the largest increase among all banks in the country: by 13 times, up to UAH 539.8 million.
As a reminder, the Verkhovna Rada is currently considering draft law No. 11416-d, which proposes to introduce a 50% income tax for banks in 2024.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Oleksandr Kamyshyn as an advisor to the President of Ukraine on strategic issues.
This is enshrined in Decree No. 623/2024 of September 8, which was published on the President’s website.
Earlier it was reported that on September 4, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed Kamyshyn, the Minister for Strategic Industries, from his post. Kamyshyn was appointed to this position in March 2023, and before that, in 2021-2023, he was the chairman of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC.
The Ukrainian real estate marketplace DIM.RIA analyzed how the Ukrainian real estate market has changed as of the end of summer 2024. The analytical study includes the state of the primary and secondary housing sales market, the state of the rental market, and the behavior of Ukrainians looking for apartments.
Primary market
Supply.
As of the end of August 2024, sales departments in 77% of new buildings were active. Since the beginning of the summer, 23 new buildings with 72 sections have been commissioned in Ukraine: 6 in Kyiv and Lviv regions, 5 in Ivano-Frankivsk region, 2 in Dnipropetrovs’k and Odesa regions, and one in Zhytomyr and Khmelnytsky regions.
Prices
The average price per square meter in dollar terms slightly decreased in almost every region of Ukraine in August, but year-on-year growth was observed in half of the regions. Analysts noted the most rapid price growth in Kirovohrad, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Volyn and Cherkasy regions. Kyiv remains the most expensive in the primary market with an average price of $1,338 per m².
Demand
In August, DIM.RIA analysts noted a significant revival of interest in primary housing among users from all regions, but the downward trend in activity continued on a yearly basis. It bypassed only the Kyiv region, where users made one and a half times more search queries compared to August 2023, and the Zhytomyr region, where searches also increased slightly.
Secondary market
Supply.
In the secondary housing market, the number of offers increased the most during the year in Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, while in most other regions it decreased, sometimes by more than 50% (Kharkiv and Sumy regions). Also, much fewer owners began to offer their homes for sale in Dnipropetrovska, Odesa and Zaporizka oblasts: the number of ads there decreased by 37-47% during the year.
Price
In August 2024, the sale price of a one-bedroom apartment fluctuated in most regions within a few percent, while it mostly increased compared to the data for August 2023. Volyn, Chernivtsi, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions showed the highest growth. Kyiv remains the most expensive city: owners in the capital ask an average of $85,845 for a one-bedroom apartment.
Looking at the capital in more detail, Pecherskyi district remains the most expensive with an average price of a one-bedroom apartment of $110,969, while the lowest price is reported by homeowners in Desnianskyi district – $48,487.
Interest
In August, users’ interest in secondary housing revived in most regions, with the largest increase in search queries occurring in Odesa and Lviv regions. However, in comparison with the current and last year’s situation, all regions began to receive fewer search queries for the purchase of housing. Kherson and Sumy regions lost the largest percentage of buyers, and Ivano-Frankivsk, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Volyn, Chernivtsi, and Lviv regions experienced a significant decline in interest: from -40% to -46%.
Despite the decline in search queries, the number of user reviews everywhere exceeds the number of ads posted. The five regions where demand exceeds supply the most are Volyn, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Chernivtsi, and Zhytomyr, where there are an average of 12-23 responses per new ad. The largest number of ads and responses to them is in the capital, but there is almost no gap between supply and demand there.
Rental market
Supply.
In the rental market, the number of housing offers in Volyn, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, and Zakarpattia regions increased by one and a half to two times compared to August of the previous year. At the same time, analysts noted a decline in the number of housing in the central regions, including Kyiv.
Price
Kyiv remains the most expensive location for renting an apartment with an average price tag of UAH 18,205 for a one-bedroom apartment. Over the past month, housing prices in the capital rose by 1%, and over the past year, the increase was 18%. Prices are also rising in other regions, most actively in Zhytomyr, Volyn, and Rivne regions (from +39% to +114% over the year).
The capital allows you to choose more affordable housing depending on the district. The lowest prices can be found in the Desnianskyi district, with an average of UAH 10,293 for a one-bedroom apartment, while the most expensive is the Shevchenkivskyi district with an average monthly rent of UAH 23,408.
Interest
In August, users were more active in searching for housing in Lviv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovs’k, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk regions and in the capital. The number of searches there increased from +12% to +44%.
The ratio of the number of rental ads to the number of responses to them in August in Kyiv was 1:9. At the same time, in the Kyiv region, excluding Kyiv, there were an average of 18 user responses per new ad. Odesa, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia and Ternopil regions also stood out for their high demand relative to supply.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that several hundred thousand more Ukrainians in the country should work, reports Tagesschau.
According to the publication, during a dialog with residents of the town of Teltow, Scholz said that, in his opinion, many Ukrainians receiving support in Germany should work.
According to him, the number of Ukrainians already having a job has increased to more than 200 thousand thanks to the government’s Jobturbo program.
“But there were still a few hundred thousand, if I can put it that way. That’s why I would like to see the work done,” he said.
New registrations of commercial vehicles (trucks and special vehicles) in August 2024 increased by 13% compared to the same month in 2023 – up to 1,083 units, which is also 13% more than in July this year, Ukravtoprom reported in its Telegram channel.
As reported with reference to the association’s data, the demand for these cars has shown a monthly increase since the beginning of this year, but in July it turned into negative dynamics, decreasing by 2% by July 2023 and by 20% by June 2024.
According to the association, Renault retained its market leadership in August with 282 units (in August 2013 it was the leader with 191 units), MAN took second place with 102 units (in August last year it was in ninth place with 42 units), and Ford took third place with 96 units (fifth place with 72 units).
Also in the top five are Citroen (72 units) and Scania (58 units), which were 10th (39 units) and second (98 units) respectively in August last year and third and second respectively in July this year.
According to Ukravtoprom, almost 8.3 thousand new vehicles were added to the Ukrainian truck and special vehicle fleet from January to August, 16% more than in the previous year.
At the same time, an analysis of the segment of trucks with a gross vehicle weight of more than 3.5 tons by the information and analysis group AUTO-Consulting showed an increase of almost 15% to 480 units in August.
“While the passenger car market was in turmoil in August due to rumors of a 15% military tax, this factor had no impact on the truck segment,” the group said in a statement on its website.
The light segment also recorded a good increase, while truck sales fell slightly (-1%).
“Against this background, European companies began to actively participate in the development of specialized equipment at Ukrainian enterprises, which led to the emergence of new models,” the report states.
State-owned companies, which are increasingly switching to European chassis, actively rejected Russian equipment, the analysts said.
According to AUTO-Consulting, MAN became the market leader in August with a market share of 17%, Scania was in second place with 12%, and Ford, which is developing cooperation with Ukrainian manufacturers of bodies, took third place. Volvo and Renault dealers were active in August, while JAC and Isuzu were the leaders in terms of growth.
As reported, according to Ukravtoprom, new registrations of commercial vehicles in Ukraine in 2023 increased by 65% compared to 2022 to 11.3 thousand units.
At the same time, the segment of trucks over 3.5 tons grew by 56.5% to 4,853 units, according to AUTO-Consulting.
