President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Albania for its support and assistance to Ukrainian refugees.
“Thank you for the fact that the people of Albania did not hesitate whom to support in this struggle. You have definitely taken the side of freedom and truth,” he told the Albanian parliament on Tuesday, speaking via video link.
“Thank you for concrete steps, for defense assistance, for supporting sanctions against Russia, for taking care of our people and accepting our children, in particular in Durres,” Zelensky said.
According to the president, “such an attitude towards Ukrainians in difficult times reminds me of Holy Mother Teresa, an Albanian whose life has become a symbol of humanism.”
“She taught people that good can overcome evil and get closer to the holiness that people will remember from generation to generation,” Zelensky said.
The Embassy of Cyprus has said it is gradually resuming its activity in Kyiv.
“The Embassy of Cyprus is gradually resuming its activity in Kyiv, in line with Cyprus consistent support to Ukraine in matters of principle. The flag of Cyprus is flying again in Kyiv as of May 3,” the embassy said on its Facebook page on Tuesday.
As noted, Head of the mission Lina Themistokleous has never left the territory of Ukraine and stayed in the war-ravaged Ukraine since February 24, and is now happy to welcome and assemble her team back, where it belongs.
The mobile network operator Vodafone Ukraine (PrJSC VF Ukraine) increased its net profit by 3.2 times in 2021 compared to 2020, to UAH 3.832 billion.
According to the consolidated annual report published on the company’s website, Vodafone Ukraine’s revenue grew by 11.04% last year and amounted to UAH 20.145 billion, while OIBDA (Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization) rose by 11% year on year, to UAH 10.95 billion.
“The rapid dynamics of the indicator is due to an increase in revenues from the provision of data services, as well as the strengthening of the hryvnia exchange rate in 2021, which led to exchange rate gain on the revaluation of eurobond debt,” the company said.
The number of Vodafone Ukraine customers in the country at the end of the year amounted to about 19 million – at the level of 2020.
The operator also maintained the volume of investments in network development at the level of 2020 – the company invested UAH 3.5 billion in 2021, increasing the national 4G coverage to 84% over the year, primarily in rural areas.
As of the beginning of the year, Vodafone Ukraine also provided 4G coverage for 98% of the length of four major international roads and 80% of all international roads.
Vodafone Ukraine is the second largest mobile network operator in Ukraine.
At present, 88% of insurance market participants continue to fulfill their obligations under insurance contracts in full and in due term, Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Kyrylo Shevchenko has said.
“After the victory, we plan that they will join the restoration of the economy and social protection of the population. The main requirement of the NBU for insurers will remain their compliance with solvency and liquidity standards,” he wrote in a column for NV.Business publication.
According to Shevchenko, the credit cooperation market continues to operate, despite the decrease in the number of credit unions. The next stage in the development of this market segment will be associated with the launch of a system for guaranteeing deposit fees for members of credit unions and building a two-tier system of credit unions in Ukraine.
He also said that as a result of the deterioration of the property position of borrowers, the task of financial companies engaged in lending is the qualitative restructuring of overdue debts and the introduction of credit holidays on consumer loans.
“We continue focusing on market behavior, a transparent ownership structure and consumer protection in their regulation. At the same time, due to the war, we almost do not introduce prudential requirements,” the governor of the National Bank said.
The nonbank financial sector continues to operate. To support it, the NBU softened a number of regulations and postponed the introduction of new requirements for the activities of financial companies, Shevchenko said.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the powers of notaries in certifying real estate transactions during martial law, the press service of the Ministry of Justice reported.
According to the relevant resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers, notarial certification of contracts on real estate transactions is allowed only to those notaries who were included in the relevant list of persons who are allowed to carry out notarial acts in relation to valuable property during martial law.
In addition, such actions are prohibited for notaries whose workplace is located in territories where access to unified and state registers has been terminated, in particular, in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
It is also prohibited to sell real estate within one month from the date of state registration of ownership, as well as real estate transactions by proxy.
Certification of contracts for the sale of real estate, mortgages, trusts is allowed only at the location of the property. At the same time, in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, notarial actions with real estate are allowed only for local notaries, if the property or legal entity is located in this territory, or at the registered place of residence of an individual – one of the parties to the agreement.
Such conditions will be in effect during martial law for one month after, the Ministry of Justice notes.
CERTIFYING, MARTIAL LAW, NOTARIES, REAL ESTATE, TRANSACTIONS
Inflation in Ukraine in annual terms in April may increase to 15.9% from 13.7% in March, this forecast was given by the head of the National Bank of Ukraine Kirill Shevchenko, referring to the NBU estimates based on web-scraping (method collecting prices from online supermarkets).
“In a war, it is impossible to avoid price increases … at the end of the year it (inflation) may exceed 20%. This is a significant level of price growth, but controlled. And such indicators are not comparable with 2015, when inflation reached 60% in some months,” wrote he is in the column for NV.Business.
Shevchenko stressed that the NBU has significant experience in fighting inflation.
“In general, in world history there were no cases when a country entered into a state of martial law, having such a highly developed financial system and monetary policy,” he added.
The head of the National Bank noted that while market mechanisms will have a limited impact on the market, the regulator will keep price growth by fixing the exchange rate and maintaining part of the restrictions.
“But as soon as monetary transmission channels start working and uncertainty decreases, we will return to the inflation targeting regime, which at one time helped to overcome the same 60% inflation,” Shevchenko said.
According to him, the National Bank will gradually restore the forecast cycle and again begin to apply the discount rate to reduce inflation to the target of 5% and keep inflation expectations under control.
As the State Statistics Service reported, consumer price growth in Ukraine in March 2022 accelerated to 4.5% from 1.6% in February, 1.3% in January and 0.6% in December. In March last year, inflation was 1.7%, so in annual terms, in March this year, it rose to 13.7% from 10.7% in February and 10% in January.
