The housing price index in Ukraine in the fourth quarter of 2021 amounted to 117.7% compared to the same period in 2020, the State Statistics Service reported.
At the same time, according to its data, prices in the primary market increased by 16.7%. Three-room apartments rose in price most of all – by 18.4%, least of all – one-room apartments (by 16%).
According to the State Statistics Service, in the secondary market, housing has risen in price by 18.4% over the year. One-room apartments increased the least in price – 17.9%, three-room apartments – the most (19.2%).
Compared to the third quarter of 2021, housing prices increased by 3.4%, in the primary market by 3.8%, in the secondary market by 3.1%.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg plans to visit Ukraine on February 7-8 to show a “clear signal of support,” OE24 has reported.
“In the midst of the aggravation of the Ukrainian crisis, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) wants to visit the Eastern European country in early February (February 7-8),” the OE24 article says.
It is indicated that Schallenberg said this on Thursday at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brest, France. The Austrian Foreign Minister plans to pay a visit together with his colleagues from Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
“Yes to dialogue, but certainly not the threat of tanks and missiles changing borders in the 21st century,” Schallenberg said, adding that Austria has always “taken a clear position” on Ukraine.
The average daily spending of foreign tourists in Ukraine in 2021 is fixed at $929, the average visit time is 7-9 days, the State Agency of Ukraine for Tourism Development told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the agency study, among travelers, citizens of the United Arab Emirates had the highest average daily expenses, spending $2,220 daily. Citizens of Saudi Arabia and Oman spent $1,500 daily, Canada – $1,250 daily, the United States – $1,125.
“Last year, despite the pandemic, much more tourists came to Ukraine than in pre-COVID times. In terms of such indicators as the tourist tax for the nine months of 2021, we saw an increase of 20% compared to 2019. This became possible due to the fact that new tourism markets have opened up for us – the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The forecast for 2022 is even more positive. We expect repeated and first visits of tourists from countries that showed interest in 2021. New countries will join them,” head of the agency Maryana Oleskiv said.
According to her, in general, over 4 million foreigners visited Ukraine in 2021, which is almost 26% higher than in 2020.
The main purpose of visits by foreigners last year was vacation, leisure and recreation (29.5%). Some 25.9% of respondents came on a business trip, 22.4% of respondents visited relatives and friends, 11.7% of foreigners came for treatment and rehabilitation, only 4% for shopping. Another 1.2% of travelers visited Ukraine in search of their own roots.
At the same time, 36.5% of foreigners traveled in Ukraine with their families, 35.4% – alone, 21.8% of travelers – with friends. Some 5.1% and 1.2% of foreign tourists traveled with colleagues or as part of tourist groups, respectively.
Ukrainian banks’ cash exchange rates on 20/01/22.
Source: Interfax-Ukraine
IT company IdeaSoft, part of Swedish-Ukrainian Sigma Software Group, has announced the acquisition of Kharkiv-based software and gaming technology company PULS Software.
According to the Sigma Software Group’s website post, PULS Software has already changed its name to Eventyr, while retaining its structure and leadership team after the merger.
The transaction took place on January 20, 2022. It is expected to accelerate both companies’ growth, business and management capabilities, and strengthen entire Sigma Software Group by adding new domains to business offerings for existing and new customers.
The amount of the transaction is not disclosed.
One of the main business vectors will focus on the Web 3.0, NFT games and Metaverse vectors, as well as expansion into the large corporate IT sector.
IdeaSoft CEO Andriy Lazorenko emphasizes that the main reason for this collaboration is the strong management team at Eventyr.
“We will assist them to grow and launch new business verticals. The merger allows us to explore deeper to the NFT gametech domains utilizing Ideasoft and Eventyr [ex. PULS Software] key expertise. That perfectly lines up with the current market growth,” Lazorenko said.
Eventyr is a fast growing company with extensive experience in mobile app development, AR/VR and games. It was founded in 2017 by Danylo Slupsky and Oleh Voitenko joined in 2020 as COO. Currently, Eventyr brings together 70 professionals and has more than 200 projects.
Earlier, in December 2021, Sigma Software, Ideasoft and Datrics created a new venture fund in Ukraine called SID Venture Partners with a $15 million trust fund.
The fund will focus on financing at early stages (pre-seed, seed, Series A) of projects with Ukrainian founders in deeptech, b2b, blockchain, fintech and automotive industries. Entrepreneurs from Clean.io (cybersecurity solutions) and NEAR (a $6 billion blockchain project), as well as other representatives of the IT market, will also be involved in scaling portfolio companies.
