The first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will be broadcast live on May 7 at 22.00 on Suspilne Kultura TV channel. It can be viewed on the film and television platform Kyivstar TV at no additional cost, regardless of the mobile operator or Internet provider.
As early as Tuesday, Ukrainians will be able to cheer for the duo alyona alyona & Jerry Heil in the semifinals of Eurovision 2024. Ever since the National Selection, the song Teresa & Maria has been topping the main music charts in Ukraine. The performance was directed by Tanya Muinho, who shoots music videos for the world’s biggest stars.
It is on May 7 that we will find out whether the Ukrainian singers will make it to the Eurovision final.
The event will be broadcast live on Suspilne Kultura TV channel. Kyivstar TV provides free access for authorized users. To log in, you just need to enter your phone number in the appropriate field. After the broadcast, viewers can also watch the event in the recording on the platform.
By the way, you can watch content on Kyivstar TV from one account on 5 devices simultaneously: smartphone, TV, tablet, laptop and set-top box.
Voting will take place on several platforms:
● in the Eurovision Song Contest mobile application, which is available for Android, iOS or Windows. Viewers from countries not participating in the semi-finals will be able to vote in the app;
● participating countries can cast their votes by phone and/or SMS using the numbers that will be announced during the broadcast;
● non-participating countries can vote on the esc.vote website.
This year, the main European song contest will be held in Malmö, Sweden. In addition to Ukraine, Cyprus, Serbia, Lithuania, Ireland, Poland, Croatia, Iceland, Slovenia, Finland, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Australia, Portugal, and Luxembourg will also perform in the first semifinal.
For more news about the addition of Ukrainian and world movies, TV series and shows to Kyivstar TV’s video library, follow the “Movies for TV” Telegram channel.
Kyivstar TV is a joint project of 1+1 media and Kyivstar, founded on December 11, 2019. It is a film and television platform that provides users with access to hundreds of thousands of hours of domestic and foreign content, live programs, and regularly offers exclusive pre-premiere screenings of projects. The platform currently has more than 400 TV channels and a VOD library of 20 thousand movies, series, cartoons, and shows. For more information: tv.kyivstar.ua
The government has appointed Stanislav Banchuk as acting director of the state enterprise of alcohol and liquor industry “Ukrspirt”, according to the official website of the government.
“To agree with the proposal of the State Property Fund on the appointment of Stanislav Yaroslavovich Banchuk as acting Director of the state enterprise of alcohol and distillery industry “Ukrspirt”, – noted in the order of the Cabinet of Ministers № 386 from April 30.
On the website of the FGI and Facebook-page “Ukrspirt” so far there is no additional information about the new head. According to information on the Internet, a person with the same surname and initials was the deputy regional prosecutor of Chernivtsi region until 2014, after which he ran an individual law practice in Kyiv region.
According to Youcontrol, Banchuk S.Y. is the founder of a number of companies, in particular, Law Company Standard LLC, Gaztehkom LLC, Newest Energy Systems LLC, Trading House P.E.G.O., VOGA Resources LLC and SpetsOil LLC, which specialize in oil and gas trading.
DTEK RENEWABLES BV’s net loss last year amounted to UAH 0.547 billion, which is 29 times less than in 2022 (UAH 15.841 billion).
According to the company’s report published on the stock exchange, its revenue increased by 26.5% (by UAH 0.782 billion) compared to 2022 to UAH 3.728 billion, and gross profit amounted to UAH 2.57 billion against a gross loss of UAH 12.157 billion.
In particular, the group increased revenue from electricity sales by solar power plants (SPPs) at the feed-in tariff by 68% due to its increase and the impact of the hryvnia’s appreciation against the euro, while a 65% decrease in revenue from sales by wind power plants (WPPs) was due to the absence of generating stations located in the occupied territories.
According to the report, at the end of last year, DTEK RENEWABLES’ total assets amounted to UAH 25.841 billion against UAH 26.331 billion a year earlier, and its equity decreased from UAH 3.394 billion to UAH 2.93 billion.
The company states that it has violated certain financial and non-financial covenants on bank and non-bank debt obligations with a nominal amount of EUR222 million as of the end of 2023, and these debts have been classified as current liabilities.
The green bonds are scheduled to mature on November 12, 2024. The Group’s management intends to start negotiations with the bondholders to extend the maturity of the green bonds to a later date and expects to reach a compromise on the terms.
In 2023, the group produced 999 GWh, which corresponds to the estimated amount of avoided CO2 emissions of 1062 thousand tons, compared to 881 GWh and 937 thousand tons of CO2 in 2022, and 2117 GWh and 2250 thousand tons of CO2 in 2021.
DTEK Renewables plans to continue its operations in line with current plans and its long-term strategy until 2030. The Group plans to develop projects in Poltava region (650 MW) and in the south of Ukraine (up to 650 MW) over the next 5 years.
CRH Group, the largest building materials manufacturer in North America and Europe, has invested $80 million in Ukraine over the course of the full-scale invasion. Guillaume Cavalier, President of CRH in Central and Eastern Europe, told Forbes Ukraine that the group’s total investments in Ukraine over 25 years of work amount to more than $500 million. According to him, in the context of rebuilding infrastructure in Ukraine, it is important to use cement produced locally, which will provide jobs and higher revenues to the state budget.
Cavalier emphasized that for the potential growth of the Ukrainian cement market after accession to the EU, it is important to invest in the expansion of production facilities now. He reminded that the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) is currently considering CRH’s application to acquire assets of Italian Buzzi in Ukraine – cement plants Volyn-cement (Zdolbunov, Rivne region) and YuGcement (Olshanskoe, Mykolayiv region).
As reported, on January 23, AMCU reported about the beginning of consideration of the case on concerted actions in the form of fulfillment of provisions on refraining from competition, enshrined in the concentration agreement between the Irish group CRH and Dyckerhoff GmbH, which own assets in Ukraine.
In June 2023, Italian cement producer Buzzi, listed by the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption as an international sponsor of war, through its subsidiary Dyckerhoff GmbH, reached an agreement to sell part of its business in Eastern Europe to Irish group CRH, including Ukrainian assets in the form of two cement plants. The transaction is expected to close in 2024.
Later, in September 2023, the AMCU returned CRH’s application for concentration without consideration due to non-compliance with the requirements, and also noted that the group occupies about one-third of the Ukrainian cement market. In October of the same year, the agency reopened the case.
CRH has been operating in Ukraine since 1999. Since November 2021, its cement enterprises in Ukraine have been operating under the Cemark brand: Podolsk Cement JSC (Khmelnytskyi oblast), Cement LLC (Odessa) and Mykolaivcement PJSC (Lviv oblast).
A separate business area of CRH in Ukraine is production concrete and reinforced concrete products. PoliBeton Energo’s Bila Tserkva Reinforced Concrete Plant is a specialized enterprise that produces supports for power transmission lines. PoliBeton’s concrete unit in the north of Odessa joined CRH in 2020.
CRH is a leading manufacturer of construction materials in the world. The company employs about 71,000 people at its 3,200 plants in 28 countries. It is the largest producer of building materials in North America and Europe. The company is also present in Asia. American depositary shares of CRH are listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
State-owned PrivatBank (Kyiv) will increase to UAH 360 million the financing of the Viliya group of agrarian enterprises to expand production, increase exports, increase the fleet of agricultural machinery and equipment, PrivatBank’s press service said on Thursday.
“The bank has decided to increase the volume of lending to the largest agribusiness in Volyn – the group of companies “Vilia”, which according to Forbes rating this year entered the TOP-20 of the most effective agro-companies in the country. The increase in the volume of financing by the bank up to UAH 360 million will allow the company in 2024 to ensure the acquisition of fixed assets to expand production and export capacity of agricultural products in the region, increase the fleet of agricultural machinery and equipment”, – said a member of the Board of Directors Yevgeniy Zagraev.
According to his information, PrivatBank since the beginning of the war has identified the financing of agro-production as a top priority and has become one of the leaders in terms of lending to agrarians.
“We continue to support agribusiness and today we expand investments in leading modern agribusinesses, such as the enterprises of SC “Vilia”, striking the dynamics of development and modernization of business,” – said Zagraev.
According to PrivatBank, since the beginning of the war SC “Vilia” has increased investments in the construction of a grain terminal, increased the volume of products processing due to the launch of a flour milling complex. During 2024, the company plans to invest more than UAH 1.5 billion in modernization of production and export capacities.
In addition, during the two years of the war “Vilia” increased the fleet of grain trucks by 25%, and the volume of grain storage in elevators – by 20%. In 2025, the agroholding plans to resume the construction of a dairy farm and is considering a project to create the latest pig farms.
The group of companies “Vilia” unites a number of enterprises of Volyn and Rivne regions, which cultivate 42 thousand hectares of land, specialize in crop production, storage of grain, oilseed and legume crops, grain trading, flour and granulated flour production, animal husbandry. Its parent company Volyn-Zerno-Product LLC began operations in 2001. Vilia Group of Companies includes seven elevators in Volyn and Rivne regions, Lutsk Feed Mill LLC, Mlynivsky Feed Mill LLC, a seed factory, a number of warehouses, and its own railroad line. The beneficiary of the company is Yevhen Dudka.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of September 1, 2023, PrivatBank ranked first in terms of assets (UAH 782.31 billion) among 64 banks operating in the country and second in terms of the number of branches in the country (1131).
Shareholders of Alliance Bank have made a regular decision to increase the authorized capital by 51.3%, or UAH 234.356 million – up to UAH 691.636 million, according to the information disclosure system of the National Commission for Securities and Stock Market.
It is specified that such decision was made at the remote general meeting of shareholders of the financial institution on April 29.
Additional capitalization is planned to be carried out at the expense of the issue of 8.2 million common registered shares, which will be held without attracting an underwriter.
This is not the first attempt of the bank to increase its authorized capital. As reported, the shareholders made such a decision at the meeting on December 21 last year, but then abandoned it at the end of March 2024.
Before that, Alliance Bank made a similar decision to increase the authorized capital to UAH 689.367 mln at the end of June 2023, which was then canceled in October.
Alliance Bank was founded in 1992. In terms of total assets as of March 1, 2024 (UAH 12.87 billion), it ranked 24th among 63 Ukrainian banks. Its net profit for last year amounted to UAH 0.09 billion.
The shares of the financial institution at the beginning of this year were owned by Alexander Sosis – 89.289006%, Pavlo Scherban – 3.994938%, Marina Getmantseva – 1.706025%, as well as indirectly through the venture capital CIF “Avanpost” Dmitry Melnyk – 3.793525% and Vladimir Bychnik – 1.364910%.