Among Ukrainians, the most popular New Year gifts are a romantic trip, a car, accessories and money, according to the results of a study conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) on December 3 through December 11, 2021.
According to the opinion poll, if in the previous pre-COVID-19 years Ukrainians were very mercantile (money was in first place by a large margin), now, the first place is taken by a romantic trip (18% of respondents) and a car and accessories to it (12%). The next three gifts that Ukrainians would like to receive are money (10%), a mobile phone and other electronic devices (9%), as well as household appliances (7%).
Less than 5% of respondents want to receive all other gifts.
So, as for the desired gifts for men and women, apart from money (which both men and women like equally), there is expected to be a significant difference between them. Some 14% of men and 10% of women would like to get cars or accessories for them, 8.3% of women and 4.5% of men would like to get household appliances (men also actively participate in cooking and cleaning). Some 20% of women and 17% of men would like to go on a romantic trip. 6% of women and 3% of men would like to get eau de toilette, perfumery, and cosmetics.
In addition, according to the results of the study, if we consider the change in wishes from 2014 to 2021, then in addition to a significant increase in the desire to travel, there is a growing need for mobile phones and other electronic devices (from 3% in 2014 to 9% in 2021), as well as for tablets and PCs.
Asked about the desired gift, the respondents were able also to add their own wish if it was not on the list. More often than not, there was something that was impossible to give – peace and health. But there were also more realistic wishes. These were congratulations from children or grandchildren or that they come to visit.
Some respondents answered that they would like to receive a book, a balalaika, a large chocolate bar, a two-cylinder moped, a set of paints for painting, a kiss from his wife, “so that all those who are testing the waters in Ukraine go to the demonic father behind the road-edge,” a sable fur coat as a gift, and “to take away his woman for six months.”
The number of those wishing to have a pet also increased from 0.8% to 1.8%.
The survey was conducted by Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) on the basis of a random sample of mobile telephone numbers (with random generation of telephone numbers and subsequent statistical weighting) among 2,000 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine (except for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea). In Luhansk and Donetsk regions, the survey was conducted only in the territory controlled by the Ukrainian authorities.
The sample is representative of the adult population (age 18 and older) in Ukraine. The sample does not include territories temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities – the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The statistical error of the sample (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect of 1.1) does not exceed: 2.4% for indicators close to 50%, 2.1% for indicators close to 25%, 1.5% – for indicators close to 10%, 1.1% – for indicators close to 5%.
Hotel occupancy in Kyiv has decreased from 65% in October to 53% in November, in Lviv from 60% to 41%, according to a study of the Hotel Matrix project.
According to the study, in November, the occupancy of hotels in Kharkiv also decreased – from 56% to 45%, in Odesa – from 43% to 32%, and in Dnipro – from 42% to 36%.
In general, in November, the occupancy rate of hotels in Ukraine amounted to 44%, ADR (average rate) was UAH 2068, RevPAR (revenue per available room per day) was UAH 908.
According to Hotel Matrix, all monitored cities showed a decrease in ADR in November compared to the previous month, except for Dnipro, where the indicator grew by 6% and amounted to UAH 4,427. At the same time, in Odesa, the decrease in the indicator was 8.6% (to UAH 1,493), Lviv – 16% (to UAH 2,028), Kyiv – 3% (to UAH 2,147), and Kharkiv – 16.5% (to UAH 2,235).
RevPar in November 2021 in Odesa fell by 31.7%, to UAH 480, in Lviv – by 44.5%, to UAH 822, in Kyiv – by 1.54%, to UAH 1,130, in Kharkiv – by 33.4%, to UAH 996, in Dnipro – by 15%, to UAH 1,526.
Statistical data on Dnipro are presented by the hotel market of four-star and five-star hotels, in Kharkiv by two-star, four-star and five-star hotels. The statistics of Kyiv, Odesa and Lviv are presented by three-star, four-star and five-star hotels.
Hotel Matrix is a web-based hotel analytics product developed by specialists from Poland and Ukraine. It was launched in May 2020. Now, 154 hotels are connected to the Hotel Matrix.
JSC Market Operator has received a positive conclusion from the independent auditor Baker Tilly on the organization of work in the day-ahead market (DAM) and the intraday market (IDM) in 2020.
“Based on the procedures we performed and the evidence obtained, nothing attracted our attention to force us to believe that the Market Operator did not adhere in all material aspects to the requirements of the DAM and IDM Rules during the period from January 1 to December 31, 2020,” the auditors said in the conclusion dated December 30, 2021, published on the Market Operator website on Friday.
The subject of the audit was, in particular, the submission of bids for the sale and purchase of electricity by the DAM and IDM participants, the correctness of the determination of the trading results and related charges, the assessment of the implementation of the DAM and IDM rules by the Market Operator software.
The company said that the Market Operator for the second year in a row has received a positive conclusion from independent auditors.
SkyUp Airlines, Azur Air Ukraine, Windrose and Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) received more than UAH 60.7 million in compensation from the state for returning citizens to their homeland in the spring of 2020, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine reported on your Facebook page on Friday.
“Ukrainian air carriers were reimbursed more than UAH 60.7 million for the implementation of irregular international flights in the spring of 2020. The peculiarity of these flights was that they departed from Ukraine without passengers – that is, without commercial loading. The main task then was to return Ukrainian citizens home to conditions when countries around the world introduced a tough lockdown. I am very grateful to the Ukrainian airlines for the fact that they were able to respond to global challenges as quickly as possible,” Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov said.
According to him, in such critical situations, the state does not have the necessary flexibility to make quick decisions to respond to such threats.
“This is one of the clearest examples of why Ukraine needs the state air carrier Ukraine National Airlines in the modern world,” he added.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) will raise the risk weight for unsecured consumer loans from 125% to 150% from January 1, 2022, the central bank’s press service reported on Friday.
The changes will help banks create an adequate capital cushion to cover unexpected losses from the deterioration in the quality of their unsecured consumer loan portfolio.
In addition, the resolution is intended to increase the lenders’ resilience to potential crisis phenomena, in particular, to stimulate proper consideration of both the advantages and risks of working in this segment.
The press service said that now, for every UAH 10 of the loan, the bank shall keep UAH 1.50 of regulatory capital.
In addition, from the beginning of the year, the NBU will introduce minimum requirements for capital coverage of operational risk in the amount of 50% of the estimated amount, with an increase to 100% from January 1, 2023.
The NBU also increased the risk weights on government bonds in foreign currency to 50% with a subsequent increase to 100% from July 1, 2022. To gradually bring domestic requirements in line with international standards, the risk weight is increased in stages and only for those securities that banks buy from April 1, 2021.
Also, the regulator will increase from the current 25% to 50% the share of the cost of noncore assets deducted from fixed capital.
This requirement to deduct the value of noncore assets from the fixed capital of banks is intended to induce banks to more actively release balance sheets from illiquid assets, which for the most part do not generate income, but are often reflected at an inflated value. The total impact of the planned changes on the banks’ fixed capital adequacy will amount to 2.5 percentage points, the NBU said in the report.
JSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia has increased production at the Kehychivske field (Kharkiv region) thanks to the drilling of directional production wells that allow reaching promising gas deposits under difficult surface conditions, the press service of the company has said.
According to the press service, the company has drilled and put into operation three wells in this field in 2021, in particular, the latter, thanks to modern technologies and rapid penetration, was drilled and connected to the surface infrastructure system ahead of schedule. Now, it operates with a flow rate of about 80,000 cubic meters per day.
“Our specialists are planning further development of the field, because despite its depletion, it is promising – residual reserves reach 5.6 billion cubic meters of gas,” the company said.
At present, at the Kehychivske field, over the entire period of operation, 22.7 billion cubic meters of gas have been produced, 41 wells are in operation.
