CEO of lifecell mobile operator Ismet Yazici would like to see Azerbaijan Bakcell, which at the end of December 2019 bought Vodafone Ukraine, the second largest Ukrainian mobile operator, as an ally in the deregulation of the Ukrainian telecom market.
“I would like the new owner of the second largest mobile operator to actively engage in activities to improve working conditions in the Ukrainian telecom market. I would like Bakcell be an associate in how to deregulate the Ukrainian telecom market, make it more transparent, more competitive and more effective. Unfortunately, we are not observing this yet,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the CEO of lifecell, the change of ownership of Vodafone Ukraine did not influence the behavior and work of the operator in the Ukrainian market.
“After Bakcell entered the Ukrainian market, we did not see any changes. Vodafone Ukraine continues to adhere to previously defined strategy and continues to do what it did on the market before,” Yazici said.
The lifecell operator is the third largest mobile communications operator in Ukraine.
Azur Air Ukraine Airlines, jointly with Anex Tour operator, will perform a special additional flight from Phuket and Bangkok (both Thailand) to Kyiv on May 7.
“To get complete information regarding booking options and departure details, please call the Anex Tour representative office in Thailand at +66863777740,” the airline said.
Azur Air Ukraine (formerly Utair Ukraine) began operations in 2009, changing its name in 2015. The company is based at Boryspil International Airport (Kyiv), but offers flights from the country’s regions, namely Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Lviv, and Odesa.
The manufacturer of electric systems, Plank Electrotechnic LLC, in the Bila Tserkva industrial park (the project of UFuture Group of businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky) has noted growth in production and sales by 20-30% a month amid problems with supplies of similar products from China and Turkey due to lockdown, Khmelnytsky has said on its Facebook page.
He recalled that the Plank Electrotechnic launched in the spring of 2019 with reaching the planned self-sufficiency by the end of this year was initially created as a small manufacturer (for 50 people) of products not previously produced in Ukraine (sockets, switches, buttons) for sale in the Epicenter K and Nova Linia networks at prices below the prices set for the Chinese and Turkish similar products.
“But what happened? Now we see the logistic collapse in China, Turkey has closed. The time and cost of sea deliveries have increased significantly, as well as their minimum volume. Now, national operators who need these products must make an advance payment and freeze a significant part of the cash turnover for the products, which will arrive in Ukraine in only three months. Thus, our products have become very popular. And, probably, we will even get ahead of our plan for this year. The concept worked, and in a closed world – even more effectively,” the entrepreneur wrote.
He said that today, the partners of the company understand that this is not the last crisis related to their commercial risks, and decide to focus on the national manufacturer.
“Distributors record the share of 20-30% in the product portfolio for local manufacturers,” Khmelnytsky said.
In addition, he said that, according to the existing demand, it is clear that construction is ongoing, home improvements are being actively done, including in improvements hospitals and schools. “And for us it is an opportunity to gain a certain market share, taking advantage of the global crisis, shifting imports. And the same can be done in other sectors. You ask how to find a niche, where to invest? Here is an idea for you: what we usually supply from China and Turkey should be produced here in Ukraine,” Khmelnytsky said.
“For Ukraine, there is only one prospect: to produce products for ourselves in order to replace imports, and even better, to enter the global market,” he said.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 04/05/20
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of May 04
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
State-owned enterprise Ukrspyrt has produced and supplied 3.3 million liters of raw materials for antiseptics to Ukrainian companies within three weeks from the start of production.
“Over three weeks, Ukrspyrt delivered 3.3 million liters of disinfectant to manufacturers. If we mathematically transfer this to products, then approximately 85 million pocket sanitizers of 50 ml or 17 million of 250 ml can be made from raw materials sold by Ukrspyrt,” the state enterprise said.
Today, raw materials are shipped from 12 Ukrspyrt plants.
“For efficiency, over the past few weeks we have additionally launched two plants in Lviv and Cherkasy regions,” acting director of Ukrspyrt Serhiy Bleskun said.
According to him, now 36 Ukrainian producers of antiseptics are buying raw materials at Ukrspyrt.
As reported, on March 30, the Verkhovna Rada voted for bill No. 3275, which, among other things, allows the manufacture of disinfectants (raw materials for antiseptics) at Ukrspyrt factories, and the president signed the law on April 2.
