The Verkhovna Rada supported at first reading the amendments to Article 22 of the Law on advertising regarding the expansion of the law to electronic cigarettes and liquids used in them.
Some 284 MPs backed bill No. 4212, with the minimum required votes of 226.
The document provides for a ban on advertising of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, liquids used in electronic cigarettes, advertising marks for goods and services, other objects of intellectual property rights, under which tobacco products, electronic cigarettes and liquids used in electronic cigarettes are produced.
The bill prohibits the placement on any other goods of images of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, liquids used in electronic cigarettes, marks for goods and services under which tobacco products are produced (such as lighters and ashtrays).
It is also prohibited to sponsor television, radio, theater and concert, sports and other events using marks for goods and services, other objects of intellectual property rights, under which tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, liquids used in electronic cigarettes are produced.
According to the document, advertisements for electronic cigarettes and e-liquids should not contain images of popular people or approval of smoking or use of electronic cigarettes. Also, advertising should not give the impression that most people smoke or use electronic cigarettes.
According to an explanatory note to the bill, the ban on advertising of electronic cigarettes and the liquids used in them is aimed at preserving the health of the nation. The document is aimed at reducing the use of electronic cigarettes and the liquids used in them.
The mobile network operator Kyivstar in January-March 2021 increased its total revenue by 15% compared to the same period in 2020, to UAH 6.842 billion, according to a financial report of the company’s shareholder, the international Veon group.
According to data published on the official website of Veon, in the first quarter, Kyivstar increased its EBITDA by 15.3% compared to the same period last year, to UAH 4.658 billion. EBITDA margin grew by 0.2 percentage points (pp), to 68.1%.
Total operating revenue from mobile services rose by 14.9%, to UAH 6.357 billion.
According to the operator’s own report, Kyivstar accelerated the construction of high-speed data transmission networks, which resulted in a 24.3% increase in the number of 4G subscribers.
In turn, the use of mobile Internet per subscriber grew by 27.5%.
“We expect Kyivstar to continue to deliver double-digit revenue growth in the remainder of 2021,” Veon said in the financial report.
Veon said that Kyivstar’s 4G coverage in Ukraine reached 87%, (an increase of 10 pp year-over-year), and the penetration of 4G mobile communications in the operator’s network reached 38% of the total base.
The average revenue per user (ARPU) of mobile communications increased to UAH 82, or by 16.1%, the minutes of use (MoU) – by 5.1%, to 633 minutes.
The number of Kyivstar mobile customers in January-March decreased 1.15%, to 25.7 million.
“Kyivstar’s total mobile customer base showed a year-over-year decline largely due to the decline of second SIM cards in the market and lower gross additions during lockdown when the strict measures in 2Q20 resulted in the partial closure of Kyivstar stores and lower customer mobility,” Veon said.
Total operating revenue from fixed-line communication grew by 17.2%, to 451 million, broadband ARPU rose by 5.4%, to UAH 85. The number of broadband customers increased 11.5%, to 1.15 million.
Capex excluding licenses and leases (operational capex) increased by 11.7% year-over-year.
Revenue in the B2B segment grew by 6% in the first quarter of 2021, reflecting Kyivstar’s promotion of new digital solutions for its business customers and rapid growth in Big Data.
Veon said that digital adoption and usage have accelerated in the last twelve months. In Q1 2021, the number of MyKyivstar self-care users was at 2.7 million, up 76% year-over-year, while the Kyivstar TV service users increased to 414,342.
Kyivstar paid UAH 2.3 billion of taxes and duties to the national budget.
Kyivstar is a market-leading telecoms operator in Ukraine. It provides communication and data services based on a wide range of mobile and fixed-line technologies, including 3G.
The shareholder of Kyivstar is the international group VEON (earlier – VimpelCom Ltd.). The group’s shares are listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange (New York).
The online medical hub Doc.ua has appointed its CEO Garry Andreasyan, who replaced Serhiy Kazantsev, according to a press release of the company.
According to it, Kazantsev will continue to work as a member of the company’s board and will be engaged in the development of an online medical hub and its international expansion.
It is indicated that Andreasyan, who replaced Kazantsev as the CEO, has held the position of the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Doc.ua since May 2020 and is a shareholder of the company.
Among his important goals as the CEO are the implementation of innovative technologies and the expansion of the company’s product line.
Previously, Andreasyan worked in executive positions at Allianz Ukraine and the Effective Investments Group. He is the founder of several projects in the field of HoReCa, two innovative startups and a mentor of SingularityU Kyiv Chapter.
“Digitalization, convenient and safe access to medical services can not only improve the quality of life of people, but also make it longer. The online hub Doc.ua is the future of digital medicine in Ukraine and many leading countries of the world. We are building a convenient medical ecosystem, which is already now demonstrates high efficiency,” Ihor Liski, the strategic investor of Doc.ua, said.
The press release said that under the leadership of previous CEO Kazantsev, the service has become the country’s largest medical hub and has gone international, opening offices in six countries. More than 1.5 million Ukrainians use the Doc.ua service every month.
“Having raised significant investments into the project, we were able to create not only an information guide for finding doctors and making appointments, but an entire ecosystem. Now Doc.ua has become the only convenient entry point in healthcare sector for our clients. I am convinced that the project expects even greater development, because it is capable of starting a revolution,” the press service said, citing Kazantsev.
Doc.ua is an online medical hub, founded in 2014, which provides services for: audio consultations, calling a doctor at home, delivering drugs or making an appointment with a medical specialist. The Doc.ua database contains more than 34,000 doctors and more than 2,600 medical institutions throughout Ukraine, 700 diagnostic centers and laboratories, and 2,000 pharmacies.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky appointed by his decrees the Ambassadors of Ukraine to Ireland, the Principality of Monaco and Senegal.
Relevant decrees No. 177/2021, No. 178/2021, No. 179/2021 dated April 28, 2021 are released on the presidential website.
Thus, Ambassador of Ukraine to the French Republic Vadym Omelchenko was appointed as Ambassador of Ukraine to the Principality of Monaco concurrently.
Larysa Anatoliyivna Herasko was appointed as Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland; Yuriy Anatoliyovych Pyvovarov was appointed as Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Senegal.
The state-owned development company Ukrbud, part of the state-owned development corporation Ukrbud (all located Kyiv), in 2020 reduced its net profit by 31% compared to 2019, to UAH 14.4 million.
According to the company’s annual report in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, its net income decreased by 50.1% and amounted to UAH 62.9 million, gross profit – by 16%, to UAH 26.3 million and operating profit – by 30.1%, to UAH 17.6 million.
Retained earnings of the company increased by 7.5%, to UAH 57.1 million. Current liabilities decreased by 36.2%, to UAH 18.3 million, and there are no long-term liabilities.
In general, the company’s assets last year decreased by 2.2% and amounted to UAH 284.9 million.
The development company Ukrbud was established by the government of Ukraine in 2004. It is part of the state-owned development corporation Ukrbud.
The company is engaged in the design and construction of industrial and civil facilities, as well as training of personnel for the construction industry. Ukrbud includes 11 subsidiaries in Ukraine.
The owner of 100% of the company’s shares, according to the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, as of the fourth quarter of 2020, is the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
The charter capital of Ukrbud amounted to UAH 193 million as of April 2021.
Modus Energy International, a member of the Lithuanian diversified company Modus Grupe, has initiated an arbitration against Ukraine over the retrospective reduction of feed-in tariffs in seeking to compensate damages of EUR 11.5 million, according to a draft government resolution on the procurement of legal advisors services to defend the interests of the state in arbitration. The draft resolution, authorizing the Ministry of Justice to apply the simplified negotiating procedure, was included in the agenda of the government meeting on Wednesday.
According to an explanatory note to the draft resolution, the Ministry of Justice received a notice of arbitration against Ukraine on March 23 from the owner of Bolokhivsky Solar Park 1 LLC, Bolokhivsky Solar Park 2, as well as Solar Zalukva LLC – the Lithuanian company Modus Energy International. The company, in particular, claimed that Ukraine violated the Energy Charter Treaty by lowering feed-in tariffs from August 1, 2020 by 15%., the amount of which was guaranteed until the end of 2029, through the adoption of Law No. 810-IX.
According to preliminary estimates, the damages claimed are EUR 11.5 million.
According to the note, Modus Energy International did not agree to the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding between the government and investors signed in June 2020, which provides for a reduction in feed-in tariffs in exchange for repayment of debts to electricity producers from renewable energy sources.
The company asks the arbitration tribunal to recover from Ukraine, including the losses incurred, as well as interest on them and all costs of the arbitration proceedings.
For its part, the Ministry of Justice points out in a note that a meeting of the Interdepartmental Working Group was held on April 2, at which it was deemed expedient to involve a legal advisor to properly protect the interests of the state in arbitration in the course of applying the negotiation procedure for the purchase of its services.As reported, the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission of Ukraine (NEURC) in 2019 approved a feed-in tariff of 15.03 euro cents per 1 kWh for solar power plants Bolokhivsky Solar Park 1 and Bolokhivsky Solar Park 2 until January 1, 2030. Investments in the project amounted to EUR 30 million. In addition, in the first half of 2019, Modus Grupe began construction of two solar power plants in Ukraine with a total capacity of 46 MW.
