Businessman Ihor Kolomoisky, as the main shareholder of the 1+1 media group, will head the supervisory board of the 1+1 television channel, the channel’s press service said. “Today, on December 19, 2019, 1+1 Media announces the completion of the decentralization process and presents an updated management structure for the group. … Ihor Kolomoisky, as the group’s main shareholder, will head the Supervisory Board of Studio 1+1 TV Radio Company LLC,” it said.
In addition, Yaroslav Pakholchuk has been appointed the new head of the 1+1 media board and the director general.
It is noted that MP Oleksandr Tkachenko (faction of the Servant of the People) remains the honorary president of 1+1 media.
Media holding 1+1 media manages the following TV channels: 1+1, 2+2, TET, PlusPlus, 1+1 International, Unian-TV, Bihudi, the news agency UNIAN, such Internet projects as Hlavred and Telekrytyka. The holding also has its own production department, which includes the 1+1 video VOD platform and Media & Production High School. The main owner of the group is Ihor Kolomoisky.
Ukraine and Slovakia have approved the contents of the agreement determining the conditions of the use of airspace of Slovakia at the Uzhgorod international airport, the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine has reported on its website.
The parties discussed the provisions of the intergovernmental agreement determining the conditions of the use of part of the airspace of Slovakia for the provision of air traffic services by a certain Ukrainian air navigation services prov
ider at the Uzhgorod airport and agreed on the draft version of the agreement.
“Prior to signing by officials authorized by the respective governments, the agreement is subject to domestic approval procedures in accordance with the procedures for the formal functioning of international agreements that exist in each country,” the ministry said.
Minister Vladyslav Krykliy said that the Ukrainian side would ensure the passage of domestic approval procedures as quickly as possible and hoped for the same actions by the Slovak side. м
He also said that during the visit of Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová to Ukraine on September 16, 2019, the heads of state confirmed the need to intensify the work of the parties in order to conclude the relevant agreement as soon as possible.
The German-Ukrainian Fund (GUF) jointly with financial partners – OTP Leasing, Oschadbank and Ukrgasbank – has started implementing the FinancEast program to finance investment projects of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that GUF signed agreements with OTP Leasing, Oschadbank and Ukrgasbank under the program in Kyiv on Thursday.
To implement the FinancEast program, the European Union provided Ukraine with a grant of EUR 9.5 million through the German development bank KfW. Grant resources will be provided to SME in the form of compensation up to 50% of the cost of investment projects financed by OTP Leasing, Oschadbank and Ukrgasbank. Investment projects include the purchase of agricultural machinery, equipment, vehicles, installation, construction and reconstruction of premises on a lease or loan.
“I am very glad that this program was decided to be implemented on the basis of GUF. We are impressed that this program is aimed at investments, at hryvnia lending to the regions that need financing most. And with the help of GUF we provide what our creditors require – transparency, reporting and effectiveness of these programs,” GUF Executive Director Oleh Strynzha said at a briefing.
First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Kateryna Rozhkova said that the NBU is taking a number of measures aimed at enhancing lending, including lending to SME, which can become a driving force for the country’s economic development. “In December, we eased the requirements for banks when lending to private entrepreneurs and new enterprises. And we hope that this will greatly facilitate not only the work of banks, but also the entrepreneurs themselves… The second point: we continue working on the development of such instruments as guarantees and compensation tools for SME together with our donors and the government,” she said.
The Black Sea Trade and Development (BSTDB) and SOCAR AQS, a major drilling and well services company headquartered in Azerbaijan, have reached an agreement to partner for advancing regional cooperation in the energy sector, according to a joint press release of the bank and the company.
“BSTDB is providing a EUR 20 million Trade Finance Facility to finance imports of industrial equipment and materials from BSTDB member countries,” they said.
The loan agreement was signed at the BSTDB Headquarters in Thessaloniki.
According to the press release, the transaction will have a strong regional and developmental impact through acquisition of casings, tubular, rig, well service equipment, drill bits, power generators, and crane equipment mainly from Russia, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine.
“The partnership with SOCAR AQS will generate significant economic benefits and technological advancement opportunities for many producers and suppliers in the region. We hope to develop further our partnership in the coming years,” Dmitry Pankin, BSTDB President, said, signing the loan agreement.
“The partnership with BSDTB will enable SOCAR AQS to expand our business and further integrate to supply-chain ecosystem in the region,” Ramin Isayev, General Director of SOCAR AQS, said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed diplomat Andriy Kuzmenko as Ukrainian Ambassador to Qatar. Respective decree No.914/2019 as of December 18 was published on a president’s website on December 19.
Previously Kuzmenko was Ukraine’s temporary charge d’affaires in the UK, an employee of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) as a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, an ambassador at large.
Ukrainian entrepreneurs Vasyl Khmelnytsky and Andriy Ivanov have reached an agreement on splitting management of joint investment projects, in particular, Ivanov’s Quarter Partners will manage investments in the projects of UDP development company and the Kyiv airport, while Khmelnytsky via UFuture remains the majority shareholder of these companies with the power of veto.According to a joint press release issued on Thursday, UFuture holding company controls interests in all joint businesses and social projects of Khmelnytsky and Quarter Partners investment fund – in the projects of Ivanov. “We are in the final stage of restructuring and managing our investments. Today, I focus on global innovation and impact projects that are changing the country,” Khmelnytsky said.
He said that they are UNIT.City in Kyiv and Kharkiv, Biopharma, Bila Tserkva Industrial Park, Kyiv International Economic Forum, and the others.
“I have founded Quarter Partners as a new-model investment fund that combines both portfolio and venture capital projects. In addition to managing existing projects, our team is already looking for and developing promising new businesses, including startups,” Ivanov said.
He said that the focus is on IT-projects that can scale and complement each other, creating new value for their clients and society. There are many strong teams working here to develop high-quality products for consumers around the world, he said.
According to the press release, the management structure of Kyiv Airport and its development program have not changed, but UDP does intend to significantly enhance its profile activities. Conversely, UDP has changed its management structure and will announce several new projects in the near future.
Serhiy Bogoslavskyi, who has been working in the Ukrainian real estate market for over 15 years, has been appointed the President of UDP. Vitaliy Melnyk, CEO of UDP, will continue managing the development of innovative parks in Ukraine as UDP Vice President.
UFuture is a holding company of Ukrainian entrepreneur Vasyl Khmelnytsky that integrates his business and impact-investment projects. The company has a diversified portfolio of assets in the fields of real estate, infrastructure, industry, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and IT. Currently, UFuture’s assets are estimated at $550 million, and the total capitalization of the businesses it invested in is more than $1 billion.
UFuture is a majority shareholder in UDP development company (specializing in large infrastructure projects), Kyiv Sikorsky International Airport (the second international airport in Ukraine by passenger traffic), national operator of outdoor advertising RTM-Ukraine, and a group of IT companies and an ecosystem of tech solutions ITernal. UFuture is a strategic investor in the pharmaceutical company Biopharma and UDP Renewables, renewable energy investment and development company. UFuture is also developing new business projects including UNIT.City innovation parks in Kyiv and Kharkiv, LvivTech.City in Lviv; Bila Tserkva industrial park and a manufacturer of modern electrotechnical systems, Plank Electrotechnic.
UFuture supports social projects in the fields of education and economics, including the Kyiv International Economic Forum (KIEF), Lean Institute Ukraine, UNIT School of Business, UNIT Factory innovative IT-schools in Kyiv and Kharkiv, INDAX accelerator, Novopecherska School, the all-Ukrainian online platform iLearn, K.Fund Books and #bestread publishing projects.
Quarter Partners, a private fund that invests in businesses with a high potential for growth and then resells these businesses to strategic investors. It was founded as a diversified investment group in 1992. The fund has made large deals on attracting share capital as well as selling businesses to strategic investors. Today, Quarter Partners focuses on finding and developing IT-projects (eCommerce, MedTech, FoodTech, Logistics) as well as the projects in pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, and real estate.
The investment portfolio includes Kyiv Sikorsky International Airport, UDP development company, UDP Renewables, Biopharma pharmaceutical company, operator of outdoor advertising, RTM-Ukraine, as well as several venture projects in Ukraine and abroad. The total investment in these projects is $520 million.
