The net profit of state-run Ukrgasbank (Kyiv) in 2019 may amount to UAH 1 billion, which is 30% more than in 2018 (UAH 768.698 million).
“At the end of the year, a profit of UAH 1 billion is expected, which corresponds to the financial result outlined in the bank’s development strategy for 2019-2021. Such plans were approved by the supervisory board of Ukrgasbank,” the bank said on its website on Tuesday.
According to First Deputy Board Chairman Oleksandr Dubrovin, it is planned that by the end of 2019, the bank’s return on capital will be 15.8%.
“The bank is improving its efficiency, and according to the results of 2019, we expect that the return on capital will be 15.8% compared to 13.8% in 2018,” he said.
In addition, Dubrovin said that the cost-income ratio (CIR) is expected to improve from 57% in 2018 to 55% in 2019.
As reported, Ukrgasbank’s net profit in January-October 2019 amounted to UAH 576.3 million, which is 7.1% more compared to the respective period of 2018 (UAH 538 million).
JSB Ukrgasbank was established in 1993. The state represented by the Ministry of Finance owns 94.94% of the shares of the financial institution.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of October 1, 2019, Ukrgasbank ranked fourth in terms of total assets (UAH 114.133 billion) among 76 banks operating in the country.
The volume of sales of services by telecommunications and postal communications enterprises in Ukraine in January-September 2019 amounted to UAH 52.6 billion, which in absolute prices is lower than the prices in January-September 2018 by 1.21%, according to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine.
According to its data, the volume of international services amounted to UAH 5.82 billion, which was 19.71%% up from January-September 2018.
At the same time, in absolute prices the volume of sales of services by telecommunications and postal communications enterprises grew by 12.42% in January-September 2019, to UAH 4.76 billion, including a rise of 13.32% in international services, to UAH 1.807 billion.
The volume of sales of mobile communications services in January-September 2019 fell by 2.37%, to UAH 27.72 billion, of which international services amounted to UAH 3.26 billion (35.84% up from January-September 2018).
The volume of sales of Internet services in January-September 2019 rose by 12.8% and amounted to UAH 10.05 billion, including international services fell by 3.79% compared with January-September 2018, to UAH 208.4 million.
Vagif Aliyev, the founder of PrJSC Mandarin Plaza, the investor and developer of Kyiv-based Lavina shopping center, on November 20 launched the first stage of the Blokbuster Mall shopping and entertainment center in Bandery Avenue in Kyiv, investing $400 million in construction. According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, only a Silpo supermarket has started working in the facility. The rest of the stores will be launched on a fan-based basis as they are ready, the founder of Nai Ukraine, the project broker, Vitaliy Boiko, said.
According to him, the cost of investments in the construction of the Blokbuster Mall shopping center was $400 million. The total area of the first stage is 200,000 square meters, the leased area is 110,000 square meters. After the launch of the second phase, which is at an early stage of construction, the total area will be 300,000 square meters, the rental area some 200,000 square meters. The facility is located on a plot of 30 hectares.
“Vagif Aliyev’s pipeline now contains projects for EUR2.9 billion (12 projects of shopping and entertainment centers). This is the second largest indicator in the world in terms of development of retail real estate. Westfield is the first developer in the world with EUR8 billion, and the third one is one of the largest European investors with EUR2.5 billion. The uniqueness is also that all Mandarin Plaza projects are located in one city – Kyiv,” Boiko said at a briefing.
The construction of a new aerodrome of the international airport in Dnipropetrovsk region will begin in the summer of 2020. The press service of Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration said, with reference to head of the administration Oleksandr Bondarenko, a designer is now being selected, he will be known in December 2019. In May 2020, a general contractor will be determined. According to the project, which Bondarenko presented to Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov, the airport will have a runway that can accept all types of aircraft, and a modern terminal. It is planned that its throughput will reach 3 million people a year.
“Dnipro for many years has been without an air artery that could show the city’s capabilities. We must pay tribute to MPs who chose Dnipro and the region. They made every effort to talk about the implementation of the project today. I hope that in the spring of 2022 the airport will be able to accept modern large aircraft that will provide both economic and tourist growth,” Razumkov said.
Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration noted that the regional state administration and a private investor will work on the project simultaneously. A runway will be built for state funds: UAH 1 billion was stipulated in the 2020 national budget for this purpose. It will be 3.2 km long and will have modern navigation systems, meteorological and lighting equipment.
The total project cost is $180 million.
Ukraine would finish cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2023, and the program being negotiated now should become the last one, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oksana Markarova has said. “My ambitious plan is to be able to complete it [the program with the IMF]. So that in 2023 we should not have a question when we will receive a new tranche, and we could support ourselves,” Markarova said in an interview with Hromadske.
According to the minister, the government continues negotiations with the IMF mission, which is visiting Kyiv.
“The program we are working on is good. It will give us the opportunity of conducting many reforms, privatization, concessions and other things. But it should also allow us to leave it at the end, as Poland could do at the time,” Markarova said.
As reported, on November 14, the IMF mission led by Ron van Rooden arrived in Kyiv to continue the discussion about the possibility of opening a new Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Ukraine.
Ukraine imported 9.183 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas for $1.801 billion in January-September 2019, including 1.481 bcm for $264.725 million in September, the State Statistics Service has said. The average price of gas imported by the country in September 2019 was $178.8 per 1,000 cubic meters, up 12.8% from $158.5 in August.
The main suppliers in January-September 2019 were companies from Switzerland with 4.05 bcm for $769.631 million, Germany – 2.827 bcm for $546.666 million, Czech Republic – 478.645 mcm for $91.23 million, Hungary – 462.888 mcm for $88.617 million, Poland – 342.778 mcm for $71.695 million, France – 356.617 mcm for $69.983 million, Austria – 267.171 mcm for $72.437 million, the U.K. – 154,599 mcm for $38.112 million, Luxembourg – 133.663 mcm for $32.256 million, Slovakia – 92.011 mcm for $16.215 million, Italy – 16.893 mcm for $3.487 million and Bulgaria – 1.4 mcm for $0.255 million.
Gas was not imported from Russia for the indicated period.
Ukraine imported 10.39 bcm for $3.12 billion in 2018.
