Ships flying the Turkish flag will be able to continue exporting grain from Ukrainian ports without any problems, despite the suspension of Russia’s participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said.
“There are no problems with the exit of ships under the flag of Turkey. They will continue to leave Ukrainian ports,” the Turkish media quoted the minister as saying.
Akar also expressed hope that the parties will be able to agree on the implementation of the agreement on grain in full.
The topic of the grain deal, as reported, was discussed by phone on Monday and Tuesday by the foreign ministers and defense ministers of Russia and Turkey.
In January-September 2022, PJSC Alfa Insurance Company (Kyiv) collected a third less gross premiums (by 32.97%) than in the same period in 2021 – UAH 719.3 million, the RA reported “Expert Rating” in the information on confirmation of the company’s financial strength rating at the level of “uaAA +” on the national scale based on the results of work for the specified reporting period.
According to the RA press release, the share of insurance premiums owned by reinsurers decreased by 48.04% over nine months, to UAH 7.878 million in the same comparison.
At the same time, the company made insurance payments in the amount of UAH 258.4 million, which is 11.68% less than in January-September a year earlier.
For the period from September 30, 2021 to September 30, 2022, the company’s equity increased by 44.26% to UAH 485.52 million, while its gross liabilities increased by 7.05% to UAH 556.07 million. As a result of the high growth rates of own capital, the level of coverage of the company’s obligations by equity capital increased by 22.52 percentage points, up to 87.31%, which indicates a high level of equity capital provision, the RA notes.
The volume of cash and cash equivalents on the company’s accounts increased by 83.12% and amounted to UAH 736.7 million, while the ratio between cash and gross liabilities of the insurer increased by 55.03 percentage points, to UAH 132.48 million .
The RA also notes that as of September 30, 2022, PJSC IC Alfa Insurance formed a portfolio of investments in government bonds (OVGZ and OZGP) in the amount of UAH 56.36 million, which had a positive effect on the provision of liquid assets.
During the reporting period, the operating profit of the insurer increased by 3.77 times compared to the same period in 2021, to UAH 138.43 million, and its net profit increased by 4.09 times, to UAH 126.47 million.
IC Alfa Insurance was founded in 2000 and is one of the top 10 leaders in the Ukrainian insurance market. Offers a versatile portfolio of services, including comprehensive business protection programs and a wide range of insurance products for individuals.
The volume of computer services in January-September 2022 increased by 13% and amounted to almost $5.5 billion, the IT Ukraine Association (ITU) reported, citing data from the National Bank of Ukraine.
“According to the results of nine months of this year, the national IT industry maintains a positive growth trend and remains the only export industry that consistently generates foreign exchange earnings in the Ukrainian economy during the war. Ukrainian companies continue to work continuously and complete projects, pay taxes on time, attract investments and new customers , to actively enter the global market,” the message on the association’s website emphasizes.
According to the NBU, in the first nine months of 2022, the volume of computer services increased by 13%, to almost $5.5 billion. At the same time, the amount of taxes and fees paid by the IT industry for this period amounted to UAH 48 billion.
The Association emphasized that the Ukrainian IT business is doing everything possible to ensure maximum readiness for any scenario of events in Ukraine due to the full-scale war unleashed by the Russian Federation.
“Companies are constantly adapting their infrastructure to wartime realities: key systems are brought into the cloud, the network of Internet providers is diversified, including through the Starlink global satellite system, office premises are equipped with generators to provide backup power supply,” the ITU explained.
According to the association, up to 15% of IT specialists are also involved in the Cybertroops, and 3% of IT specialists defend the country with weapons in their hands. The remaining 82% work further in companies that support the economic front of the state, actively donate and volunteer. According to ITU estimates, the total amount of donations from the Ukrainian technology sector has already exceeded $500 million.
At the same time, the report indicates that, compared with previous years, the growth rate of the industry has slowed down and does not correspond to pre-war forecasts for 2022. In order to preserve and further develop the industry in the country, it is important to resolve at the state level a number of issues important for the industry related to personnel in the context of martial law.
“In addition to the objective reasons for this trend related to the war, it is critically important to resolve the issue of booking IT specialists, allow them to temporarily travel abroad to support business activities and work with clients, maintain Ukrainian tax residency of companies and specialists,” the executive director of the association emphasized. Konstantin Vasyuk.
According to him, state support in resolving these issues is of key importance.
During a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to hold an international conference on assistance to Ukraine in the coming winter in Paris on December 13, the Elysee Palace said on Tuesday.
“The President of the Republic (…) expressed his determination to help Ukraine weather the approach of winter (…). He indicated that France would increase its support in this regard and take part in international mobilization (aid). The two presidents agreed to organize on December 13 in Paris an international conference in support of the civil resilience of the country during the winter period,” the presidential office said in a communiqué.
We are talking, in particular, about the restoration of infrastructure, electricity and water supply.
The document says that for this “preparatory work with other partners of Ukraine will begin in the near future.”
In addition, according to the communiqué, Macron and Zelensky also agreed on the organization of a bilateral conference aimed at helping Ukraine from French enterprises, which will be held on December 12.
Imports to Ukraine of foreign alcoholic products labeled “Cognac”/”Cognac” have been suspended since November 1, 2022, as this name no longer meets the technical conditions for this drink, provided for by the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement.
As reported on the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine on Tuesday, this agreement, which entered into force on September 1, 2017, provides for mutual protection between the countries of a certain number of geographical indications (GI) in Ukraine, among which there is Cognac.
Thus, from November 1, the use of the name “Cognac” / “Cognac” in Ukraine for products originating from third countries no longer meets the technical requirements for the production of the drink “Cognac” and is now prohibited on the territory of Ukraine.
It is recalled that on January 24, 2022, as a result of the adoption of new regulations that include GI protection, the name “Cognac” / “Cognac” was included in the customs register, which is a prerequisite for the introduction of GI protection on the territory of Ukraine.
In addition, a transitional period has been established so that importers can change the labels on their products to comply with this GI. The transitional period has been extended until October 31, 2022 (inclusive), taking into account the aggression of the Russian Federation and the imposition of martial law in Ukraine.
“Starting from November 1, 2022, the Ukrvinprom Corporation, together with the National Interprofessional Bureau of Cognac, is responsible for the protection of the State Institution Cognac in the country and abroad and will take the necessary measures against products imported and presented under the name Cognac / Cognac “if they do not meet the technical conditions established for this GI in accordance with the Association Agreement signed between the EU and Ukraine,” summed up the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
The state budget of Ukraine for January-October 2022 was executed with a deficit of UAH 638.7 billion, including the general fund – UAH 643.4 billion against the deficit of UAH 1,121.6 billion planned by the general fund for January-October 2022 hryvnia, said the Ministry of Finance.
“In October, the actual deficit of the state budget amounted to UAH 143.4 billion, including the general fund – UAH 147.1 billion,” the agency said in a release on Tuesday.
According to the operational information of the State Treasury, as indicated by the Ministry of Finance, in January-October 2022, the cash expenditures of the state budget amounted to UAH 1,978.6 billion, including the general fund – UAH 1,817.4 billion, or 86.4% of the list of the reporting period .
“At the same time, in October 2022, cash expenditures of the state budget were made in the amount of UAH 231.7 billion, including the general fund in the amount of UAH 222.5 billion,” the Ministry of Finance specified.
According to him, the income of the general fund in October amounted to UAH 72.8 billion.
