JSC Ukrposhta, in partnership with Antonov Airlines and Windrose Airlines, sent the first An-124 Ruslan aircraft to New York with 125,000 parcels of Ukrainian small and medium-sized businesses (UAH 140 million in monetary terms).
In the coming months the company, in partnership with Windrose Airlines, will weekly send aircraft of various configurations in accordance with the needs of Ukrainian exporters. The program should ensure uninterrupted delivery of export shipments to the United States during closed borders and canceled flights, the press service of Ukrposhta reported on Monday morning.
“The new charter program with regular flights will allow us to ensure reliable delivery of 75-80% of export shipments to the United States. And together with passenger airlines, we provide 100%. For now, I can state that we are fully prepared for the high season, so this year I especially want to please our clients with timely New Year gifts delivered,” the press service of Ukrposhta quoted its director general Ihor Smelyansky as saying.
The pandemic has accelerated the digitalization of business processes for 39% of respondents out of 74 surveyed managers of companies in various sectors of the economy, 42% intend to reduce office space, according to a report “Business leaders’ view in Ukraine 2020: Special issue of COVID-19” by KPMG company in Ukraine. “Leaders understand that increased digitalization is one of the main drivers of organizational development. Companies have to reсonsider what customers want and how they can achieve it,” the report said on Friday.
However, capital shortages and a lack of consensus on key technology trends are the biggest challenges in accelerating digital transformation, the report said.
At the same time, the most successful were converting operations into a “figure” (39% of respondents) and the creation of new digital business models and income streams (36%), according to the survey, which was conducted from July 15 to August 31 of this year.
At the same time, 30% indicated that progress in digitalization not only accelerated, but put the company forward for years to come.
When asked about the barriers to digital transformation, 22% indicated a lack of capital to accelerate progress (7% globally).
According to world leaders, the biggest challenge is to focus efforts and investments in areas that will be promising in the future, while avoiding areas that may be only a short-term response to the pandemic.
As a result, 33% of global CEOs identified the biggest challenge in accelerating digital transformation as “a lack of understanding of future operational processes.” Companies need to understand if COVID-19-related changes (such as consumer behavior) are indicative of an ongoing trend, or just a temporary effect of the pandemic.
In Ukraine, “a lack of understanding of future operational processes” was recognized as the main challenge by 14% of managers , the authors of the report said.
Regulatory pressures were cited by many respondents as the top threat to businesses in 2020, while executives prioritized staff shortages last year.
“This risk continues to be on their radar, but has shifted to fourth position,” added the authors of the reports.
At the same time, according to the survey, 73% of respondents in the world and 39% in Ukraine are convinced that remote work has expanded their access to the pre-personnel reserve.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk on his victory over Briton Derek Chisora.
“Oleksandr, this was a stunning victory! Ukraine is proud!” He wrote on his Twitter on Sunday, November, 1.
On the night of October 31 to November 1 in London, Usyk, according to the decision of the judges, became the WBO Intercontinental heavyweight champion.
BOXER, OLEKSANDR USYK, PRESIDENT ZELENSKY, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY
Ukraine is heading towards economic issues in foreign policy and intends to develop trust and trade relations with Israel, Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk said during the third Ukrainian-Israeli Innovation Summit in Kyiv.
“I support the proposal of our President and Foreign Minister about economization of our foreign policy. In our case, this includes such important aspects as the development of investment attractiveness, innovative technologies and trade relations between Ukraine and Israel. These are all real things, but for this we need to develop trust between our nations. We also need to support the agricultural sector, which needs Israeli technologies, irrigation systems, in everything that is aimed at its support and development,” Korniychuk said.
He said that the non-diplomatic trade and innovation mission of Ukraine in Jerusalem will also address these areas.
“This will also be a priority for the embassy in the next 6-12 months. We have already discussed the issue of premises for this mission, but the main question remains who will be involved in the B2B area in the mission,” the diplomat said.
The ambassador also announced his intention to pay more attention to popularizing the investment attractiveness of Ukraine. “Israel for me is a country with which I practiced law for many years, paying attention to supporting foreign direct investment in Ukraine. And I intend to be a lawyer for all Israeli investors in Ukraine and to promote their investments,” he said.
“My mission in Israel begins next week, and after the quarantine, I will have meetings with representatives of the government and parliament. I am looking forward to it,” Korniychuk said.
The Ukrainian government has decided to optimize the issuance of electronic visas (e-Visas), including for citizens of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, according to the Ukrainian Embassy in Thailand.
“From November 1, 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine will start issuing Ukrainian electronic visas for citizens of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos under a new, modern and convenient procedure,” the embassy said on the Facebook page.
Thus, to apply for an electronic visa, you should register on the MFA web platform https://evisa.mfa.gov.ua/; fill out a questionnaire, upload a photo and scanned copies of documents (passport, invitation, etc.), pay the consular fee with a bank card; receive an e-Visa by e-mail (sent in the PDF format).
It is noted that to enter Ukraine, it is required to print out the received e-Visa and present it with the passport to the border authorities of Ukraine at the checkpoints across the state border.
An electronic visa is issued for a single or double entry to Ukraine for up to 30 days with a business, private, tourist purpose, for medical treatment, activities in the field of culture, science, education, sports, performance of official duties by a foreign journalist or a representative of a foreign media.
Investment of the pharmaceutical company Biopharma is $15-20 million, co-owner of the company Kostiantyn Yefymenko has said.
“We have already invested $125 million in production facilities. We continue to invest $15-20 million every year. And we have not yet begun to build a second plant, for example, in Egypt. When we build it, investments will be even bigger,” he said during a discussion panel at the Kyiv International Economic Forum.
Yefymenko said that “the decision to sell the plant to the pharmaceutical company STADA was strategic.”
“We have built two plants. One plant that produces generic drugs, hormones and probiotics, we brought to a turnover of EUR 40 million and sold it completely to STADA,” he said, adding that “STADA and not only STADA is watching and continues to look at not only Biopharma, but also other pharmaceutical companies.”
Yefymenko spoke about the negotiations between Biopharma and STADA. “I can’t say that it took much time for them to come. STADA bought the plant and we have a completely transparent fence with them, because we are on the same site. STADA and I have remained partners, since all the infrastructure that we built, we have with them 50×50. This is a transformer substation, gas hydraulic fracturing, water supply, sewage and fire protection system,” he said.
“STADA is considering the possibility of expanding its plant, we are considering expanding our plant,” Yefymenko said
