Kyivstar mobile operator has extended 4G network coverage in 20 regions of Ukraine, connecting 344 more settlements, the company’s press service has said.
The operator, in particular, connected the towns of Tokmak (Zaporizhia region), Soledar (Donetsk region), Svaliava (Zakarpattia region), Pogrebysche (Vinnitsa region), Belz (Lviv region), as well as hundreds of small villages.
Currently, according to the company, due to the increase in 4G communications territory, more than 80% of Ukrainian residents can take advantage of high-speed mobile Internet access in the Kyivstar network.
Since the launch of the 4G communications by the operator in April 2018, more than 10 million subscribers have already taken advantage of the new technology services. During this period, the consumption of mobile Internet in the Kyivstar network increased from 325 to 649 PB.
In the 4G communications network, each subscriber on average uses 10 GB of traffic per month, which is almost twice as much as on a 3G network.
Kyivstar is the largest Ukrainian telecommunications operator. It provides communications and data services based on a wide range of mobile and fixed technologies, including 3G. By the end of 2018, its services were used by about 26.4 million mobile subscribers and about 900,000 fixed Internet customers.
The shareholder of Kyivstar is the international group VEON (formerly VimpelCom Ltd.). The shares of the group are listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange (New York).
Ukraine exported more than 20.5 million tonnes of wheat and 30.3 million tonnes of corn in the 2019/2020 agricultural year (July-June), President of the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) Mykola Horbachev has said. “The 2019-2020 grain season was successful. We produced a record number of grains and oilseeds. The grain and oilseeds harvest was a little over 98 million tonnes, which is an absolute record for Ukraine. A record amount of wheat was grown – more than 28 million tonnes. Wheat exports amounted to more than 20 million tonnes. Corn export exceeded all expectations. We exported more than 30 million tonnes. This year was successful,” he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday.
The head of the UGA predicted that by 2026 Ukraine will produce 113 million tonnes of grain and oilseeds a year and export 70 million tonnes.
According to the UGA, export of grain and oilseeds in the 2020/21 season will be some 58.8 million tonnes.
The largest Polish air carrier LOT resumes international flights from July 1, including flights to Kyiv.
According to the company’s website, in particular, flights will be operated to Boryspil International Airport.
In addition, from July 1 LOT will resume flights to Prague (the Czech Republic), Dusseldorf, Berlin (both Germany), Vilnius (Lithuania), Budapest (Hungary), Vienna (Austria), Brussels (Belgium), Bucharest (Romania), Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Tbilisi (Georgia), Oslo (Norway), Barcelona (Spain), Split, Dubrovnik, Zadar (all Croatia), Podgorica (Montenegro), Corfu, Chania (both Greece), and Varna (Bulgaria).
Dynamics of the consumer price index in 2002-2020, in %
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) is expanding the list of destinations for July and August 2020 due to the easing by some countries of the border crossing regime for Ukrainian tourists.According to the press service of the company, domestic flights will be operated in three directions – Kherson, Odesa and Lviv.
So, in the period from July 1 to July 30, UIA will serve domestic flights to Odesa, Lviv and Kherson, flying every Friday to the regions and returning to Kyiv every Sunday. However, in the first half of August, it is planned to change the schedule for the direction Kyiv-Odesa: flights will be operated on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday (Odesa-Kyiv on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday). From August 16 to August 31, a flight to Odesa on Thursdays may also be added.
International flights, as UIA notes, will be operated in the directions of the airline’s regular flight program: Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, Dubai, Tbilisi, Batumi, Larnaca, Athens, London, Nice, Rome, Naples, Baku, Berlin, Milan, Munich, Prague, Yerevan, Madrid, Vienna, Barcelona, Chisinau, and there will also be periodic flights to Toronto.
The level of capital declared by many insurance companies is overestimated, and financial stability indicators are not true, according to the Financial Stability Report of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) published on Wednesday.
According to the report, the central bank is concerned about most of the requirements to reinsurers. At the same time, about a third of the premiums were transferred to insurers whose solvency is uncertain, which means that the probability of receiving reimbursement is small.
In addition, some insurance companies hold funds in bank accounts exclusively for reporting on quarterly dates. After that, the funds from the accounts are transformed into other assets. Of 150 financial institutions analyzed, similar behavior is characteristic of more than half of the companies. But in general, their deposits in banks make up less than 20% of the total deposits of insurers.
The NBU said that insurance companies need high-quality and liquid assets in order to make insurance payments on time. Such assets, in particular, are government bonds and funds in deposit accounts. At the same time, many insurers invest in illiquid assets which real market value is impossible to establish – capital of enterprises, shares and investment certificates. The income from such assets declared in their financial statements averages less than 5% per year, which is significantly lower than the current profitability of deposits or government bonds, and it is almost impossible to turn them into liquid assets. Some of the securities are seized or their circulation is stopped. Another significant component of the assets of a number of companies – accounts receivable – often in practice has no market value.
According to the regulator, the insurance market requires a fundamental change in the rules of the game, since its development is constrained by imperfect regulation, which in many aspects is not consistent with the Insurance Core Principles of the International Association of Insurance Market Supervisors (IAIS) and the European Solvency directive. Consumers should receive additional guarantees that their rights will be protected, and they will receive insurance indemnities on time and in full, the central bank said.
“The priority for the NBU will be to strengthen the financial stability of insurance companies, introduce the best corporate governance practices and internal supervision systems, respond in advance to financial problems and violations of the protection of the rights of consumers of financial services,” the NBU said.
