The Kyivstar mobile communications operator has expanded the territory of coverage with 4G technology in 21 regions in Ukraine and connected 1,046 settlements to the new technologies, providing another 830,000 residents of Ukraine with access to high-speed Internet, the company has said in a report.
So, high-speed mobile Internet appeared in the cities and towns of Baturyn, Berdychiv, Bilovodsk, Varash, Volochysk, Volnyansk, Zolotonosha, Konotop, Manevychi, Mena, Radomyshl, Rubizhne, Sambir, Smila, Starokostiantyniv, Stryi, Khotyn, Schastia, Yampil, as well as several hundreds of villages.
To date, the Kyivstar 4G network operates in 7,885 settlements, 90% of which are located in rural areas. This is the territory where over 29.8 million people or 72% of the population of Ukraine live.
The operator has already installed about 7,500 towers for 4G communications.
The company also said that the operator supported a general plan of action aimed at implementing the decree of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on ensuring nationwide coverage of 4G/LTE in the 900 MHz band.
Kyivstar is considering the possibility of becoming a “donor” of frequencies for other mobile operators, provided that the state takes measures to increase the efficiency of the radio frequency spectrum that Kyivstar may receive as a result of redistribution, the company said.
The net profit of TAScombank in January-September 2019 amounted to UAH 327.462 million, which is 19.2% more than for the same period in 2018 (UAH 274.662 million), the bank reported in its quarterly statements.
According to the report posted on the bank’s website, its net profit for July-September 2019 amounted to UAH 204.185 million, which is 1.9 times more than in the third quarter of 2018.
Net interest income for the nine months increased by 28.1% compared to the corresponding period of 2018, to UAH 993.742 million.
The bank’s assets increased by 2.6%, to UAH 18.170 billion, in particular loans to customers by 0.5%, to UAH 12.468 billion.
The bank’s liabilities since the beginning of the year have grown by 0.8%, to UAH 15.714 billion.
The bank’s net worth for this period increased by 15.8%, to UAH 2.457 billion. Charter capital remained at the level of UAH 1.153 billion.
According to the NBU, as of January 1, 2019 the main owner of TAScombank is Sergiy Tigipko (99.93066% of the shares).
TAScombank ranked 17th among 76 operating banks as of July 1, 2019 in terms of total assets (UAH 19.062 billion), according to the National Bank of Ukraine.
Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of Metinvest mining and metallurgical group, has reduced its debt on pre-export financing by $75 million, to $406 million by early repayment of part of this debt.
According to the company’s press release, this move exempts Metinvest from scheduled payments of the principal amount over the next few months, which will provide greater financial flexibility for the group during the period of lower steel prices.
“This payment is the planned use of part of net proceeds from the recent issue of bonds denominated in two currencies, which was made to extend the maturity of the group’s eurobonds and received significant support from the global community of investors and the leading European financial institutions,” the press release reads.
As reported, in April 2018 Metinvest refinanced $2.271 billion in debt, issuing two tranches of bonds in the amount of $1.592 billion and received a pre-export credit line of $765 million. This is Metinvest’s largest issue of eurobonds with the lowest coupon so far and the longest maturity. It is also the largest issue of eurobonds in the Ukrainian corporate sector. The deal received significant support from the global community of investors and the leading European financial institutions. The joint managers of the transaction were Deutsche Bank, ING Bank (both London branches), Natixis (France), and UniCredit Bank (Germany).
The net profit of Credit Agricole Bank (Kyiv) in January-September 2019 amounted to UAH 1.332 billion, which is 12.4% more than for the same period in 2018 (UAH 1.185 billion), the bank reported in its quarterly statements.
According to the report posted on the bank’s website, net profit for the third quarter of 2019 amounted to UAH 507.335 million, which is 28.1% more than for the third quarter of last year.
Net interest income for the nine months of this year increased by 9.8% compared with the same period a year earlier, to UAH 1.787 billion.
The bank’s assets in January-September 2019 grew by 10%, to UAH 36.057 billion, in particular loans to customers by 22.4%, to UAH 26.549 billion.
Bank liabilities since the beginning of the year have grown by 9.5%, to UAH 31.316 billion.
The bank’s net worth in January-September 2019 increased by 12.8%, to UAH 4.741 billion. Charter capital remained at the level of UAH 1.223 billion.
Credit Agricole Bank was founded in 1993. Its sole shareholder is Credit Agricole S.A. (France).
Credit Agricole Bank ranked 12th among 76 banks operating in the country as of July 1, 2019 in terms of total assets (UAH 40.033 billion), according to the National Bank of Ukraine.
The Israeli Embassy in Ukraine will resume its work on November 1 after a strike announced earlier in protest against the actions of the Israeli Ministry of Finance and the resulting funding problems.
“Our fight has not ended, it has only been temporarily suspended by court order. Tomorrow, on Friday, November 1, we will resume the work of the embassy on an ongoing basis,” the embassy reported on Twitter on Thursday.
The Israeli Consulate in Toronto (Canada) reported on Twitter that Israeli diplomatic agencies around the world were resuming their work. “Our Consulate, as well as other Israeli missions around the world, are back to work. Negotiations between MFA employees and the Israeli Ministry of Finance will continue,” it says.
As reported, on October 30, Israeli diplomatic missions in Ukraine and around the world announced their suspension of work in early hours of Wednesday due to a labor dispute with the Israeli Ministry of Finance. A message was posted on Facebook of the Israeli Consulate in Toronto that the diplomatic mission was on strike.
The Times of Israel said that all Israeli embassies and consulates around the world shut down early Wednesday as diplomats and military attachés went on strike in a long-simmering dispute with the Finance Ministry over expense stipends paid to envoys. The move, coordinated by the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the Histadrut Labor Federation, came after the Treasury reportedly backtracked on previous understandings and said it would force the envoys to pay back thousands of dollars that they had been reimbursed for expenses, it said.
The dispute is over expense stipends paid to Israeli diplomats and Defense Ministry envoys stationed abroad that are meant to cover a wide array of expenses, from hosting events at an ambassador’s residence to transport costs.
At the same time, Israeli media say that diplomats have been complaining about low salaries for several years. They also expressed dissatisfaction with the reduction in the cost of the work of diplomatic missions. In 2014, the Israeli union of Histadrut managed to agree with representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Finance to raise salaries for diplomats. However, according to diplomats, this arrangement has not been fully implemented yet.
The closure came into effect at 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning Israel time. Thus, not a single Israeli citizen who is abroad and finds himself in a difficult situation will be able to receive consular assistance, the newspaper notes.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) estimates GDP growth in the third quarter of 2019 compared to the corresponding period of 2018 at 3.5%, according to the NBU’s inflation report. According to the NBU’s forecast, the growth of Ukraine’s GDP in the fourth quarter of 2019 compared to the corresponding period of 2018 will be 3.3%.
“According to the NBU’s estimates, in the third quarter of 2019 real GDP growth slowed down (to 3.5% year-on-year) primarily due to weaker indicators of certain basic activities,” the report said.
Thus, according to the central bank, the situation deteriorated in industry, in particular, mining and metallurgy, against the background of the further deterioration of external conditions for exporters. This, in turn, affected the performance of freight transport. The results of financial and insurance activities also weakened, primarily due to a less favorable comparison base.
At the same time, the NBU said agricultural growth rates remained high, they were supported by a significant harvest of late grains and oilseeds, which offset the lower yield of potatoes and fruits.
GDP qrowth in the third quarter was supported by consumer demand amid a significant improvement in consumer sentiment, higher wages, and pensions. This supported high growth in retail and passenger traffic, the report said.
