The Kyivstar mobile operator plans to launch an application for own Smart Money financial service within one month, Head of the mobile financial services department of the operator Taras Horkun has said. “We originally designed our financial services in a way that we could cover those cities and towns where the bank network is poorly represented. We have the opportunity of creating financial services that can be managed via SMS messages not only from smartphones, but also from button phones,” he told journalists at a meeting in Lviv on June 29.
According to Horkun, now the service is undergoing the latest testing, and if the testing is successful at all stages – within a month the application should appear in the markets.
He said that Smart Money from Kyivstar is not a competitor of the banking system, since the application includes services that the operator launches together with banks, in particular, Ukrgasbank and Pravex-Bank, and there are certain segments that are represented by other banks.
“We are open and we cooperate with different payment systems and various banks. Our electronic money is the money of the Prostir system of the National Bank. We consider ourselves as part of building a national program for establishing Cashless Economy in Ukraine,” Horkun said.
State-owned Ukreximbank (Kyiv) has sent part of its net profit for 2017 in the amount of UAH 588 million to pay dividends to the national budget of Ukraine.
The payment was made in line with the requirements of the law on the management of state-owned entities and government resolution No. 139 dated February 28, 2018 on the approval of the basic requirement for sending part of profit sent to pay dividends by companies where the state holds shares for 2017.
The requirement for Ukreximbank is 75% of net profit for 2017.
Ukreximbank was founded in 1992. Its sole owner is the state.
The bank ranked third among 84 banks operating in the country as of January 1, 2018 in terms of assets (UAH 171.011 billion), according to the National Bank of Ukraine.
France’s Alstom, the producer of rolling stock and infrastructure solutions, is interested in cooperation with public joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia, Managing Director for Western and Central Asia at Alstom Bernard Peille said during the presentation of the first freight electric locomotive for Azerbaijan Railways in Astana (Kazakhstan), an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported.
“We recently held talks with Ukrzaliznytsia. According to them, they will need about 210 locomotives of four different types in the next five years. Basically, as we know, they are freight locomotives. We are ready to do this, but everything depends on financing, as well as on what percentage of localization is required,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.
Peille also said that Alstom is actively seeking various options for financing supplies of traction to the Ukrainian railways.
Prima T8 AZ8A freight electric locomotive presented in Astana on Wednesday is made under a contract signed by the company and Azerbaijan Railways for supply of 50 locomotives, including Prima M4 AZ4A passenger locomotives.
New generating facilities on renewable energy sources with a total installed capacity of 109.6 MW were put into operation in Ukraine in April-June 2018, which is 1.7 times more than in the same period in 2017, the press service of the National Commission on Energy, Housing and Utilities Services Regulation has stated. “The objects of wind power plants and solar power plants account for 99% of the commissioned facilities,” the report said.
According to the commission, in the second quarter a wind power plant with a capacity of 3.2 MW, a solar plant with a total capacity of 106.1 MW, and a biogas plant with a capacity of 0.3 MW were commissioned.
Thus, as of June 27 Ukraine had wind power plants with a total installed capacity of 515.4 MW, solar plants of 947.5 MW, biomass stations of 43.8 MW, biogas plants of 41 MW, and hydro power plants of 95.6 MW.
The total installed capacity of renewable energy facilities is 1.643 GW (excluding the annexed Crimea, where previously renewable energy facilities with a total capacity of 494.9 MW were launched).
At present the share of renewable energy in electricity production in Ukraine is 1.9%, the share in the total cost of electricity is 8.5%.
Public joint-stock company Ukrtransgaz on June 22 and June 23 announced 12 tenders to buy gas for technological needs and balancing in the amount of 2.437 billion cubic meters with the expected cost of UAH 21.202 billion (VAT not included).
The bids can be submitted before July 23 and July 24 (depending on the lot). The auctions will take place on August 28 and August 29.
The final price of gas to be paid by Ukrtransgaz to the winners of the tenders will be determined, taking into account quotations at NetConnect Germany (NCG) in the period when gas is delivered.
Ukrainian enterprises in January-May 2018 increased production of ice cream by 1.7% compared to the same period in 2017, to 42,800 tonnes.
“In January-May the volume of ice cream production in Ukraine amounted to 42,800 tonnes, growth stood at 1.7%. For the five months, 2,900 tonnes were exported, a growth of 23.1%. Ice cream exports to the EU amounted to 232 tonnes, or 8% of the total export. I expect that by the end of this year production and exports will show growth,” Ihor Bartkovsky, the president of the Association of Ukrainian Producers “Ice Cream and Frozen Food,” at a press conference in Kyiv.
According to him, ice cream is exported from Ukraine to more than 50 countries.
“In 2017 Ukraine produced 96,600 tonnes of ice cream, which is 2.4% more than in 2016. Exports totaled more than 5,000 tonnes, an increase of 13.5%, in particular, 336 tonnes were exported to EU countries, or 7% of total exports,” Bartkovsky said.
He noted that over the past three years, ice cream consumption in Ukraine has increased.
At the same time, ice cream consumption per capita in Ukraine remains low.
