The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine at a meeting approved the reduction of the total term for developing draft national construction standards from 18 months to 10 months. The respective amendments are outlined in a government resolution amending the rules of developing, approving and amending national construction standards and declaring them invalid.
The Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Economy Ministry drew up the document.
“Today, the procedure for developing national construction standards is still quite bureaucratic and delayed. Now the basic organization first forms the technical specifications for the development of the future national construction standard, and then it is published on the website and is discussed with the public, after which proposals are made and the technical specifications are reviewed. In order not to do double work and spend extra time, we suggest that together with experts, professionals and the public, we determine the essential conditions, that is, what the purpose of the future national construction standard being developed and what it is aimed at, and on the basis of this jointly and finally formulate the technical specifications,” Deputy Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Economy Minister Lev Partskhaladze said on his Facebook page.
According to the resolution, the national construction standards should be developed in accordance with the technical specifications, which are based on the results of the collection and analysis of issues that require regulation based on proposals from businesses and individuals. Also, when developing draft new national construction standards and amendments to them, substantial conditions should be taken into account, which are determined after their public discussion.
National joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy in 2018 cut its net profit by 64.3% or UAH 24.532 billion compared with 2017, to UAH 13.613 billion, according to consolidated statements of the group published on Tuesday.
According to the press service of Naftogaz, the reduction in the size of the net profit was due to the fact that the company’s financial statements for 2017 showed the positive results of the decisions of the Stockholm arbitration in the amount of UAH 12.6 billion. The statements for 2018, in turn, accounted for VAT recognized by Naftogaz in accordance with the decision of the arbitration on gas transit in the amount of UAH 4.8 billion. The reduction in profits by another UAH 10.1 billion was also affected by the security of lawsuits. Most of this amount (UAH 9.6 billion) was secured in a lawsuit with involvement of JSC Ukrtransgaz for covering misbalances in the gas transmission system (GTS).
According to the document audited by Deloitte, the net sales income for 2018 increased 9.1% or UAH 17.012 billion, to UAH 204.938 billion, gross profit – by 11.5% or UAH 4.749 billion, to UAH 46.038 billion.
Income was received: from the transit of natural gas (UAH 72.347 billion); sales to gas supplying enterprises for the needs of households (UAH 56.245 billion); deliveries to heat producers for households (UAH 25.986 billion); deliveries to other consumers under public servicing obligations (PSO, UAH 16.319 billion); deliveries to other consumers beyond PSO (UAH 33.537 billion); and other (UAH 504.634 million).
The volume of venture capital attracted by Ukrainian companies and startups in 2018 amounted to $336.9 million, which is 30.3% more than in 2017, according to a review of the Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (UVCA).
According to the document prepared in partnership with Deloitte, the number of transactions increased by 29% and reached 115.
UVCA notes that venture capital funds focused on transactions on the seed stage, the number of which increased to 21 from 11, and the average check for such transactions with the announced investment volumes rose by almost 90%, to $918,000.
The survey also states that the number of transactions and the volume of investments in 2018 grew during the pre-seed, seed and growth development stages.
According to UVCA, the most active investments are received by companies from the sectors that are least exposed to political risks – online services, software, hardware, marketplace, and e-commerce.
According to the document, in 2018 there were seven M&A transactions for a total of more than $25 million (this figure was first included in the report), as well as seven angel investments in startups worth $900,000. Last year’s largest transactions in the market were Gitlab with $100 million and BitFury with $80 million.
The Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (UVCA) was created to disseminate information about investment opportunities in Ukraine and multi-vector support of investors.
Assets of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in January-March 2019 fell by 2.7%, reaching UAH 1.021 trillion, the central bank published in the Holos Ukrainy parliament’s newspaper on Tuesday.
The NBU said that in the first quarter, the amount of nonresidents’ securities in assets increased 2.9%, to UAH 445.701 billion, avoirs and special drawing rights (SDR) decreased 54.6% during this period, to UAH 46 million
The amount of deposits and deposits in foreign currency and banking metals decreased 23.2%, to UAH 89.572 billion.
In the structure of liabilities, the amount of funds from state and other institutions decreased 16.8%, to UAH 39.690 billion, the National Bank’s liabilities to the International Monetary Fund decreased 1.8%, to UAH 76.093 billion.
The volume of premiums received by Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) in 2018 amounted to EUR9.7 billion, which is 3% more than a year before, and pretax profit was EUR485 million (up by 10%), according to the website of Globus insurer (Kyiv), part of the group. According to the report, the combined ratio at the end of last year was 96% (a decrease of 0.7 percentage points), the solvency ratio stood at 239% (an increase of 19 percentage points), while financial result was EUR1.037 billion (12% more).
The report also notes that the group intends to use its high capitalization for further growth. VIG’s supervisory board approved the board’s proposal to increase dividends from EUR0.90 to EUR1 per share.
As reported, Vienna Insurance Group in Ukraine is represented by four insurance companies: Globus, Ukrainian Insurance Group, Kniazha Vienna Insurance Group and Kniazha Life Vienna Insurance Group.
The Verkhovna Rada has ratified an agreement between the governments of Ukraine and France regarding the official support of a project on supply of drinking water to the city of Mariupol (Donetsk region). An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that a total of 258 lawmakers backed the agreement. According to the Framework Agreement, the French side provides Ukraine with a loan in an amount not exceeding EUR 64 million for the project on supply of drinking water to Mariupol.
The agreement also provides for the development of a master plan for improving the water supply and drainage system of Mariupol until 2040.
According to an explanatory note to the bill on ratification, the project will include the construction and launch of modern filtering stations in Mariupol, as well as the modernization of the existing centralized water supply pipelines and drainage system to reduce the consumption of drinking water and discharge of sewage into the environment.
