Defense Ministers of Ukraine Rustem Umerov and France’s Sébastien Lecorne discussed the supply of weapons and military equipment, bilateral projects on military-technical cooperation, training of Ukrainian servicemen and the implementation of Euro-Atlantic standards, the press service of the Defense Ministry reports.
“I would like to thank Mr. Minister, the President, the government and the people of the French Republic for their unwavering support for Ukraine in providing a powerful package of military and humanitarian aid, as well as protecting Ukrainians who were forced to flee Ukraine to escape Russian bombing,” the press service quoted Umerov as saying.
It is reported that France has already provided Ukraine with modern SAMP/T and Crotale air defense systems, CAESAR artillery systems, Milan anti-tank weapons, AMX tanks, VAB armored personnel carriers, etc. According to Umerov, “this assistance certainly brings our victory closer.”
Lecorneu, for his part, emphasized the importance of continuing assistance to Ukraine by partner countries in the long term, focusing on the transfer of weapons and military equipment, training of Ukrainian military personnel and joint defense production.
“The first is the transfer of weapons. We will continue to transfer weapons to Ukraine. The second part of our support is training of soldiers. We have fulfilled our goals by the end of the year. More than seven thousand Ukrainian soldiers were trained in France (on French territory or in Poland). It was either some general training or specialized training. I would like to inform you that the training will continue at the same level. The third issue is more strategic and concerns our ability to jointly produce something for the needs of Ukraine,” the French Defense Minister said.
In addition, during the visit of the Minister of the French Armed Forces to Ukraine, a memorandum of intent on cooperation was signed between the state-owned enterprise of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine “Defense Procurement Agency” and the Directorate General for Armaments (DGA) (France). The document envisages indefinite cooperation and creates a legal framework for concluding contracts. It will also contribute to deepening military-technical cooperation, in particular in the development of joint high-tech projects for the defense of both countries.
The State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine (STD) has won the Silver Dolphin award at the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards for Ukraine’s tourism promotion campaign, the STD press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
It is the first time in the history of independent Ukraine that a government agency has received the prestigious Cannes Film Festival award for the best corporate and documentary films.
And DART reported that in 2021, at their request, the ODDEE agency created a series of commercials for a large-scale tourism campaign aimed at attracting visitors from all over the world to our country. The campaign was supposed to start in the spring of 2022 and is still waiting for its implementation.
“In February 2022, our plans, as well as the lives of all Ukrainians, were disrupted by Russia’s aggressive actions. We really wanted to show Ukraine to the world. The organizers of the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards gave us this opportunity and accepted the application from GART – The Campaign Waiting to Happen,” said Mariana Oleskiv, Head of the State Agency for Tourism Development.
“The Campaign Waiting To Happen, submitted to the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards jury, consists of three videos. In the next three days, it will be published on the Facebook page of Ukraine NOW.
The Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards festival has been held since 2010 and sets global standards for corporate films.
New York has once again taken the top spot in the list of the world’s largest financial centers, according to a survey by Z/Yen Group, a financial consulting company that calculates the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI).
New York overtook London in the ranking in the fall of 2018 and has maintained its leadership since then.
Compared to the previous version of the ranking, published in March this year, New York’s score increased to 763 from 760, and London’s, which ranks second, to 744 from 731.
The top three is still closed by Singapore, which added 19 points. Hong Kong is in fourth place, showing similar dynamics. San Francisco, Los Angeles and Shanghai follow.
In contrast to the March edition, Washington, D.C., took eighth place, displacing Chicago by one position and moving up three places at once.
Geneva became a debutant in the top 10 financial centers of the world this year: the capital of the Swiss canton of the same name soared 13 places, increasing the number of points scored by 29.
Dublin showed even more rapid growth, moving from 48th to 25th place.
Moscow (114th place) experienced the sharpest drop in the ranking – by 35 positions. St. Petersburg, for its part, dropped from 115th to 118th place. Among the financial centers of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Astana is the leader (60th place, +48 points).
In September, Miami entered the list for the first time, ranking 24th.
Among the financial centers that could increase their influence in the next two to three years, the respondents to the Z/Yen Group survey most often named Seoul, Singapore and Dubai.
The World Financial Centers Index was first published in 2007 and is updated every six months (the current edition is the 34th). The ranking is based on various statistics and surveys.
Horizon Capital has announced the third stage of closing of its new Horizon Capital Growth Fund IV (HCGF IV), which increased its size from $254 million to $298 million, founder and CEO of the company Elena Koszarny wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
“We managed to attract more than 65% of private sector capital from leading institutions, family offices, foundations and other investors, as well as receive a $10 million replenishment from the EBRD, which increases their commitment from $40 million to $50 million,” she said.
She thanked the investors for the opportunity to extend the final stage of the fundraising until December 31, 2023.
“Horizon Capital believes strongly in Ukraine and Moldova, in compelling investment opportunities from world-class founders in our core markets, and in our ability to deliver returns and impact for our investors, as evidenced by our HCGF IV team’s contribution, which now exceeds 4% of the funds raised,” Koszarny added.
As reported, in late April, Horizon Capital announced the closing of the second round of investment and raising $254 million against its target size of $250 million.
Since then, HCGF IV has announced one investment – in the Ukrainian company Preply, a leading global platform for learning foreign languages online, without specifying a specific amount.
IFC, as one of the investors, specified that the fund would invest $10-30 million to acquire minority stakes in 10-15 companies in Ukraine and Moldova with an average capitalization and value of $50-150 million. According to the corporation, HCGF IV is the successor to the $200 million EEGF III, which was formed in 2017, and will follow a similar investment strategy focused on IT services and products, as well as e-commerce, innovative consumer goods and fintech.
Horizon Capital is a large investment company that manages six private equity funds (more than 40 institutional investors) with $1.4 billion in assets, including WNISEF (with $150 million in capital), Emerging Europe Growth Fund (EEGF, $132 million), EEGF II ($370 million) and EEGF III ($200 million), and HCGF II ($258.3 million). The funds have been invested in more than 160 companies employing over 77 thousand people in Ukraine and Moldova.
Ukraine’s public debt to GDP ratio from 2009 to 2023 (UAH mln)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
In the first half of 2023, Naftogazvydobuvannya, the main production asset of DTEK Oil&Gas, increased investments in gas production development by 35% to almost UAH 1 billion amid a decline in financial performance compared to the same period of the previous year.
According to the company’s report on the stock exchange, the company continued to invest in development despite a 66% decrease in DTEK Oil&Gas’ net profit (to UAH 2.38 billion) and a 31.5% decrease in revenue (to UAH 13.11 billion) in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year.
It is noted that the funds were used to increase the drilling and exploration program to return to production growth in the medium term.
The company also reported that it paid more than UAH 5 billion in taxes to the state budget, including more than UAH 2.2 billion in rent for the use of subsoil, part of which (5%) is directed to local budgets.
DTEK Oil&Gas explained the decline in financial performance by the fall in gas prices in the 2023 market.
“In the first half of 2023, the main production asset of DTEK Oil&Gas increased its investments in gas production development by 35%. Last year, due to problems with gas sales, we were forced to reduce our drilling program. This year, the company is focusing on increasing the volume of drilling operations. In the next 2-3 years, this will allow us to return to the growth dynamics to further strengthen Ukraine’s energy security,” the company commented.
“DTEK Oil&Gas is the largest private gas producer in Ukraine. Its portfolio of assets includes Naftogazvydobuvannya and Naftogazrazrabotka, which are engaged in exploration and production of hydrocarbons in three license areas in Poltava and Kharkiv regions.
As reported, DTEK Oil&Gas increased its net profit by 70.6% to UAH 11.46 billion in 2022, with revenue growing 2.2 times to UAH 36.00 billion.
