Novus Ukraine LLC has opened a new supermarket in Kyiv, in the Seven residential complex (18 Dniprovska embankment), the retailer’s press service reports.
This supermarket is reportedly the first new one to open in 2024. Its total area is 1046 square meters, with a sales area of 733 square meters.
“We are pleased to have the opportunity to continue developing our company in such a difficult time. Our goal is to create a comfortable space and meet the needs of our customers. The store is located in a residential complex, so for many residents it will become a “home” market where they can spend a lot of time,” Mark Petkevich, CEO of Novus, was quoted in the release as saying.
The store is equipped with a modern bakery, where fresh bread and other bakery products will be baked daily. Particular attention is paid to a wide range of chilled meat and ready-to-eat meals of its own production, which can become a full-fledged alternative to cooking at home.
“We strive not only to satisfy the basic needs of our customers, but also to offer a special gastronomic experience that will become an alternative to home cooking,” Novus adds.
Novus Ukraine LLC was established in 2008 and opened the first Novus supermarket in the country the same year. As of August 2024, the retailer’s network includes more than 80 Novus and 21 Mi Market stores in Ukraine.
The Novus supermarket chain is developed by BT Invest (Lithuania), a company established in 2008 by former Sandora shareholders Raimondas Tumenas and the late Igor Bezzub.
According to Opendatabot, as of July 2021, the owner of Novus Ukraine with a 100% stake in the authorized capital was Consul Trade House CJSC (Vilnius, Lithuania). The ultimate beneficiaries are Marina Poznyakova, Agne Ruzgienė, and Raimondas Tumenas.
According to the company’s financial results, in 2023, its revenue increased by 47% to UAH 23.6 billion, while its net loss decreased by 87% to UAH 310.7 million.
In January-August this year, Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works increased its rolled steel output by 32.6% year-on-year to 1 million 644.4 thousand tons from 1 million 240.4 thousand tons.
According to the company, steel production during this period increased by 31.6% to 1 million 973.7 thousand tons, and pig iron production by 23% to 2.049 million tons.
In August, Zaporizhstal produced 259.5 thousand tons of iron, 236.8 thousand tons of steel, and shipped 214.2 thousand tons of rolled products, while in July it smelted 261.9 thousand tons of iron, 250.8 thousand tons of steel, and shipped 202 thousand tons of rolled products.
It is recalled that in 2023, the plant operated at an average of 70% of its capacity.
As reported, in 2023, Zaporizhstal increased its rolled products output by 57.2% compared to 2022, up to 2 million 54.7 thousand tons, steel by 65.4%, up to 2 million 466.9 thousand tons, and pig iron by 35.3%, up to 2 million 718.9 thousand tons.
“Zaporizhstal is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Ukraine, whose products are in great demand among consumers both in the domestic market and in many countries of the world.
“Zaporizhstal is in the process of integration into Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%).
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
Aurora, Ukraine’s largest one dollar store chain, opened eight new stores across Ukraine on the eve of the fall, said Ruslan Kudrya, the chain’s development director.
“Today we have surpassed ourselves. At the end of the week, month and summer, we opened eight new stores across Ukraine in one day – the previous record was six,” he wrote on Facebook on August 31.
As specified in the message, three stores were opened in Kyiv, one in Chernihiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Morshyn and Dykanka village (Poltava region).
As reported, Aurora intends to open 400 new stores by the end of this year and reach 2,000 outlets in Ukraine by the end of next year.
“Aurora was founded in 2011 by Lev Zhidenko, Taras Panasenko and Lesya Klymenko. The head office of the Aurora retail chain is located in Poltava. Today, the chain has more than 1400 stores in Ukraine and 25 in Romania.
According to Opendatabot, the owner of Vygidna Kupilka LLC, which develops the chain, is listed as Cyprus-based Aurority Investments Limited, with Zhydenko as its beneficiary. The Cypriot company also owns Prior Development LLC, Seven A LLC, Promyslova 9 LLC, and Tak LLC.
At the end of 2023, the network’s net profit amounted to UAH 4.1 billion, and net income – UAH 27 billion.
The head of NPC Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, has been dismissed from his post, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak (Voice faction) has said.
According to his message on Telegram on Monday evening, the decision was made by the Supervisory Board of Ukrenergo by a majority vote of 4:2 after the demand for dismissal was voiced at the Commander-in-Chief’s meeting on August 30.
At the same time, the MP noted that there will be a reaction from international partners and the consequences of this decision.
“I think the payoff will also be quick and quite painful,” Zheleznyak said.
As reported, on September 1, EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova, regional heads of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in a letter to Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal stated the need to stop making any management decisions regarding NPC Ukrenergo until the final formation of the company’s supervisory board, which includes six members instead of seven.
The authors of the letter emphasized that the immediate dismissal is not an option: “Such an event could jeopardize our collective ability to support Ukrenergo and other priorities for Ukraine’s vital energy security.”
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the total amount of international assistance (loans and grants) attracted by Ukrenergo amounted to EUR 1.5 billion.
On April 23, 2024, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine announced a competitive selection for the position of an independent member of the Supervisory Board of Ukrenergo, but it still operates with one vacant position, although, according to Ukrenergo’s charter, it should consist of seven members, including four independent members.
Currently, Ukrenergo’s Supervisory Board consists of Peder Andreasen, Daniel Dobbeny, Roman Pionkovsky – independent members, Yuriy Tokarsky, Oleksandr Baraniuk, Yuriy Boyko – state representatives. The decision to resign the chairman of the board is made by a majority vote. The market noted that, despite the major shareholder’s desire to force Kudrytskyi’s resignation, he managed to avoid it several times thanks to the support of Ukraine’s international partners, as well as half of the supervisory board (according to the market, the head of the supervisory board, Daniel Dobbeny, as well as Peter Andersen and Yuriy Boyko).
“Ukrenergo is a private joint-stock company with 100% of its shares managed by the Ministry of Energy.
Earlier, a number of media outlets cited sources as saying that at a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Staff on August 30, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded that Ukrenergo CEO Volodymyr Kudrytskyi write a letter of resignation in the near future, but he refused.
Turkey has officially applied to join BRICS, Bloomberg reports citing its sources.
The publication writes that such a decision is due to the fact that the country wants to strengthen its global influence, as well as to establish new ties outside the traditional Western allies.
BRICS is an abbreviation for Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa. This association is also called an analog of the G7 or G20 – a club for the interests of countries that are not satisfied with the “dominance” of the West. Earlier this year, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa were joined by four new members – Iran, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Egypt. Saudi Arabia was invited to join, but has not yet done so.
Malaysia, Thailand and Azerbaijan have applied to join BRICS. The next BRICS summit to discuss its expansion will be held in Russia in late October 2024.
On August 30, 2024 PJSC Insurance Company “Columnaid Ukraine” has received from the new shareholder SCP Luxembourg S.A.R.L. the message about acquisition on August 27, 2024 of a significant block of shares exceeding the threshold value of 95% of voting shares of the company.
According to the message of the insurer in the information disclosure system of the NCSSM, SCP Luxembourg owns 100% of the authorized capital of IC “Columnaid Ukraine”.
The message indicates that the date of alienation of shares of IC “Colonnade Ukraine” by previous shareholders of the company – Colonnade Finance S.A R.L., Fairfax Financial (US) LLC and Fairfax Holdings Inc. – is August 27, 2024.
As reported, the National Bank of Ukraine on December 28, 2023 agreed SCP Luxembourg SARL direct ownership of 99.9833% of PJSC IC Colonnade Ukraine.
PJSC IC Colonnade Ukraine (until 2016 – PJSC IC QBE Ukraine) was founded in 1998 as the first international insurer in the Ukrainian market. In November 2015 the company Colonnade Finance SARL (Luxembourg) has concentrated 99,9833% of the authorized capital of the insurer.
Earlier Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited has concluded an agreement with QBE Management (Ireland) Limited and its Ukrainian partner on indirect acquisition of 100% of the Ukrainian IC through the companies Colonnade Finance SARL (Luxembourg), Fairfax Holdings Inc. (Connecticut, USA), Fairfax Financial (US) LLS (Delaware, USA).
