The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has granted permission to MasterCard Europe S.A. and Visa International Service Association to reduce the amount of domestic interchange fees (interchange rate) paid by an acquirer to an issuer in Ukraine from 0.9% to 0.7% for the period of war.
“The planned changes in concerted actions are aimed at establishing an effective and balanced ceiling on interchange rates, taking into account the interests of all market participants under martial law,” the AMC commented on its decision of 5 October.
The Committee expects that these changes will allow retail chains to maintain the current price level for consumers, as well as contribute to the development of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs and the overall economic development of Ukraine.
The agency clarified that the 0.7% rate will be effective “not earlier than the next business day after 14 calendar days after the date of receipt of the Committee’s authorization until the next business day after 30 calendar days from the date of termination or cancellation of martial law.”
It is noted that after this period, MasterCard and Visa will return to the 0.9% rate agreed with the AMCU before the war.
“The introduction of a further reduction in the interbank commission is an attempt by government agencies and other industry representatives to respond to a request for assistance to retailers who have suffered significant economic losses caused by the war,” the AMCU said.
As reported, a memorandum signed in May 2021 between MasterCard, Visa and the NBU provided for the interchange rate to be set at 1.2% from July 1, 2021, and its gradual reduction, in particular from July 1, 2023, from 1% to 0.9%.
However, during the war, the rate was first reset to zero and then gradually increased to 0.7%. The decision of Visa and MasterCard to return it to 0.9% on July 1 this year was sharply criticized by retailers. The largest banks in the market – PrivatBank, Oschadbank and Raiffeisen Bank – for their part, kept acquiring rates for their clients unchanged (approximately 1.3-1.5%), but called on MasterCard and Visa to support this initiative and cancel the interchange rate increase from July 1, 2023 to 0.9%.
However, Oschadbank noted that “if payment systems do not reduce the interchange rate within one to two months, the bank will reconsider its decision.”
According to the NBU, the share of payment terminals of PrivatBank, Oschadbank and Raiffeisen Bank at the beginning of the year was 60.4%, 19.6% and 7.6%, respectively.
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has found Ukrspetspostavka LLC, Finance-Service Plus LLC and Glermont Trade LLC guilty of anticompetitive actions that distorted the results of the auction for the privatization of distilleries and fined them UAH 14.39 million.
According to the Committee’s press service, the auction was for the sale of certain property of the Zalozetsky alcohol production and storage site of the State Enterprise Ukrspyrt, which was conducted by the regional department of the State Property Fund of Ukraine in Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi and Ternopil regions. The amount of the contract concluded as a result of the auction was UAH 96.012 million (including VAT).
“During the investigation of the case, the Committee identified circumstances that, taken together, indicated that the above-mentioned business entities had committed concerted actions aimed at eliminating competition between them during the auction. In particular, this refers to such evidence as the defendants’ joint business activities, communication between them, exchange of information, etc.”, the AMCU explained.
The defendants were fined UAH 14,390,798 for the violation provided for in clause 4, part 2, article 6 and clause 1, article 50 of the Law “On Protection of Economic Competition” (anticompetitive concerted actions related to the distortion of auction results), as well as for collusion at the auction for the sale of state property.
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has allowed businessman Vadym Hryhoriev’s Zhytomyr Furniture Plant to buy real estate in Kiev, which was sold by the State Property Fund (SPF).
The corresponding decision of the AMCU approved July 6, reported on the website of the agency.
Earlier, Zhytomyr Furniture Works won the FGI auction on privatization of the historic building of the former Hermitage Hotel in Kiev on May 25. As reported by the FGI in June, the investor paid UAH 373 million to the state budget for the acquired asset.
The winner of the auction is obliged to apply to the relevant cultural heritage authority and conclude a protection agreement within a month after the registration of ownership of the privatization object.
Experts interviewed by Interfax-Ukraine estimated the necessary initial investments in the restoration of the buildings of the Hermitage Hotel at EUR8-10 mln.
The buildings were erected in 1902-1904 according to the project of Kiev architect Andrei Ferdinand Krauss – the author of many buildings constructed in the capital at that time. The house was one of the best hotels in the city “Hermitage”. The owner of the house was a millionaire and brick manufacturer Jacob Bernard. The end wall in the 1960s was decorated with a mosaic panel “Ukrainian Song” by Stepan Kirichenko.
These buildings have a protected status. In 1998 they were included in the list of historical and cultural monuments of local importance by the order of Kyiv City State Administration.
According to Opendatabot data, Zhytomyr Furniture Factory PJSC (ZhMK JSC), registered in 2003, authorized capital is UAH 4.9 mln. The ultimate beneficiary is Vadym Grigoriev.
At the end of 2021, the FGVFL sold the main office of VTB Bank, located at the intersection of Pushkinskaya Street and T. Shevchenko Boulevard in the center of Kiev, to Diprobudmashina PJSC of businessman Vadym Grigoriev for UAH 294.3 million at the auction “Prozorro.Sales”.
Previously, Grigoriev has already acquired part of VTB Bank’s assets: business center “Incom” for UAH 390 million and office center (6, Vatslav Havel Blvd., Kiev) for UAH 351 million, as well as Kiev business center “Renaissance” from Alfa Bank.
Grigoriev is also the owner of Merx Group after buying out Valeriy Khoroshkovskyy’s stake in 2004.
The Kyiv Economic Court found Khladoprom Ice Cream Factory LLC guilty of distribution of untruthful information about the composition of its product and fined it UAH 1.37 million. The court rejected its claim to cancel the decision of the Antimonopoly Committee (AMCU) that the company violated the legislative requirements for product labeling.
As reported on AMCU’s website on Monday, while considering case #470-r dated December 30, 2022, the AMCU discovered that FM Khladoprom LLC, which produces more than 27 kinds of ice cream, in particular under the names Khreshchatyk, Kashtan, Khladik, Artek, Voloshkovoye Pole and others, had included information on the content of cow’s milk in its ice cream packaging.
The regulator found that in September and November 2020, the company did not purchase cow’s milk and therefore did not use it in making the ice cream “plombier,” but replaced it with skim milk powder.
“Drinking cow’s milk and powdered milk are not identical components, because these raw materials are produced under different technical conditions. Accordingly, the information distributed by the manufacturer on the composition of his product is false, whereas, according to the legislation, the labeling of all products should indicate only the ingredients that were actually used in their manufacture”, reminded the AMCU.
He pointed out that the placement of information on the packaging of ice cream that it contained drinking cow’s milk, which was not used by the company during the production in September and November 2020, was misleading for consumers.
Khladoprom Ice Cream Factory LLC tried to appeal against the regulator’s decision in court, but on 22 June 2023 the Kyiv Court of Justice dismissed the claim and upheld the AMCU’s decision, finding the company in breach of unfair competition legislation and imposing a UAH 1.37 million fine.
The Antimonopoly Committee (AMCU) allowed mobile operator “Vodafone Ukraine” to acquire a stake in the share capital of LLC “Freinet”, the document was issued on Thursday, according to the AMCU website.
“On May 25, 2023, the Antimonopoly Committee made a decision allowing VF Ukraine PJSC to acquire a stake in the authorized capital of Frinet LLC, which provides the buyer with control over the said facility,” the AMCU said in a statement.
It is noted that the concentration occurs in the provision of fixed Internet access services in Ukraine. At the same time, it is specified that members of the concentration provide fixed Internet access services in Ukraine both to individuals and legal entities within the boundaries of many settlements in Ukraine.
AMCU noted that the share of the buyer’s group on the respective regional markets is insignificant. Thus, as a result of concentration the aggregate share of participants in the regional markets of fixed Internet access services to individuals and legal entities within the respective geographical boundaries will not exceed 15-21%. That is, the claimed concentration will not lead to monopolization or significant limitation of competition in the commodity markets of Ukraine, said the AMCU, justifying the issuance of the permit.
Freinet” company provides high-speed Internet services in Kiev, where the customer base of provider has more than 160 thousand active subscribers. In addition to the capital region the company operates in the Kiev region and nine other regions, including Dnipropetrovsk, Zhitomir, Ivano-Frankovsk and Lvov regions.
The Vodafone Ukraine group includes the National Telecom Operator Vega, which offers integrated solutions in fixed telephony, broadband Internet access and data transmission. The company is present in 22 regions of Ukraine. It provides Internet services by GPON technology in Kiev, Odessa, Dnepr, Lviv, Kharkiv. Operational management of Vega telecommunications group is implemented by PJSC “Farlep-Invest”.
As reported, “Vodafone Ukraine” in 2022 reduced net income by 2% – to 19.8 billion UAH, with a net profit of 1.1 billion UAH.
At the end of 2019, NEQSOL Holding through OOO Telco Solutions and Investments, controlled by Bakcell closed the deal to purchase its telecommunications business in Ukraine from MTS PJSC with financing from J.P. Morgan and RBI. The price amounted to $734 million.
NEQSOL Holding has more than 25 years of experience in various industries and countries. Its operations cover oil and gas, telecommunications, construction and other high-tech areas in the UK, USA, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, UAE and the Netherlands. The Group entered the telecommunications industry in the early 2000s. Its member companies provide mobile communication services, international transit and wholesale Internet sales, leased line services, data center services, etc.
Businessman Nasib Hasanov is the official founder and 100% owner of NEQSOL Holding, including Nobel Oil Services (UK) Limited, Nobel Oil E&P (UK) Limited (trade name Nobel Upstream), Bakcell LLC and Norm OJSC.
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has fined state-owned enterprise Medical Procurement of Ukraine (MPU) UAH 1 million for failing to submit information to the committee.
According to the AMCU press release, such a decision was made by the AMCU administrative board on April 11.
The AMCU notes that the committee had twice sent a request for information to the state-owned enterprise, but the MZU did not provide a response “on the merits of the issues raised.
“This position of the state-owned enterprise created obstacles in performing the tasks assigned to the committee,” the antimonopoly agency stressed.
