Ukrainian insurance companies in January-June 2021 received financial income of UAH 1.358 billion, which is 17.3% less than in the same period a year earlier (UAH 1.642 billion), according to the website of the National Bank of Ukraine.
At the same time, it is clarified that income from participation in capital amounted to UAH 17.8 million (2.9 times more), income from bonds – UAH 719.8 million (more by 28.4%), from deposits – UAH 566.3 million (less by 39.7%), dividends on shares – UAH 3 million against UAH 100,000 for the same period a year earlier.
Other revenues of insurers for the first half of the year amounted to UAH 1.972 billion, while a year earlier, UAH 2.863 billion.
The regulator also reports that during the reporting period, insurance companies reduced their net profit to UAH 1.361 billion from UAH 1.918 billion in the first half of 2020.
In addition, income tax from ordinary activities in January-June of this year amounted to UAH 833.2 million, which is 2% more than in the same period a year earlier (UAH 816.2 million). Tax on gross income from activities by types of insurance, other than life insurance, amounted to UAH 534.6 million (more by 10.6%), life insurance – UAH 63.7 million (more by 9.8%), for transactions with non-resident reinsurers – UAH 300,000 (less by 25%), tax on profits from extraordinary events – UAH 200,000, which corresponds to the indicator for the same period a year earlier.
According to the NBU, the total number of insurance companies in Ukraine as of June 30, 2021 is 181, while on the same date a year earlier – 215, including 19 life insurers (20). At the same time, 166 insurance companies submitted reports on their activities to the regulator.
Nova Poshta, the leader in express delivery in Ukraine, started placing B series bonds for UAH 700 million on May 11.
The corresponding bond issue was registered by the National Securities and Stock Market Commission on May 7, 2020.
The bonds were issued for a period until February 17, 2023 with a coupon rate of 16% and a periodicity of payments four times a year. The placement period is from May 11 to July 10, 2020.
As reported, in 2020 the company intends to invest $100 million in its development.
In February-April 2019, Nova Poshta carried out a closed placement of bonds in the amount of UAH 300 million at 22% per annum with maturity until August 22, 2020. Funds from the placement of bonds were used to modernize the infrastructure and the network of the issuer’s branches.
Nova Poshta, founded in 2001, is a leader in the express delivery market in Ukraine. The company’s network consists of more than 6,000 branches throughout the country.
Kharkiv in August placed three-year E series domestic bonds for UAH 250 million maturing in 2022, Fitch Ratings has reported.
According to the report, the agency assigned the bonds a priority unsecured rating of “B.”
“This is the first tranche of a UAH 1 billion bond to be placed in 2019-2020. Another UAH 250 million tranche is planned for November 2019,” the agency’s report says.
The interest rate is 18% per annum, income is paid quarterly.
According to the decision of Kharkiv City Council of June 19, 2019, bonds worth UAH 1 billion of E, F, G, H series for UAH 250 million each are to be placed within two years.
E series bonds will mature on August 24, 2022, F series on November 23, 2022, G series on February 22, 2023, and H series on May 24, 2023.
“The purpose of the loan is to raise funds to finance the budget deficit for the development of the city of Kharkiv, including the construction and reconstruction of social and cultural facilities, transport infrastructure, roads and engineering facilities,” the decision reads.
The portfolio of government domestic loan bonds held by non-residents as of July 4 reached a new historical record high of UAH 60.12 billion at face value, including an increase of UAH 2.71 billion following the results of primary auctions conducted on July 2.
According to data released by the National Bank, the entire increase was traditionally provided by hryvnia securities, by UAH 3.91 billion, which total UAH 58.21 billion in the portfolio held by non-residents.
Such an inflow of funds from non-residents allowed the National Bank to buy out $52 million in the market after primary auctions on July 3, although the hryvnia exchange rate strengthened and for the first time since April 2018 it overcame the level of UAH 26/$1.
A week earlier, the portfolio of government bonds owned by non-residents grew by UAH 4.79 billion, but then a small part of it (UAH 390 million) was secured by equities in U.S. dollars.
In general, since the beginning of 2019 the portfolio of government bonds owned by non-residents has increased by UAH 53.77 billion, or 9.5 times.
ABH Ukraine Limited, the holders of 90.1% of shares in Ukrainian Alfa-Bank, has issued new two-year EUR 50 mln loan participation notes (LPNs), setting the coupon rate at 6.75% per annum with the quarterly payments.
The bank said on Thursday that the maturity date is July 6, 2021.
The bonds were issue under S Rules with listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
The bank recalled that the bond issue was the 16th issue by ABH Ukraine since early 2015.
As reported, at the end of October 2016, the operation was completed on the transfer of 99.9% of the shares in PJSC Ukrsotsbank from UniCredit Group in favor of ABH Holdings S.A. (ABHH), whose main asset in Ukraine is Alfa-Bank, in exchange for a minority share of ownership in ABHH in the amount of 9.9%.
Currently ABH Holdings S.A. is consolidating assets in Ukraine, which will lead to the creation of the country’s largest private bank based on Alfa-Bank.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. directly lent around $350 million to the government of Ukraine on March 12, 2019, two weeks before the first round of the presidential election in the cash-strapped country, WSJ has reported, referring to people familiar with the deal.
WSJ said that the bank, declared the only organizer of the additional issue of 10-year loan participation notes (LPNs) of Ukraine, bought them itself, which is not a common practice.
The deal could deliver millions of dollars in gains for JPMorgan, which bought the bonds at a discount.
WSJ said that in the past weeks Ukrainian government officials met with the bond management funds in Miami and New York to unofficially discuss the issue of new LPNs, although investors called to postpone the sale of new LPNs after the election.
In this situation, JPMorgan offered Ukraine to add $350 million in eurobonds maturing in 2028 and sell them privately to the bank, people familiar with the deal told the publication. According to their data, the bank bought bonds at around 98.88 cents on the dollar and has started selling them to bond funds at around 100.50 cents on the dollar. If JPMorgan sells all the bonds at that price, it would make a profit of some $5.7 million on the deal, WSJ said.
According to WSJ, Wall Street firms from time to time made such transactions through the so-called proprietary trading desks before the 2008 financial crisis, but rarely did this later, since the new rules require them to be significantly redundant in such transactions.
