Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, intends to invest UAH 1.43 billion in the radio frequency spectrum 1940-1945/2130-2135 MHz and 2355-2395 MHz, the company’s press service said on Tuesday. At the same time, it is specified that obtaining additional radio frequency spectrum for 15 years will significantly strengthen the company’s capabilities to expand 4G coverage and improve the quality of services in all regions of the country.
The company emphasized the important role of Kyivstar in the development of the electronic communications industry in Ukraine, in particular in the introduction of 4G. The press service recalled that it was Kyivstar that offered the state an innovative approach to solving the problem of fragmented spectrum of frequencies – in 2018, the company supported the proposal of the national regulator, returning to the state the frequency band in the 1800 MHz range. This allowed for a transparent auction, which resulted in the state budget receiving UAH 5.43 billion and consumers receiving high-quality 4G coverage across the country.
In 2020, Kyivstar returned the frequency band in the 900 MHz band to the state for the second time voluntarily and free of charge.
“To further bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas, it was important to deploy 4G also in the lower 900 MHz frequency band, which allows for wider coverage, especially along roads and in remote areas. But the spectrum deficit and fragmentation in this band slowed down the technological development of the market,” Kyivstar’s press service said.
The CEO of the company Oleksandr Komarov expressed gratitude to the National Commission carrying out state regulation in the spheres of electronic communications, radio frequency spectrum and provision of postal communication services (NKEC), the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the state for the preparation and holding of a transparent auction for the distribution of frequencies in the spectrum 2100-2300-2600MHz, which will allow to develop infrastructure and improve the quality of mobile communication services for subscribers.
“The auction for licenses to use the radio frequency spectrum is an important step in the development of the electronic communications industry in Ukraine and evidence that the war does not stop investment in state assets, and their effective management can bring significant funds to the budget,” the Kyivstar press service quoted Komarov as saying.
The company also specified that participation in the auction for licenses for the use of radio frequency spectrum in the bands of 2024 is part of the investment program of Kyivstar and its parent company VEON, according to which it is planned to attract $1 billion to the Ukrainian economy during 2023-2027.
Earlier it was reported that the NKEC held an auction for the provision of mobile frequencies for use. “Kyivstar“, ‘Vodafone-Ukraine’ (”VF-Ukraine“) and lifecell (”Lifecell”) received for use for 15 years new frequencies in the bands 2100, 2300 i 2600 MHz cumulatively offering for them 2 billion 894.734 million UAH at the initial total price of 2 billion 871.531 million UAH.
In accordance with the terms and conditions of technologically neutral nationwide licenses established by the NCCEC, each of the winners undertook to ensure the use of the received frequency band for at least 1.5 thousand base stations within 24 months from the license start date, and for the first 12 months – for at least 500 base stations.
“Kyivstar” acquired the right to use for 15 years the frequencies in the range 1940-1945/2130-2135 MHz (without Kiev) for UAH 448 million 500 thousand, in the range 2355-2395 MHz – for UAH 994 million 800 thousand.
Investment revenues after the end of hostilities may continue, 74% of Ukrainians surveyed believe so, 16% do not believe in it and another 10% bother to answer, according to the results of the Gradus Research survey of professional mobility of Ukrainians against the background of human capital crisis.
According to it, 84% of respondents believe in the creation of new jobs after the end of hostilities, 13% do not believe and another 5% found it difficult to answer.
“Attracting older people to the labor market is another stream that is now being discussed widely in the business community. 70% of people of retirement age are willing to consider a job after retirement. The reason is the same: pensions are small, insufficient, people are ready to work as long as they can,” said Eugenia Bliznyuk, founder and director of the research company, during the presentation of the study at the Kyiv International Economic Forum (KIEF) on Thursday.
According to her, the main barriers that are important for the elderly are the limited number of vacancies for them.
As for Ukrainians in general, the majority consider changing profession as a real step to improve the quality of life: more than 64% of respondents are ready to learn a new profession to remain competitive in the labor market.
In addition, 73% of respondents noted that they have changed their occupation at least once, 18% have changed their job more than three times in the last three years.
The majority of respondents wishing to change jobs in the next year prefer to find employment in Ukraine – 82%. However, 9% consider the possibility of working abroad, which emphasizes the importance of creating promising jobs within the country.
Decent salary level (67%), social package (40%) and official employment (40%), comfortable working conditions (39%) are the most important for the interviewed Ukrainians when choosing a place of work.
Also 70% of respondents noted that their main motive for changing profession is the opportunity to receive a higher salary. Other important factors include flexible working hours and job security after training. This indicates that Ukrainians strive for a work-life balance.
At the same time, among the main barriers that complicate mastering a new profession, the surveyed Ukrainians named high cost of training (55%), difficulty in acquiring the necessary skills (38%) and insufficient level of skills (34%).
The majority of surveyed citizens support the idea that women can work in traditionally “male” fields (58%), but barriers remain. The main difficulties for women in such occupations are the physical characteristics of the occupations (69%), the difficulty of balancing work and family (43%), stereotypes (36%), unequal pay (30%) and lack of appropriate infrastructure (26%).
The Norwegian government plans to allocate NOK 250 million for Norfund’s investments in Ukraine as part of the Nansen Support Program, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko has said.
“These funds will help reduce risks for companies investing in Ukraine, including Norwegian ones. Private capital is the key to modernization. I am grateful to our partners for this decision,” she wrote on social network X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.
According to Svyrydenko, this decision also supports the efforts of the Ministry of Economy to implement a joint strategy to attract public and private investment of up to EUR40 billion in cooperation with international financial organizations and development agencies.
According to the Ministry’s website, the government also plans to continue this initiative in the coming years.
As the ministry clarified, Norfund provides equity investments, which involve higher risks than loans and guarantees offered by development agencies and multilateral banks. As an investment fund, Norfund also works to create jobs and support the green transition by investing in companies that promote sustainable development.
According to Norway’s Minister for International Development, Anne Beate Christiansen Twinereim, Norfund has experience in high-risk markets, so it will be an important tool for attracting private sector investment in recovery projects. In particular, it will also help to reduce the gap between Ukraine’s urgent recovery needs and the amount of available funding.
The Nansen Support Program for Ukraine is a Norwegian civilian and military support program worth NOK 75 billion for the period 2023-2027. The distribution between civilian and military support is determined annually according to Ukraine’s needs.
In 2023, about NOK 19.9 billion was distributed from the Nansen Support Program: 8.9 billion for civilian and humanitarian support, and 11 billion for military support.
A new educational institution of the KAN Development educational network, Architectural and Engineering Collegium A+ (AIC+), opened in Kiev on Monday. The collegium is designed for 680 students, the company’s representatives said at the opening of AIC+. The area of the building is 13.1 thousand square meters, the total area of the training center is 3.30 hectares, of which 4 thousand sq. m. – shelter area. The training center is located on the territory of the residential neighborhood “Faina Town” in Kiev.
The company explained that the project is a conceptual educational complex that combines kindergarten, primary, secondary school, specialized lyceum and extracurricular activities in engineering, IT and architecture.
KAN added that $23 million was invested directly in the collegium, while the construction of each school shelter cost almost UAH 65 million.
As of today, KAN Development has invested over $100 million in educational institutions.
AIC+ became the 15th educational institution of the A+ network, where 3 thousand children study in full-day format and 700 teachers teach.
A+ activities began in 2005 at the initiative of Ivanna Nikonova. To date, the A+ educational network consists of three elementary school, two secondary schools, four kindergartens, three children’s clubs, a distance education center, a sports and music school and a wide range of extracurricular studios.
Nova Poshta LLC plans to increase its investments in the Moldovan market to $880 thousand in 2024, which is 4.5 times more than the volume of such investments in 2023, the company’s press service said on Wednesday.
“The bulk of the investments will be directed to expanding our network, repairing branches, automating workplaces, updating IT infrastructure, and increasing the fleet of vehicles for delivery by couriers,” said Sergey Shapran, CEO of Nova Poshta in Moldova.
In addition, in 2025, Nova Poshta plans to create a new sorting hub in Moldova, where business customers will be able to use fulfillment services.
According to the company, over the 10 years of its operation in this country, Nova Poshta has become one of the three fastest deliveries in Moldova, and has built a network of 21 branches, 261 post offices and three sorting terminals.
In addition, it was the first company in the Moldovan market to launch parcel delivery points on the basis of existing businesses: shops, gas stations, etc. Currently, there are 53 delivery points in Moldova, and the company plans to further expand its network.
According to the report, in the first half of 2024, Nova Poshta in Moldova delivered 1.1 million parcels, almost as many as in the whole of 2023 (1.2 million), and paid 12.5 million lei in taxes to the local state budget of the country.
“In Moldova, Nova Poshta delivers parcels from marketplaces in China, America, Ukraine, as well as to/from Romania.
The company is also working on integrating Moldova into the Nova Post Europe system, which will allow customers to send and receive parcels from 13 European countries.
In the first half of 2024, the company delivered 771 thousand international parcels, compared to 590 thousand for the whole of 2023.
As reported, in the first half of 2024, Nova Poshta increased its consolidated net income by 22.6% to UAH 24.45 billion, while the company’s consolidated net profit decreased by 36.9% to UAH 1.48 billion.
Since the beginning of 2024, the clients of JSC OTP BANK – individuals – have purchased domestic government bonds for a total amount of UAH 3.1 billion.
The number of transactions in the first half of the year amounted to 1897, which is 137% more than in the same period of 2023.
Investments in domestic government bonds in 2024 were made in two ways: customers purchased bonds directly at auctions of the Ministry of Finance through the OTP Bank UA app or from the Bank’s own portfolio, also using the app.
During the first and second quarters, securities totaling UAH 2.8 billion in equivalent were purchased at the Ministry of Finance auctions.
Total sales from the Bank’s portfolio by the end of the second quarter amounted to UAH 305 million in equivalent.
We remind you that the service for purchasing government bonds from its own portfolio in the OTP Bank UA application was launched two months ago, at the end of May 2024.
“Investing in domestic government bonds is not only an opportunity to support Ukraine’s financial stability in times of war, but also a good opportunity to diversify your savings and earn additional income in both hryvnia and foreign currency. Moreover, the repayment of funds is fully guaranteed by the state, so it is also a guarantee of the safety of savings. We offer our customers different ways to invest – they can buy government bonds directly from the auction or at any convenient time from the Bank’s portfolio, with the best rate, maturity, in the chosen currency, 24/7,” said Valeria Ovcharuk, product owner of OTP BANK.
In total, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, OTP Bank’s individual clients have invested more than UAH 11.5 billion in government bonds in equivalent.
To learn more about investing in government bonds through the OTP Bank UA app, please follow the link.
