Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not ruled out that gambling licenses could be issued if there is a prospect for building a new hotel or the licenses could be issued at a lower price if a hotel expands the number of rooms. “We have five-star hotels on the market, but they are very small. So far there is no way to make a casino there. We need a test… We want hotels to be built. Perhaps if, for example, it is a boutique hotel, then maybe we will give them licenses, which should cost a little more,” Zelensky said during a press marathon on Thursday.
“If this is a very big brand hotel, we can give a license, while they build a hotel for us,” he added.
The president also said that the proceeds from the sale of licenses should go to sports, medicine or education.
As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers has prepared a bill on the legalization of gambling business, which regulates lotteries, bookmakers, poker, casinos and slot machines. At the same time, the government plans to create a special body – a commission for the development and regulation of gambling, which should be coordinated by the government. At the same time, an online gambling equipment supervision system is provided on the basis of the State Tax Service. At the same time, the bill provides for the identification of players by passport data and identification code.
Some 780 filling stations continue operating without a fuel sales license after the launch of the fuel administration reform from July 1, the Ukrainian Oil & Gas Association has said.
The data was obtained by the association during the reconciliation of information on fuel retail locations on perevirAZS.info with information from the public register of licensees and locations for which licenses were obtained.
“Some 780 of such facilities are not in the register of licensees, respectively, they continue working without a license. In this regard, the Oil & Gas Association sent an official appeal to the State Fiscal Service with a request to inspect these places for availability of licenses and registrations of them as excise warehouses in the electronic fuel sales administration system and other violations,” the association said in a statement.
As reported, the reform of the fuel turnover administration, which began on July 1, 2019, provides for licensing of the production, storage and trade of fuel, modernization of the electronic fuel sales administration system at each excise warehouse, and the launch of a new system for monitoring the actual turnover and remaining fuel, and toughened liability for illegal fuel operations.
In the middle of August, the State Fiscal Service reported on the issuance of more than 9,500 licenses for the right to manufacture, store fuel and trade with it, of which 780 licenses were issued for storage.
The National Bank of Ukraine has issued a currency transfer license to GlobalMoney LLC.
According to a posting on the website of the NBU, the decision was made on June 4.
GlobalMoney LLC has become the 19th participant in the foreign exchange market, having received the license to carry out foreign exchange operations in accordance with the law on currency and foreign exchange transactions.
The licenses issued on the basis of the law on currency and currency transactions for the implementation of currency transactions will be indefinite, whereas previously the general currency exchange licenses were issued for a period of up to three years.
The NBU provided an opportunity for simplified re-issuance of licenses to all participants in the currency exchange market. To do this, non-bank financial institutions must submit a small package of documents and return the original general license. The regulator makes a decision on reissuing the license within two months after receiving the package of documents.
4G communication in the 1800 MHz band is currently available in 1,380 localities for at least 90% of their residents, the National Commission for Communications and Informatization Regulation (NCCR) has reported. In accordance with the list of localities provided to the NCCR by operators, 4G communications in Ukraine cover: 95 localities by Kyivstar, 1,099 localities by Vodafone Ukraine and 185 localities by lifecell. The lifecell’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine that they had submitted a list of localities with a population of more than 10,000 people to the regulator, in which at least 90% of the population is covered by 4G communication in the 1800 MHz band.
“In total, 4.5G-communication from lifecell in the 1800 MHz band is available in 5,082 settlements with different levels of population coverage,” the lifecell said, citing data as of January 11, 2019.
In turn, the press service of Kyivstar also reported that they submitted exclusively those settlements in which more than 10,000 people live.
“The company did not include localities in the rural areas and small cities with a population of less than 10,000, as these data were not requested by the regulator. As for the territory of the 4G communication network, Kyivstar now covers 3,619 populated localities,” the country’s largest mobile operator said.
Vodafone Ukraine told Interfax-Ukraine that as of January 17, 2019, 1,124 localities are connected to the 4G network, about 19 million Ukrainians live in them, but the company could not explain why the number of localities submitted to the regulator is different compared with its competitors.
Kyivstar and lifecell suggested that such a difference is due to the fact that only the towns with a population of over 10,000 were submitted, while Vodafone Ukraine presented all of the localities.
According to the regulator, mobile operators have already received more than 35,500 licenses to operate radio electronic equipment: more than 24,500for 3G/UMTS; more than 9,500 for 4G/LTE (the 1800 MHz band) and about 1,500 for 4G/LTE (the 2600 MHz band).
According to the licensing conditions, operators must ensure that 4G services can be received within 12 months for at least 90% of the population of each regional center of Ukraine, and within 42 months for at least 90% of the population of each locality with a population of more than 10,000 people except for regional centers and settlements located in the zone of environmental protection and on the areas annexed by Russia.
Grain Alliance (Barishevka Grain Company LLC), a large agricultural producer in Ukraine, has received a license for planting seed flax, the company has reported on its website. “This year we received a license to grow seed flax. We are the only one in Ukraine that will do this,” said Oleksiy Kotliar, Director of Chernihiv region LLC (Barishevka Grain Company).
He also pointed out good harvests of flax in the region and added that for the third year the company will sow oil flax.
In addition to conventional crops – wheat, corn, sunflower, soybeans, this year the company plans to sow new varieties imported from Canada – bare-grained oats, simple oats and spring wheat, Kotliar said.
In 2009, the founders of Harvest Moon East LLC (Baryshivka, Kyiv region) and BZK Grain Alliance (Sweden) created a joint company – Grain Alliance.
Grain Alliance cultivates around 50,000 ha of farmland in Kyiv, Cherkasy, Poltava, Khmelnytsky and Chernihiv regions.
The company has five silos in Kyiv and Poltava regions and a seed post-harvesting plant with an annual capacity of 30,000 tonnes.
