The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has allowed the state-owned Ukrposhta to buy Alpari Bank.
“The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine granted Ukrposhta permission to acquire Alpari Bank. In conditions when many bank branches are closed, there is no connection in many places, and only Ukrposhta operates there, it is very important that modern banking services appear there. And Ukrposhta” he will definitely do it,” CEO of Ukrposhta Igor Smelyansky wrote on his Telegram channel on Friday.
He also said that this decision would save the country up to UAH 10 billion in three to four years.
“We thank the Antimonopoly Committee for the positive decision, we thank those who supported us, and we are preparing the last step – the decision of the NBU,” Smelyansky said.
As reported, in 2021, Ukrposhta submitted documents to agree on a deal to buy Alpari Bank from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine and the National Bank of Ukraine.
According to the NBU, as of January 1, 2022, the sole shareholder of Alpari Bank was a UAE citizen Bakhtari Hedayat-Allah Musa. According to the central bank, as of March 1, 2022, the bank is solvent and has assets in the amount of UAH 221.9 million.
On Thursday, April 7, Ukrposhta made the first delivery from the Belgian Post Group (Belgian Post, bpost), 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid, which bpost collected from the population in its 657 branches.
According to the press service of the national postal operator, the reloading was carried out on the border with Romania thanks to the help and assistance of the Romanian Post.
According to Ukrposhta, in particular, 20 tonnes of food and hygiene products, as well as 20 tonnes of essential medical supplies were delivered from Belgium. They are already moving to Kyiv region, as well as to the east and south of Ukraine.
It is noted that food and hygiene products will be donated to the needs of defenders and organizations that take care of children and the elderly, and will also be distributed to IDPs.
Medicines were purchased by a charitable foundation in Belgium according to the needs of specific hospitals, they are sent to them by targeted delivery.
“Thanks to the fact that from the beginning of the war, Ukrposhta turned to the member countries of the Universal Postal Union for support, today we have it from many post offices of the world, which is expressed in real actions. Another 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid is hundreds of meals for people from the most difficult regions, these are medical supplies for the treatment of military and civilians who were injured due to rocket attacks by Russia,” the press service of the company quotes Ukrposhta CEO Igor Smelyansky.
At the same time, the head of Ukrposhta separately thanked the Belgian Post for understanding not only the plight of Ukrainians, in which they found themselves due to the Russian attack, but also the difficult logistical conditions. In addition to organizing the collection and delivery of aid, bpost also organized its sorting into categories, which will significantly speed up the work, reducing processing time and saving precious minutes, and immediately send aid to the most affected regions of Ukraine, Smelyansky noted.
Ukrposhta has started paying pensions for April in all regions of Ukraine, including the difficult areas of Luhansk, Kherson, Chernihiv, Sumy and other regions, the company’s press service said on Wednesday.
The national postal operator notes that all clients served by Ukrposhta receive pension and payments specifically and in cash.
“If a person has changed their place of residence, the company has a mechanism for redirecting payments to any available branch. To do this, you need to contact the contact center of Ukrposhta or the Pension Fund and indicate the data of the new location. If a pensioner who previously received a pension from a bank does not yet have access to a bank branch, he can apply to the Pension Fund of Ukraine to receive a pension at the nearest branch of Ukrposhta or submit an application through the postman or at any post office,” the report says.
According to Ukrposhta, in March, the company delivered 85% (UAH 8.9 billion) of pensions in cash to cities and villages across Ukraine, where it was safe.
As of March 22, 2022, Ukrposhta delivered almost 80% of pensions (UAH 8.4 billion), delivery is carried out in all regions.
As the press service of the national postal operator reported on Wednesday, in most regions the rate of pension payments fluctuates between 93-99%. So far, it has not been possible to fully pay pensions in zones where active hostilities are taking place.
So, in Chernihiv region 16% was paid, in Zaporizhia region – 48%, Kharkiv region – 50%, in Kherson region – 57%, in Sumy region – 60% of pensions.
Ukrposhta noted that as soon as green corridors to cities temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation or under shelling are formed, the company will immediately deliver payments. In addition, the percentage of pension payments is lower than usual at present, partly due to the fact that many Ukrainians have changed their place of residence due to hostilities and have not yet completed the redirection.
“For three weeks in a row, together with our colleagues, we have been constantly in touch with the Ukrainian military, rebuilding routes, looking for strong-willed and creative solutions to bypass enemy checkpoints, find cash in a surrounded city or region, and provide people with basic necessities. Unfortunately, there are still separate areas where we cannot reach, but our defenders are doing their job every day, retaking our cities and villages from the invaders, and we at Ukrposhta are already starting cars to quickly do our job after,” the Ukrposhta general director Igor Smelyansky said.
The national postal operator notes that the majority of Ukrainians who received pensions for February received them locally – at Ukrposhta offices in the city or by targeted delivery. Also, Ukrposhta received about 22,000 applications for redirecting payments.
Ukrposhta resumed delivery from the largest marketplaces and online stores: OLX, prom.ua, Rozetka, eva.ua, as well as online clothing stores, in particular, children’s clothing, consumer goods, children’s toys, goods for the home, etc., the company’s press service said on Friday.
“Now many Ukrainians are faced with the fact that it has become a problem to buy ordinary things in a store: due to logistical restrictions, when the store simply cannot deliver products on time, or due to a sharply growing demand due to internal migration, some groups of goods have temporary shortage. Ordering goods on the marketplace can partially solve the problem. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that Ukrposhta has resumed the delivery of online orders. Gradually, we will resume delivery from all sites that we worked with before the war, because we understand how important it is for our customers. In addition, the resumption of delivery from marketplaces will allow Ukrainian entrepreneurs to return to work, earn money and strengthen the economy,” Ukrposhta Deputy Director General for Business Development Olena Stepina was quoted as saying.
It is said that as of March 11, some 4,783 branches of Ukrposhta are operating. In addition, mobile departments leave for routes where it is safe.
JSC Ukrposhta in January-September 2021 received UAH 131 million of net profit, which is twice as much as in the nine months of 2020 (UAH 60.9 million).
As the company’s press service reported on Monday, the company increased its net income by 23%, to UAH 8.1 billion.
Ukrposhta notes that the company has increased its volumes and revenues in the main areas of business – remittances, written correspondence, payments. The largest increase occurred in parcels. Thus, among domestic shipments, customers most often chose Ukrposhta Express – here volumes increased by 40% and revenues by 50%. In addition, there was a significant increase in international shipments – volumes increased by 55%, revenues – by 66%.
The company’s labor costs for the specified period increased by 17% and amounted to UAH 4.5 billion. The average salary of employees in full-time equivalent compared to nine months of last year increased by 16.5% and amounted to UAH 9,949.
In addition, Ukrposhta paid UAH 2.4 billion in taxes, single social security tax, fees and mandatory payments in January-September.
“The increase in revenue and profit to UAH 131 million [twice as much as in the same period last year] was due to the growth in the level of trust and business volumes from our customers, especially in the segment of parcels that showed the best dynamics. Given the state of the postal infrastructure, profit is not an end in itself. But it allows us to confidently continue the investment projects that we have already begun, which next year will improve the quality of services for customers and will be a powerful impetus in the development of the company,” Ukrposhta CEO Igor Smelyansky is quoted as saying.
