Business news from Ukraine

NOVA POSHTA PLANS TO DEVELOP IN INTL MARKETS

Nova Poshta Group plans to develop in the markets of Eastern Europe, the United States and China.
“Global development was in our strategy, but we met the war with only Nova Poshta Moldova and Nova Poshta Global, which served deliveries from the USA, Europe and China to Ukraine. This is clearly not enough. We have learned this lesson and will soon become much more global. Since early March, we have been studying markets that are potentially interesting for us,” founder and co-owner of Nova Poshta Viacheslav Klymov said in an interview with the Ukrainian edition of Forbes.
According to him, the company is analyzing Eastern Europe, the countries where the Ukrainians went, as an area for expansion. Also, Nova Poshta is interested in the United States and China.
“About 75% of our network is franchisees in small towns. By the way, they have shown extraordinary resilience during this stress. Believe it or not, yesterday we gave permission to our franchisees to resume operations in Donetsk region. People are ready to work, even when next to them shelling is underway. This is a working model, we have a lot of experience in this, and this is one of the scenarios which we will go to new markets with,” Klymov said.

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BUSINESSMAN VASYL KHMELNYTSKY LOOKING FOR PARTNER TO DEVELOP KIEV INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky is looking for a partner for the joint development of Kyiv Sikorsky International Airport (Zhuliany).
“I am now looking for a partner in the airport [Kyiv International Airport]. But it is important for me not just to sell the airport, but to find partners who have a slot of aircraft, who have a reputation in this business, who have cheap loans, who will do the right strategy for the airport. I need their experience,” Vasyl Khmelnytsky said during an interview with co-owner and CEO of TIS port Andriy Stavnitser.
The businessman also stressed that synergy with a partner is important to him.
As reported, Khmelnytsky announced that he plans to continue investing in Kyiv airport.
Kyiv International Airport is located 7 km from the center of the capital. It ranks second in Ukraine in terms of the number of flights and passenger traffic. The airport has three terminals with a total area of 21,000 square meters. The airport runway allows accepting aircraft such as Boeing-737, Airbus A-320. However, even with the A-320, there are loading restrictions on long haul flights.
Based on the results of the 2010 investment tender, the airport is managed by Master-Avia, which has entered into a 49-year lease agreement for the airport property. According to the company, during this time it has invested more than $ 50 million in the creation of new airport infrastructure and is still using all available resources to pay off the loan. The beneficiaries of the company, according to the unified state register of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, are Vasyl Khmelnytsky and Kostrzhevsky.
In March 2019, Khmelnytsky said that his UFuture business group owns 90% of the shares of Master-Avia LLC, another 10% in the company belongs to Khmelnytsky’s partner Denys Kostrzhevsky.
Master-Avia owns terminals and the apron, and the airfield and the runway are on the balance sheet of municipal enterprise Kyiv International Airport (Zhuliany).

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SCHWARZ GROUP IS ENTERING UKRAINIAN MARKET AND DEVELOP LIDL FOOD RETAIL CHAIN

Schwarz Group is entering the Ukrainian market and will develop the Lidl food retail chain, the German edition Lebensmittel Zeitung reported, citing an internal letter from the company.
As follows from the internal letter from Schwarz, 47-year-old Adam Miszczyszyn will deal with Lidl’s entering Ukraine. The document on his appointment as Country Manager for Lidl in Ukraine was signed by Lidl CEO Gerd Chrzanowski and Procurement Director Tim Bork.
Schwarz Group, with 500,000 employees, is one of the world’s leading retail companies.
The company is headquartered in Neckarsulm, Germany. The main food retail brands are Lidl and Kaufland. The group also includes food production Schwarz Produktion and waste disposal, sorting and recycling company PreZero.
According to the official website of the company, it operates 12,900 stores in 33 countries, with revenues in 2020 of EUR125.3 billion, which is 9.6% higher than in 2019. Kaufland increased store sales by 7.5%, to EUR 25.5 billion, Lidl increased sales by 9.9%, to EUR96.3 billion, PreZero grew by 33.7% in 2020 and brought in about EUR 700 million from waste treatment.

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EUROPEAN UNION INVITES UKRAINE TO DEVELOP BENCHMARKS FOR ACHIEVING CLIMATE NEUTRALITY

The European Union has invited the Ukrainian government to determine specific targets for achieving climate neutrality by 2050, 10 years ahead of schedule.
“The EU welcomes the submission of an updated NDC with increased ambition and encouraged Ukraine to continue developing concrete milestones to achieve Ukraine’s climate neutrality by 2050 and to align its sectoral strategies with that objective,” a press release by the EU Delegation to Ukraine, following the second meeting of the working group within the framework of the dialogue on Green Deal between Ukraine and the EU, reads.
The EU reiterated the need for Ukraine to pursue reforms, and strengthen administrative capacities to implement the commitments of enhanced NDC and possibly achieve additional emission reductions.
“The EU underlined the need for rapid adoption, implementation and enforcement of Ukraine’s key environmental legislation (Waste management, Industrial Emissions, Environmental Control, Emerald network) and of the National Forest management Strategy,” the message says.
Deputy Director General NEAR and Head of the Support Group for Ukraine (SGUA) Katarína Mathernová signalled EU’s readiness to support further Ukrainian efforts, including through financial assistance, for setting up a robust Ukrainian climate governance based on long-term climate neutrality objectives which would guide policies and the “whole-of-the-economy” green transition.
As reported, in accordance with NDC, Ukraine should reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65% of the 1990 level by 2030, and achieve climate neutrality by 2060. Such goals were set and approved by the Cabinet of Ministers decree of July 30, 2021.

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BOLT RAISES EUR 20 MLN OF INVESTMENT TO DEVELOP SERVICES IN EASTERN EUROPE (INCLUDING UKRAINE) AND AFRICA

Bolt, a ride-hailing service, has raised EUR 20 million of investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to increase access to mobility services in Eastern Europe (including Ukraine) and Africa (Nigeria and South Africa), the press service of the company reported on Thursday.
“Technology can and should unlock new pathways for sustainable development… Our investment in Bolt aims to help tap in to technology to disrupt the transport sector in a way that is good for the environment… and provides safer and more affordable transportation access in emerging markets,” IFC Chief Operating Officer Stephanie von Friedeburg said in a statement.
“We are looking forward to partnering with IFC to further support entrepreneurship… and increase access to affordable mobility services in Africa and Eastern Europe. Together with the investment from the European Investment Bank last year, we are proud to have sizeable and strategically important institutions backing us and recognising the strategic value Bolt is providing to emerging economies,” Bolt CEO Markus Villig said.
In Ukraine, Bolt ride-hailing service was launched in summer 2018.

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ABOLITION PAYMENT OF VAT ON DOMESTIC AIR TRAFFIC WILL HELP UKRAINIAN AIRLINES DEVELOP

Abolishing the payment of value added tax (VAT) for domestic air transportation will create positive conditions for the development of domestic airlines and revitalize regional air traffic, Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko has said.
“We have goals to abolish VAT on domestic air transportation. This is an important topic. After all, it will help the development of Ukrainian airlines – not only state ones, but also private ones,” he said during the “Ukraine 30. Infrastructure” forum.
According to the official, this year the creation of a state air carrier can be completed and Ukraine will receive an understandable state national air carrier that will be able to solve not only tourism issues, but also state issues.
At the same time, Tymoshenko recalled that in the spring of 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was necessary to involve private airlines in the evacuation of Ukrainian citizens from other countries.
“All this will be decided by a large national air carrier, which, I hope, will become known to the whole world,” he said.

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