Business Week: Ukrainian Railways Tightens Control, Electricity and Hotels Become More Expensive
Collage: Daria Dmytrenko, LIGA.net

Regarding the improvement of the business climate this week, the authorities promise a one-year moratorium on business inspections and expect investment in the helicopter plant.

Containing price increases and the hryvnia exchange rate is becoming increasingly difficult, so the regulator has raised the cap on electricity prices in the evening by 60% – to purchase it abroad. Gas for the winter will also be purchased abroad, for which the state-owned PrivatBank provided a record loan. Naturally, loans must be repaid – therefore, a further increase in gas prices is logical.

Entrepreneurs are not against reducing the work week – but under one condition. Read more about this and other important news of the week below:

The battle for Kolomoisky's gas stations. How the automotive fuel market is changing

Gas stations that previously belonged to the Privat Group. Igor Kolomoisky and Gennadyy Boholyubov, they are snapped up like hotcakes.

In the article "Kolomoisky's Legacy. Who is fighting for Privat Group's gas stations and how it will change the market".

"It's about the fact that in July the company" UPG received permission from the Antimonopoly Committee (AMCU) to lease 34 stations of the ANP and "Avias" brands in Kyiv and the region. UPG also submitted documents to the AMCU for permission to temporarily use approximately 200 more stations, "which previously operated under the Avias and ANP brands". The company has not yet detailed what these stations are.

Based on data In terms of the number of gas stations in the oil market for 2024, the network will become the fourth largest in the country after Ukrnafta (546), WOG (472), and OKKO (412). Currently, UPG is the sixth largest player in terms of the number of gas stations.

In total, there are still about 600 stations of the former Privat Group remaining in the territory controlled by the state (excluding seized gas stations and those that went to Ukrnafta).

More details about the motives UPG, the volume of investment and the consequences for the market – Read here.

Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) is tightening the screws: enhanced ticket control has been introduced

Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) is launching a new phase in its fight against the shortage of train tickets starting August 1, reports LIGA.net. Firstly, railway workers will be checking passengers' documents more carefully. For this purpose, selective patrols by paramilitary security units will be implemented at stations. Train crews "have received additional instructions regarding thorough verification of data," reports the press service of Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways).

Secondly, the verification of identity via Diia.Signature will be enabled when purchasing or returning tickets for the following trains:

  • No. 105/106 Odessa – Kyiv;
  • №91/92 Lviv – Kyiv;
  • №29/30 Kyiv – Uzhgorod;
  • No. 12 Lviv – Odessa;
  • No. 27/28 Kyiv – Chop.

Since June, there has been an increase in complaints about the inability to buy train tickets. Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) explained the ticket shortage as follows:

→ due to the anomalous demand during the summer season – yes, demand for tickets on the Kyiv – Yaremche route in July increased by 460%, and from Kyiv to Bukovel – by 406%; → group travel – since the beginning of summer, 204,000 passengers have been transported, of which 140,000 are children with group bookings (twice as many as last year); → a reserve of tickets for military personnel (70,500 military personnel were transported through the special reserve).

Controller increased the maximum prices for electricity in the evening hours by 60%

Due to the electricity shortage, the National Energy and Mineral Resources Commission (NEMRC) has significantly increased price caps – the level of maximum prices for electricity.

From July 31, the National Energy and Mineral Resources Commission (NEMRC) increased price limits in the electricity market – the so-called price caps. The relevant decision was made by the members of the commission adopted approved passed resolved at the meeting on Friday, July 25.

The increase applies to the evening hours – the period from 17:00 to 23:00. It is due to the need to increase the import of electricity from the European Union.

Here's how the limit prices will change for the "day-ahead" market (DAM) and the intraday market (IDM):

→ Upper limits: * from 00:00 to 07:00 – remain at 5600 UAH/MWh; * from 07:00 to 11:00 – remain at 6900 UAH/MWh; * from 11:00 to 17:00 – remain at 5600 UAH/MWh; * from 17:00 to 23:00 – are increasing from 9000 to 15,000 UAH/MWh; * from 23:00 to 00:00 – remain at 6900 UAH/MWh.

→ lower: * during the day – 10 UAH/MWh.

For a balancing market:

→ Upper limits: * from 00:00 to 07:00 – remain at 6600 UAH/MWh; * from 07:00 to 17:00 – remain at 8250 UAH/MWh; * from 17:00 to 23:00 – are increased from 10,000 to 16,000 UAH/MWh; ;* from 23:00 to 00:00 – remains at 8250 UAH/MWh;

→ lower: * during the day – 0.01 UAH per MWh.

Tariffs for the population remain unchanged when price caps change.

Other consumers who buy electricity at market prices during evening hours will pay more.

  • The previous increase in price caps in the Ukrainian electricity market. took place from June 1, 2024.
  • The regulator's decision was intended to stop nighttime power outages. According to it, price caps increased by 20% during evening peak hours, and more than doubled during certain hours at night.

A Bell helicopter factory will open in Ukraine

Bell Textron (USA) plans to manufacture helicopters in Ukraine. This was announced on July 25. reported / announced / notified / informed / said Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture Oleksiy Sobolev.

"We held a working meeting with the American helicopter manufacturer Bell Helicopter, which is part of Textron and produces modern military helicopters such as the AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom. The company is already planning to invest and manufacture in Ukraine," the minister said.

According to Sobolev, the government is ready to support the initiative with "effective tools for investors".

Since 2022, Ukraine has been interested in the American AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters manufactured by Bell Helicopter, was telling told was talking about talked about. According to Defense News, Vadym Ivchenko, a member of parliament and member of the defense committee, said that the Ukrainian command has contacted the United States with a request to obtain Viper helicopters through foreign military sales.

Latest NABU case: Kolomoisky is suspected of embezzling 9.2 billion hryvnias

A day after the statement by the Attorney General Ruslana Kravchenko Regarding the slow pace of the NABU's work, the bureau reported the completion of the investigation into the former owner of PrivatBank, Ihor Kolomoisky.

LIGA.net reports, that this is the fourth episode in in the case of embezzlement of PrivatBank funds, but the first one in which Kolomoisky is mentioned.

According to the NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau), in January-March 2015, the businessman, who at that time held the position of head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Administration, forced the bank to pay over 9.2 billion UAH to a controlled offshore company under the guise of repurchasing its own bonds at an inflated price.

Part of the sum (over 446 million UAH) was transferred for legalization through five related legal entities under the guise of securities transactions, and then to the beneficiary's personal account.

He subsequently contributed these funds to the authorized capital of PrivatBank to comply with the requirements of the NBU (National Bank of Ukraine).

Kolomoiskyi is accused of three articles of the Criminal Code: 191 (appropriation of property), 209 (money laundering), and 366 (official forgery).

In addition to Kolomoisky, the former chairman of the board of PrivatBank, Oleksandr Dubilet, and four other lower-level bank managers are suspected.

Naftogaz took a record loan from PrivatBank to purchase gas before winter

The largest state-owned bank provided 4.7 billion hryvnias to Naftogaz to replenish underground gas storage facilities.

Head Naftogazby Serhiy Koretskyi announced the raising of a loan in the amount of 4.7 billion hryvnias from PrivatBank The loan is provided for the purchase of natural gas reserves for the next heating season.

PrivatBank clarified that this is the largest loan granted since the beginning of the full-scale war.

For at current prices At the current European gas market price (33 euros per MWh), the funds raised will allow the purchase of over 250 million cubic meters of natural gas. The exact volume depends on fluctuations in exchange rates or gas prices.

In 2024, Ukraine entered the heating season with reserves of about 13 billion cubic meters. At the end of the season, the underground gas storage facilities had record-low gas reserves – less than 6 billion cubic meters, which is close to the level of so-called "buffer" gas.

LIGA.net together with analysts HotelMatrix (project) Hotelier) has prepared data on how the peak tourist season is going in the fourth year of the war. The article... "Exceeded expectations." How the summer season is going in Ukrainian hotels. It's about what has changed in the hotel business since last year, how full the hotels are, why the average bill has increased, and what the most popular vacation destinations are.

This season, there is increased demand for retreat-style accommodations: hotels with hot tubs, swimming pools, and those that can offer wellness packages. Occupancy rates at such establishments reach 55-60% in August, both on weekdays and weekends.

HotelMatrix notes that demand is growing for glamping sites, aparthotels, and cottage houses near cities within a two-to-three-hour radius. Popular properties are booked for August at 60-80%. This reflects the trend of "micro-escapes": short, often spontaneous trips or vacations lasting one to three days.

A moratorium on business inspections has been implemented

The updated National Security and Defense Council held its first meeting on July 21. imposed a moratorium on business inspections. The country's leadership hopes that this will lead to "tangible economic results within the next six months."

On the eve of the newly appointed Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that it was planned one-year moratorium on inspectionsAccording to her, new cases against businesses will only be authorized by the Attorney General or regional and district level officials.

Earlier, in early July, the Cabinet of Ministers annulled the results of the competition for the head of the Bureau of Economic Security, in which NBU top detective Tsyvinskyi won.The competition committee, however, replied that is not authorized by law to change the winner.

Yefimov and Demi's companies received 95% of the humanitarian demining market

The number one company in the demining market is "Humanitarian Security," owned by Maksym Slipchenko, the brother-in-law (brother of his wife) of Kharkiv businessman Valeriy Demy. The company received 56% of all state contracts for demining, the tenders for which were conducted by the Center for Humanitarian Demining on Prozorro. The total value of these contracts is 572 million hryvnias. reports LIGA.net.

In second place in terms of contract volume is the company "Ukrainian Demining Services" (265 million UAH), associated with businessman Maksym Yefimov, a former member of the Verkhovna Rada. Third place is held by the Ukrainian Demining Agency (54 million UAH), which also belonged to Yefimov until October 2024.

The Office for Counter-Mine Activities at the Ministry of Economy clarifies that the state covers 100% of the cost of demining agricultural land.

This money is held in open escrow accounts until the demining is completed, and after confirmation of the work performed, it is paid to the operator who cleared the field.

According to the Center for Humanitarian Demining, the level of savings achieved through competition among participants in tenders is 17.1%.

Valeriy Dema is a partner in the investment group SigmaBleyzer and heads the branch of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region (where his deputy is Roman Semenukha, the current deputy chairman of the Kharkiv Regional Administration).