Page 66 - UKRRptDec20

‘Diya.City’. Under this umbrella, companies could be registered in minutes, workers would pay 5% income tax rates, and employers would enjoy liberalize labour codes.
4G mobile telephone usage by Kyivstar subscribers was up 50% y/y in the third quarter​, reports Ukrinform. The 4G network of Kyivstar, the nation’s largest mobile company, now reaches 84% of Ukraine’s population, the company reports. Of Kyivstar’s 25.8mn sim card holders, 65% use their phones for data. Due to the quarantine, “subscribers are using more digital products,” said Kyivstar President Oleksandr Komarov.
A massive An-124 Antonov ‘Ruslan’ cargo jet inaugurated Ukrposhta’s improved parcel service to the US​, carrying 50 tons of packages from Kyiv to New York on Saturday. Ukrposhta will now send a weekly flight to New York, using various aircraft and carrying 20-50 tons of cargo, says Igor Smelyanskiy, head of Ukrposhta. “Do you know what 125,000 parcels look like?,” asks Smelyanskiy in a press release accompanied by a photo of the mammoth plane, its nose cargo door left open to show thousands of packages stuffed inside. So far this year, Ukrposhta has flown 3,000 tons of packages out of Ukraine, supporting “tens of thousands of Ukrainian export-oriented small and medium-sized entrepreneurs,” Smelyanskiy said.
9.1.8 ​Tourism sector news
The number of foreigners entering Ukraine has plunged by 75% so far this year​. Through September, 2.7mn foreigners visited Ukraine, down from 10.7mn during the first nine months of last year, according to the State Border Guard Service. Spending by foreign tourists is estimated to finish this year at 80% below last year’s level of $1.6bn, forecasts the National Bank of Ukraine. Spending by Ukrainians for foreign travel is down by 55% y/y, to $3.3bn through September.
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a major attraction for foreign tourists, received 31,720 tourists through October, down 71% y/y. ​Due to the fires and the coronavirus lockdown, the area around the ruined nuclear power plant was closed to tourist for almost three months last spring. Last year, foreigners accounted for 80% of visitors.
To draw Chernobyl tourists for longer stays, Kyiv-based tour operators plan to offer next summer kayak tours on the Pripyat River and bicycle tours on a new, 45 km trail. The trail follows a loop, passing through four semi-abandoned villages, stretches of deep forest and clearings that offer unexpected views of the abandoned city of Pripyat and the sarcophagus covering the remains of the power plant. The trail takes 4 to 6 hours and guides scheduled breaks every half hour so cyclists do not get winded. The Kyiv Post reports: “The faster a person inhales and exhales, the higher the radiation dose they can receive.”
9.1.10 ​Renewables sector news
The Government’s Guaranteed Buyer says it has paid all for renewable energy generated in August and for 93% of power produced in September. ​The press service of the Ministry of Energy reports that the green tariff reductions negotiated with renewable companies in July has saved
66​ UKRAINE Country Report​ December 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com