Amsterdam and Kyiv, 14 May 2024: VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam: VEON), a global digital operator that provides converged connectivity and online services, is pleased to share that VEON’s 100%-owned subsidiary Kyivstar, has been named the top international investor in Ukraine in 2022-2023 by Forbes Ukraine.
The Forbes Ukraine rating looked at capital expenditures by private companies in Ukraine in 2022 and 2023. Kyivstar was ranked as the 5th largest private sector investor overall and the leader in the telecommunications industry, making its 100% shareholder VEON the highest-ranking international investor in Ukraine.
Kyivstar’s UAH 12.3 billion in capital expenditures and investments for 2022 and 2023, (approximately USD 176 million and USD 174 million in 2022 and 2023, respectively, in the Group’s reporting currency) focused on expanding its 4G coverage, ensuring network availability and energy resilience, and enabling digital services. The same focus continues in 2024.
Since February 2022, Kyivstar has installed 5,500 new base stations and upgraded more than 13 thousand base stations to 4G, meaning that today the company serves Ukraine with over 1,700 more 4G sites than before the onset of the full-scale war. Kyivstar has also expanded its 4G population coverage from 90.3% in January 2022 to 95.4% in April 2024 in line with its “LTE everywhere” project, which provides the connectivity backbone for the digitalization of Ukraine. Kyivstar’s investments have helped provide connectivity to Ukrainians in newly built residential areas and in the country’s bomb shelters.
VEON’s Kyivstar also spent heavily on the energy resilience of its network, spending UAH 1 billion (approx. USD 27.4 million) and installing over 130 thousand batteries to date across its network. This has increased the duration of energy back-up at Kyivstar’s sites in order to support Ukraine’s connectivity even when the country’s energy infrastructure is under attack.
Kyivstar also invests in Ukraine’s digital landscape. In August 2022, it acquired a controlling interest in Helsi, Ukraine’s leading digital healthcare platform. Since acquiring Helsi, Kyivstar has been focusing on enhancing the platform’s offering, which now serves a registered base of 28 million users with a monthly active user base of 2.3 million as of April 2024. Further, the streaming service Kyivstar TV has become Ukraine’s leading digital content platform and continues to expand its educational and entertainment content.
VEON and Kyivstar have committed to investing USD 600 million over three years and started rolling out this investment program at the beginning of 2024. The investments will include partnerships with global technology companies.
“We are honoured to see that our ongoing commitment to the country has placed us among the top 5 investors in Ukraine. Our investments in Ukraine in 2022 and 2023 placed us in the 5th spot overall in the Forbes rating and earned us the top ranking among foreign investors and telecommunications companies, demonstrating that VEON indeed walks the walk when we say that ‘the time to invest in Ukraine is now’. We will maintain this investment momentum with our USD 600 million program over the next 3 years, and will continue to work hard every day to ‘build-back-better’ and rebuild Ukraine’s digital future,” said Kaan Terzioglu, Group CEO of VEON.
In addition to its extensive investments, Kyivstar supports the resilience of Ukraine with social responsibility projects including supplying specialist equipment to hospitals, support programs for war veterans, the elderly and the children, as well as donating and sponsoring donations to demining projects.
About Kyivstar
Kyivstar is the largest telecommunications operator in Ukraine with 24 million mobile subscribers and over 1.1 million home internet subscribers. As Ukraine’s market-leading operator, Kyivstar maintained network availability above 90% level on average throughout the past two years, supporting the connectivity of not only its own customers but also the broader Ukrainian population. Kyivstar is 100% owned by the international VEON Group.
About VEON
VEON is a digital operator that provides converged connectivity and digital services to nearly 160 million customers. Operating across six countries that are home to more than 7% of the world’s population – Pakistan, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan – VEON is transforming lives through technology-driven services that empower individuals and drive economic growth. Headquartered in Amsterdam, VEON is listed on NASDAQ and Euronext. For more information visit: www.veon.com
Disclaimer
This release contains “forward-looking statements,” as the phrase is defined in Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and include statements relating to, among other things, VEON’s commercial and investment plans. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which VEON cannot predict with accuracy and some of which VEON might not anticipate. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date of this release. VEON does not undertake to publicly update, except as required by U.S. federal securities laws, any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after such dates or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
VEON
Hande Asik
Group Director of Communications
pr@veon.com
