By KYIV. Oct 23 (Interfax-Ukraine) – VEON Holding (Amsterdam), whose shares are traded on the NASDAQ and Euronext Amsterdam exchanges, confirmed its intention to invest $600 million in PrJSC Kyivstar, despite the situation with the seizure of the indirect share of Alfa Group co-owner Mikhail Fridman in Kyivstar, VEON Group Chief Executive Officer Kaan Terzioglu said in a letter to investors published on Friday.
At the same time, a VEON delegation including members of our Board and management will be in Kyiv in the coming days to visit Kyivstar and hold discussions with key stakeholders.
“As we have communicated last week, we are also actively engaging with our stakeholders to address the concerns relating to some media reports in Ukraine. A VEON delegation including members of our Board and management will be in Kyiv in the coming days to visit Kyivstar and hold discussions with key stakeholders, reiterating our commitment to the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine – for which we have committed USD 600 million over the course of the next three years,” the statement said.
The VEON letter states that after its exit from Russia, VEON will focus on six rapidly growing markets: Ukraine, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, which have a population of 510 million people or 7% of the total population of the planet.
Earlier it was reported that the largest mobile operator of Ukraine, Kyivstar, will receive $600 million in investments from the parent company VEON within three years, which will be used to implement infrastructure projects, including in liberated territories, expand 4G coverage, 5G-oriented reconstruction, support operator services and charity.
In October, the Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kyiv reduced the package of seized shares of PrJSC Kyivstar from 99.994654% to 47.85%, and the seized share of Lifecell LLC from 100% to 19.8% as part of interim measures in the case opened at the end of September against Alfa Group co-owner Mikhail Fridman.
