KIEV, Dec. 20 - Erste Bank Austria has reached agreement with the shareholders of Kiev-based Bank Prestige to acquire 100% of the bank for $104 million, Erste Bank said in a press release.

PRAGUE, Dec. 20 - Home Credit, a consumer lending group controlled by top Czech financial group PPF, said it completed the acquisitions of two Ukrainian financial institutions - bank Agrobank and non-banking financial firm PrivatKredit.

The acquisitions are part of the group??™s expansion strategy, Home Credit reported.

LONDON, Dec. 21 - Moody's Investors Service has assigned a B3 Corporate Family Rating to VAT Zaporizhstal, one of the leading Ukrainian steel producers. The rating outlook is stable. This is the first time Moody's has assigned ratings to VAT Zaporizhstal.

KIEV, Dec. 21 ??“ Electricity generation by nuclear power plants may grow to 90 billion kWh next year, Serhiy Tulub, president of the national nuclear energy generation company EnergoAtom, told journalists in Kiev on Monday.

KIEV, Dec. 21 ??“ This year??™s steep rise in energy prices has boosted operational profit at Naftogaz Ukrayiny 12-and-a-half-fold to UAH1.849 billion through the end of the third quarter, driving net earnings to UAH1.26 billion, the company reported Monday.

ROME, Nov 21 –The Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (Mimit) and the mining and metallurgical group Metinvest signed a joint declaration on Wednesday during the Italy-Ukraine business forum in Rome. This agreement forms part of a broader initiative to restart the steel complex in Piombino and includes the construction of an advanced, environmentally friendly steel plant by the Ukrainian group, valued at EUR 2.5 billion, as reported by an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent.

KYIV, Nov 21 – In Ukraine on Wednesday after the release of the game by Ukrainian developers "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl" Internet traffic in Ukraine increased by 35% compared to the usual level, which led to an overload of international traffic channels and a slowdown in the networks of fixed Internet providers in Ukraine.

KYIV, Nov 21 – The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine has called on the Cabinet of Ministers and law enforcement agencies of Ukraine to step up efforts to combat the shadow economy to ensure budget revenues and fair competition.

KYIV, Nov 21 – United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC), which controls Vilnohirsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant (Dnipropetrovsk region) and Irshansk Mining and Processing Plant (Zhytomyr region), began concluding contracts for the supply of mined titanium raw materials to foreign markets without intermediaries.

KYIV, Nov 21 – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) plans to close 2022 with investments in Ukraine of over EUR 1.5 billion, Matteo Patrone, EBRD Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, said at the Ukrainian Investment Roadshow conference last week in London.