Kyivstar has begun the process of transforming into a holding company. The operator is currently building a structure of several technological verticals, covering medicine, mobility, and corporate services.
Kyivstar has begun the process of transforming into a holding company. The operator is currently building a structure of several technological verticals, covering medicine, mobility, and corporate services.
This was announced by the President and CEO of Kyivstar, Oleksandr Komarov, during the Business breakfast of Forbes Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine reports .
According to Komarov, the company is at the very beginning of the transformation path. In order not to harm new projects, the company is creating small supervisory boards over verticals. They include representatives of the parent Kyivstar Group Ltd, as well as market experts and founders of startups.
"This allows us to build this business at such a, I would say, healthy distance. Because for me, the biggest threat, it seems to me, is if we corporately suppress all these businesses there," the operator's CEO noted.
Komarov declined to comment on rumors about a possible acquisition of GigaCloud, but confirmed the group's interest in strengthening its position in the cloud services market. He noted that the company is currently building its own cloud in partnership with Microsoft, but is also considering inorganic growth if attractive acquisition targets emerge.
Among Kyivstar's new interests are e-commerce and fintech. Regarding e-commerce, the top manager noted that he does not yet see easy opportunities for entry. Plans for financial services are currently at "phase zero." The company is studying regulatory barriers and looking for ways to provide financial services independently or in partnership with banks.
The head of Kyivstar also reported a reduction in the number of active SIM cards in Ukraine by almost 2 million per year. This is due to the demographic situation, migration and subscribers' refusal of second SIM cards due to the increase in their cost. At the same time, 6-7 million new connections are made on the market annually, of which the operator takes about 200,000 every month.
