13 Apr 2022Letter from VEON CEO to stakeholders Dear VEON stakeholder,
I am writing you today to highlight the strategic progress we are making across our operations, as well as provide updates on a number of key issues for our Group.
Liquidity and capital markets
We continue to prioritize maintaining the Group's healthy liquidity. Our cash position at HQ level currently stands at around US$1.3 billion, which is deposited with international banks and fully accessible. In addition, around US$700 million remains available to VEON as part of a committed revolving credit facility, underwritten by a group of diversified lenders headquartered in the United States, Europe and Asia. VEON has no further material debt maturities at HQ level for the rest of 2022. Besides this HQ liquidity, our operating companies currently have a total cash position equivalent to over US$500 million. Considering the self-sufficient nature of each of our operating subsidiaries, VEON is well placed to weather the complex market conditions we currently face. VEON shares continue to trade on Nasdaq and on Euronext. Their market turnover in March was equal to more than two times our free float. Understandably, the price of VEON's shares has been impacted significantly by the deterioration in the geopolitical environment. While the price of our ADRs has recovered from the closing price low of US$0.26/share, it remains below the US$1/share minimum required by Nasdaq. As a result, VEON was notified on April 7, 2022 that the Company no longer meets the exchange's Listing Rules, based on the closing bid price for the last 30 consecutive business days. These rules do provide for the resolution of the matter, should the closing bid price of the Company's security be at least US$1 for a minimum of ten consecutive business days at any time during the 180-day period following the notification. Further extensions and other options will be available. As and when the current geopolitical volatility subsides, I am confident that VEON's share price will better reflect fair value.
Committed to connectivity
We provide connectivity, access to information and other vital digital services to 220 million customers across nine countries. One third of VEON's customers are in Ukraine and Russia, where they are supported by 33,000 employees. Our top priority is to protect the safety and well-being of these employees and their families while they work hard to ensure that our subscribers can stay connected and access what is an essential humanitarian service. The outstanding job done by Kyivstar in maintaining connectivity and supporting its customers has been covered extensively,
including in this article by Reuters.
I want to applaud once again the extraordinary dedication of our team, who have worked tirelessly to keep the people of Ukraine connected, informed and safe. Kyivstar's technicians are currently repairing equipment in areas of the country that are now safe to enter, and 91% of all transmission sites are now operational. To maintain our high standards of service in Ukraine, Kyivstar's team have also overseen the construction of 121 new base stations in the western part of the country. Furthermore, to ensure essential connectivity in these challenging and unpredictable conditions, we are growing our partnership with Starlink. Kyivstar continues to serve its customers with
roam like home - for free,
which enables about 2 million subscribers to remain connected without additional roaming fees as they take refuge in European countries. Our core mission of providing customers with connectivity, access to information and other vital digital services applies to all of our markets. The humanitarian need for connectivity is as important as other basic needs such as food, water, shelter and health care. In Russia we are facing a new and challenging economic environment. The quality of our network remains a key focus, and Beeline continues to launch VoLTE in new regions, to build new LTE base stations and to progress in the fiberization of its transport infrastructure. While the pace of these developments has somewhat decelerated due to the current context, Beeline is proactively addressing market-wide component availability issues through cooperation with other major domestic telecom operators, building new supply chains and introducing flexible sourcing. Beeline's extensive 4G roll-out over the previous two years has proven vitally important, and I am pleased to note that the company's NPS trends continue improving, especially in Moscow.
Continued growth across our footprint
Among other key developments from our operating companies, I would like to highlight: In Pakistan, Jazz's growing 4G penetration and digital services continue to contribute to customer loyalty, engagement and value generation, while enabling the broader digital transformation of Pakistan. For example, Jazz continues to support its B2B partners, including with a new cloud platform
Garaj,
which provides virtualized IT services to enterprises, including start-ups. I am also pleased to welcome
Atyab Tahir
as new CEO of JazzCash, the number one mobile banking services provider in the country that recently applied for a digital retail banking license. I recently visited our operations in Bangladesh and was impressed by the scale, scope and ambitions of our subsidiary Banglalink, the consistent winner of the Ookla 4G speed test over the last 2 years that recently purchased 40Mhz of 2300-band spectrum. This move doubles its frequency holding and ensures faster internet speeds and high-quality digital services for its almost 38 million customers. Banglalink is also expanding its digital experience offering beyond the significant success of Toffee, the top entertainment app in the country. In March the operator laun
