Core Insights - VEON Ltd. announces that Kyivstar has acquired 100% of LLC SUNVIN 11, adding 12.9 MW of solar generation capacity to its energy resilience investments [1] - This acquisition marks Kyivstar's first investment in renewable energy, contributing to Ukraine's national grid [1][2] - The investment is part of a broader commitment by Kyivstar and VEON to invest USD 1 billion in Ukraine from 2023 to 2027 [4] Company Developments - The acquisition will enhance Kyivstar's operational and financial stability by partially hedging against energy cost volatility [2] - The solar facility is expected to improve Kyivstar's overall carbon footprint [2] - CEO Oleksandr Komarov emphasizes that this investment supports the development of renewable energy in Ukraine and enhances service reliability for customers [3] Strategic Goals - The investment aligns with Kyivstar's and VEON's strategy to bolster energy resilience and connectivity in Ukraine [4] - The company plans to invest in various sectors, including infrastructure, technological development, and innovative digital businesses [5] - VEON operates across five countries, providing services to nearly 150 million connectivity users and 120 million digital users [6]

Core Points - VEON Ltd. and its operating company Kyivstar will release their consolidated financial and operating results for Q4 and full year 2025 on March 16, 2026 [1][2] - The results will be available at 8:00 GST (5:00 CET, 0:00 EST) [2] - A conference call with VEON's senior management will take place on the same day, with Kyivstar's call scheduled for the following day [2] Company Overview - VEON is a global digital operator providing connectivity and digital services to nearly 150 million connectivity users and 140 million digital users [3] - The company operates in five countries, serving over 6% of the world's population, and focuses on technology-driven services that empower individuals and stimulate economic growth [3] - VEON is listed on NASDAQ [3]

Core Insights - VEON Ltd. has successfully completed a field test in Kazakhstan, marking the first voice call and text messages via Starlink Direct to Cell, integrating satellite and terrestrial mobile connectivity in Central Asia [1][2][4] Group 1: Test Details - The test involved Beeline Kazakhstan's CEO and Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister making a WhatsApp audio call using standard smartphones connected through Starlink satellites [2] - Conducted in the Akmolinskaya region, the test confirmed interoperability between Starlink's satellites and Beeline Kazakhstan's mobile network, demonstrating connectivity in areas lacking traditional coverage [3] Group 2: Technological Significance - This achievement is a significant milestone for Kazakhstan, enhancing connectivity in remote areas and contributing to national communication resilience [4][5] - Starlink's technology allows connectivity in challenging terrains, which is crucial for safety and communication in Kazakhstan's diverse geography [5] Group 3: Future Plans - Beeline Kazakhstan plans to roll out Starlink Direct to Cell connectivity for customers starting with SMS services in 2026, pending regulatory approval [7] - The integration of satellite and terrestrial networks is expected to transform coverage capabilities, allowing customers to remain connected using their existing smartphones [6] Group 4: Company Overview - VEON operates across five countries, serving nearly 150 million connectivity users and 120 million digital users, focusing on technology-driven services to enhance economic growth [8] - Beeline Kazakhstan serves 11.7 million mobile customers and has developed a digital ecosystem of 60 products over the past five years [9][10] Group 5: Starlink Overview - Starlink Direct to Cell is the largest satellite constellation providing mobile connectivity, with over 650 satellites in low-Earth orbit, enabling voice, video, and messaging services in mobile dead zones [11]

Core Insights - VEON Ltd. announces that Banglalink has received permission from Bangladesh Bank to operate as a payment service provider, marking a significant step in expanding into digital financial services [1][2] Company Developments - Banglalink will offer regulated money transfer and payment services, targeting the 72% of Bangladesh's population that remains outside the traditional banking system, thus presenting a substantial opportunity for financial inclusion [2] - The company is preparing for the commercial rollout of its payment services in collaboration with Bangladesh Bank and partner institutions, aiming to integrate financial services into customers' mobile experiences [3] - Initial services will include person-to-person transfers, remittance services, utility and government bill payments, merchant transactions, and salary disbursements, with future plans for micro-savings and insurance payments [4] Strategic Vision - The launch of digital financial services aligns with VEON's DO1440 strategy, which aims to empower customers with relevant digital services [5] - The initiative is expected to enhance Bangladesh's growth as a digital economy, leveraging Banglalink's nationwide reach and VEON's global capabilities to create a secure digital payment ecosystem [5] Market Context - As of September 30, 2025, VEON's digital financial services had 42.1 million monthly active users, reflecting a 25% year-on-year growth, indicating the potential for similar success in Bangladesh's rapidly growing digital economy [5]

Core Insights - VEON Ltd. has been recognized at the World Communication Awards 2025 for its advancements in financial inclusion, resilient connectivity, and digital transformation [1][2] Group Achievements - JazzCash, VEON's digital financial services platform in Pakistan, won the Gold Award in the Beyond Connectivity category, highlighting its role in expanding financial access [2][4] - Kyivstar, VEON's operator in Ukraine, received the Silver Award for Satellite Telecommunications, showcasing its efforts to maintain connectivity in challenging circumstances [2][3] - Jazz, VEON's operator in Pakistan, earned a Silver Award for Best Digital Transformation Programme, reflecting its commitment to delivering AI-powered digital experiences [2][5] Strategic Focus - VEON's CEO emphasized the company's commitment to building digital services that promote access, resilience, and inclusion across its markets [3] - The recognition of JazzCash aligns with VEON's strategy to leverage digital services for economic empowerment and social impact, with JazzCash serving 20.6 million monthly active users and a merchant base of 750,000 [4][9] Technological Innovations - Kyivstar's recent milestone includes the launch of SMS messaging via Starlink Direct to Cell satellites, enhancing connectivity in areas with infrastructure disruptions [3] - Jazz's joint award with Huawei for Best Digital Transformation Programme underscores its evolution into a digital life partner, addressing diverse customer needs across various sectors [5] Industry Recognition - The World Communications Awards are organized by Total Telecoms and are recognized as prestigious accolades in the telecommunications industry, adjudicated by over 100 independent experts [6]

Core Insights - VEON Ltd. has been included in two major international equity indices, enhancing its visibility and accessibility to global institutional investors [1][2][3] Group 1: Inclusion in Indices - VEON has been added to the S&P Global Broad Market Index (BMI), which includes over 11,000 companies across developed and emerging markets [2] - The company was also selected for the revised MSCI Ukraine Index, highlighting its role as a leading publicly listed company in the Ukrainian economy [3] Group 2: Company Performance and Strategy - The inclusion in these indices reflects VEON's growing scale, operational momentum, and strengthened financial profile, broadening its reach to institutional investors [4] - VEON continues to deliver robust revenue and profit growth, improve operational efficiency, and accelerate its digital operator strategy [5] Group 3: Investor Engagement - The company is committed to maintaining high-quality disclosures and deepening investor understanding of its digital operator model [6] - VEON will actively engage with market participants, including index providers and institutional investors, to ensure transparent communication of its strategy and performance [5]

Core Insights - VEON Ltd. has announced the construction of a new Hyper Cloud data center in Almaty, Kazakhstan, aimed at enhancing the country's digital infrastructure and services [1][2][3] Company Overview - VEON is a global digital operator serving nearly 150 million connectivity users and 140 million digital users across five countries, focusing on technology-driven services to empower individuals and drive economic growth [4] - Beeline Kazakhstan, a subsidiary of VEON, serves 11.9 million mobile customers and around one million fixed internet customers, executing a digital operator strategy since 2018 [5] Industry Developments - The Hyper Cloud data center will provide secure and scalable compute capacity for AI, blockchain, and next-generation telecom services, ensuring all customer data remains within Kazakhstan [2][3] - Kazakhstan's IT sector has seen significant growth, with over 18,000 companies operating, marking a 16% increase over three years, highlighting the importance of cloud capacity for the country's digital future [3] Project Details - The Tier III-certified Hyper Cloud facility is expected to go live by the end of 2026, providing full-service redundancy and enhancing the reliability, security, and sovereignty of cloud services for enterprises and public-sector organizations [3]

Core Insights - VEON Ltd. announces the development of Ukraine's national large language model (LLM) in collaboration with Kyivstar and the WINWIN AI Center of Excellence, utilizing Google Gemma as the foundational model [1][2][3] Group 1: Project Overview - The Ukrainian LLM aims to encompass various Ukrainian dialects, terminology, and historical context while ensuring sensitive national data is securely processed within Ukraine [2] - Google was chosen for this initiative to strengthen technological ties between Ukraine and the United States, particularly following Kyivstar's Nasdaq listing in August 2025 [3] - The project is expected to enhance digital services across public and private sectors in Ukraine, with applications in areas such as education, finance, and healthcare [5] Group 2: Technical Development - Kyivstar will lead the operational development of the LLM, focusing on training the model with unique Ukrainian data to minimize linguistic and ethical risks [4] - The initiative will first optimize Google Gemma for the Ukrainian language, refining its tokenizer and training it on curated datasets [6] - Dedicated benchmarks will guide the model's fine-tuning and adaptation for specific applications [6] Group 3: Strategic Importance - This initiative is part of VEON's broader strategy to address the AI language gap in its markets, following similar projects in Kazakhstan and Pakistan [7] - The investment in the Ukrainian LLM is part of a larger commitment by Kyivstar and VEON to invest USD 1 billion in Ukraine from 2023 to 2027, focusing on infrastructure and technological development [8]

Core Insights - VEON Ltd. announced that Beeline Uzbekistan will partner with GSMA and the Ministry of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan to host GSMA M360 Eurasia 2026 in Samarkand on May 20–21, 2026, marking the event's return to Uzbekistan for the second consecutive year [1][2] Group 1: Event Significance - The return of M360 Eurasia to Uzbekistan highlights the country's status as a regional digital hub and aligns with its Digital Uzbekistan 2030 strategy, aiming to foster modern digital cooperation, innovation, and investment [2] - Hosting the event in Samarkand, a historical crossroads of Eurasian exchange, emphasizes the government's ambition to position Uzbekistan as a platform for digital collaboration [2] Group 2: Statements from Officials - Sherzod Shermatov, Minister of Digital Technologies, expressed that hosting M360 Eurasia in Samarkand reflects Uzbekistan's commitment to building a modern digital economy and the importance of partnerships with the mobile industry for economic growth [3] - Kaan Terzioglu, Beeline Uzbekistan Chairman and VEON Group CEO, noted that Central Asia is becoming a focal point for AI-driven digital development, and the event will showcase the region's potential [3] - John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA Ltd., stated that the event's location in Samarkand supports digital transformation and cross-regional collaboration, making it an ideal venue for advancing innovation and connectivity [3] Group 3: About the Companies - VEON is a digital operator serving nearly 150 million connectivity users and 140 million digital users across five countries, focusing on technology-driven services that promote economic growth [4] - Beeline Uzbekistan serves 7.7 million customers with mobile connectivity and has 7.9 million total monthly active users across its digital services, contributing to the software and IT ecosystem in Uzbekistan [5]

Core Insights - VEON Ltd. has entered a strategic cooperation agreement with MeetKai to develop next-generation large language models for local-language AI services across its operating markets [1][2][3] Group 1: Partnership Details - The partnership aims to create nationally governed AI capabilities that are culturally fluent and securely operated within each country's borders [2] - MeetKai's Sovereign AI platform will provide a customizable national AI stack, allowing countries to govern the training, hosting, and deployment of AI models [2][3] - The collaboration will enable VEON to offer AI digital services to over 150 million customers in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Pakistan, and Bangladesh [3] Group 2: AI Service Applications - The new AI services will span various sectors, including education, healthcare, agritech, public services, and enterprise productivity [3] - AI agents similar to QazCode's Aventa will be developed to operate across multiple languages and cater to local community needs [3][4] Group 3: Company Backgrounds - QazCode is recognized for its leadership in developing large language models for under-resourced languages and has previously launched the first Kazakh large language model, KazLLM [5] - MeetKai specializes in post-training optimization and local-language reasoning models, providing a platform for governments and enterprises to build sovereign AI ecosystems [6] - VEON serves nearly 150 million connectivity users and 140 million digital users across five countries, focusing on technology-driven services that promote economic growth [8]