• State assistance to industrial parks
• Grant to start a business
• The real estate market is annoying for furniture
• What is now on the agenda of Polish colleagues
• “IKEA” does not say goodbye to russia

All that happened over the past week in Ukraine and around the world and what is relevant and interesting for the furniture maker, read in our digests:

1. On June 21, the Verkhovna Rada approved tax and customs incentives for industrial parks in Ukraine. In particular, the approved laws №5688 and №5689 provide for an exemption of future residents of industrial parks from import VAT and duties on equipment, as well as exemption from income tax for 10 years. In addition, local governments have the right to provide local tax benefits.
The requirement to use imported equipment exclusively within the industrial park without the right of alienation for five years will be a safeguard against abuse of tax benefits.

2. Ukrainians who want to start a new business will be able to receive non-refundable grants of up to UAH 250,000 under the new government program “eRobota”.
“We plan to issue 20,000 such grants a year. Accordingly, the program budget for the year is five billion hryvnias. Any Ukrainian who does not work at other enterprises and does not conduct other business can become a participant in the program. To receive a grant, you will need to submit an application through the “Diia” portal or a branch of “Oschadbank”, adding a business plan to the application. “Within ten working days, experts from Oschadbank and the State Employment Center will evaluate the project, and if it meets the criteria of the program, the grant funds will be transferred to your account,” commented Prime Minister D. Shmygal.
Of course, such an opportunity could be used by those who are attracted to the furniture business.

3. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the real estate market in Ukraine has almost stopped, according to a new report by the NBU on financial stability. There is almost no demand for new buildings in Kyiv. In the western regions, the situation is better, but even there the demand has decreased by more than half relative to the pre-war level. Some investors are ready to buy real estate with significant savings and only with significant discounts. Demand for housing on the secondary market in Ukraine has also more than halved compared to October 2021.
The information is annoying for furniture makers as well, given the well-known dependence: the more newcomers, the more furniture is sold.

4. What are the latest trends in furniture design? What does today’s client expect – Scandinavian simplicity or Italian glamour? Is it possible to protect the national economy from the effects of the global economic crisis? Does the war in Ukraine create problems or rather the opposite: does it create opportunities for Polish furniture companies? Such problems are currently being addressed by our neighbours, Polish furniture makers, who discussed them in Łódz «in early June during the 16th exhibition and seminar conference” ProMaTap “, one of the most important events in the Polish furniture industry.

5. IKEA announces that it is taking another step towards downsizing in Russia and Belarus. But this does not mean that it is completely leaving the Russian market.
According to June, for more than three months, IKEA’s priority in Russia was to support its employees: they were able to guarantee them a six-month salary.
IKEA’s retail operations have been suspended, reducing the number of employees. To support the reduction process, it is planned to sell local stocks of home furniture.

We would like to remind IKEA that the genocide in Ukraine is taking place with the open or tacit consent of Russian beings, in support of whom you are shedding the blood of Ukrainians.