1. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will finance grants to Ukrainian small and medium-sized companies for relocation to safer regions. 80 small and medium-sized Ukrainian enterprises will receive funds for relocation – in the total amount of 2.4 million euros. They will come through the EBRD Small Business Assistance Fund. The deadline for submitting applications for grants is January 31 of this year. Forms to fill out can be found here.

2. At the end of the year, all employees of forestry farms wrote applications for dismissal, and forestry farms announced the termination of their activities. The state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” was created, where all former forest farms should go and which, according to many foresters, is the start of its further reform into a private joint-stock company.

3. The war slowed down the development of the domestic woodworking industry, but from month to month it demonstrated a desire to reach pre-war indicators, as evidenced by the volume of lumber sales. Last year, almost three hundred thousand cubic meters of them were sold on the Ukrainian Universal Exchange. More than 600 woodworking and furniture enterprises bought them.

4. Ministry of Digital Transformation has launched a new feature for business. Now you can get an extract from the Unified State Register (USR) on the Diya portal. Previously, the statement was obtained offline from the registrar or notary within a day. Now – instantly and cheaper: for 100 hryvnias. instead of 130.

5. Economic activity in the country weakened due to constant shelling of the power system and prolonged power outages. Against this background, the demand for the labor force decreased. The number of vacancies decreased by 5-23% compared to the indicators in September, when the peak number of job offers was recorded.

6. The President’s Office confirmed active work on the “10-10-10” anti-corruption reform, which will increase the country’s competitiveness. Its concept includes a 10% income tax, a 10% income tax (PTFO), and a 10% value-added tax (VAT), as well as the abolition of the uniform social contribution and the three percent military levy.

7. The Cabinet of Ministers canceled auctions in the Prozorro system until the end of martial law due to the lack of access of all bidders to the system due to the shelling of the power system. All bids announced in Prozorro will be conducted without an auction. That is, the tender offer of the participant is final, and the winner is the one who gave the lowest price during the submission of the offer.

8. The government has renewed unscheduled inspections of businesses to prevent a number of threats. Actual and camera audit, documentary tax audits at the request of taxpayers, and audits regarding compliance with settlement terms in the field of foreign economic activity are allowed.

9. The German furniture company “Collection C Möbelvertriebs GmbH” declared bankruptcy. In addition to the general decline in the consumption of furniture products, which hit the furniture industry in Germany, the reasons for the bankruptcy were cited as significant delays in the supply of components and payments by large customers of products.

10. In Europe, the furniture repair service began to actively revive, becoming a promising way of developing one’s own business. Even some furniture manufacturing companies are starting to practice it. The demand for original, hand-restored furniture has never gone away, but now it goes beyond antiques.