During his speech at KIEF TALKS, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Rostyslav Shurma outlined plans to support Ukrainian producers within the "Made in Ukraine" programme.
According to him, support for domestic manufacturers will be based on three principles: stimulating demand through cashback in both consumer and industrial segments, investment lending, and deregulation.
"In the industrial segment, there is a cashback programme for purchasing agricultural machinery, which has proven to be effective. A similar programme will be launched in the consumer segment. The buyer will receive decent cashback for purchasing local products," said Rostyslav Shurma.
He added that the condition for cashback will be non-cash payment with a fiscal receipt, promoting transparency. Additionally, the seller must be a taxpayer under the general taxation system.
According to the deputy head of the Office of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers and the Office of the President are working on improving the public procurement mechanism to purchase products with a higher local content than at present.
Another important area of support for domestic manufacturers is preferential lending.
"We plan to modify the '5-7-9' programme to shift the focus towards investment activities. If you look at the structure of the loans issued, you will see that the majority is taken to replenish working capital. Most likely, these areas will be limited. Everything will be focused on investment activities, and the credit limit will be expanded to $10 million," said the deputy head of the Office of the President.
Rostyslav Shurma said that there are also plans to simplify the process of obtaining loans for new businesses.
"It's good if you already have an existing business – three plants. You encumber one and build a fourth. But what if you are a novice entrepreneur or were previously engaged in trading, and now you are building something what collateral can you provide? We are not the first to face such a question in the world. Many countries have dealt with this. There is project financing. We are working with the NBU to launch it," he said.
Another area the state is working on is deregulation for Ukrainian manufacturers.
"Ukraine should have advantages compared to our neighbors: Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Poland. Therefore, we need to have a permitting system simpler than in these countries. Permits are issued in five areas: land, municipal-architectural approvals, network connection, environmental approvals, and construction permits. Regarding land, we already have a law that simplifies its change of purpose. We are working to deregulate other areas as well," said the deputy head of the Office of the President.
