Denmark is lifting the entry restrictions previously imposed on Ukrainian citizens as part of countering the spread of COVID-19, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.
“Denmark opens for all types of travel of Ukrainians tomorrow, July 17, from 16:00. Visa-free travel, as in the good old days. Entry is possible with a fresh negative test and a test upon arrival. Country by country we are restoring the visa-free regime with the EU,” Kuleba wrote on his Twitter on Friday.
Ukraine and Denmark have signed a cooperation agreement that opens up opportunities for companies working with green energy, among other things, the press service of the Ministry of Energy said.
“The agreement between the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Denmark will mark a new stage in deepening intergovernmental cooperation, which will focus on strengthening the environment for sustainable energy solutions and technologies based on Danish experience and technical assistance, as well as opportunities for companies working with ‘green’ energy,” the message says.
According to Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Haluschenko, “Denmark is one of the European leaders in the implementation of the transition to ‘green’ energy. Ukraine, in turn, shares the goals of the European Green Deal. Therefore, I see significant potential for deepening cooperation between our states in the development of renewable sources of energy and enhancing energy security.”
The press service of the Ministry of Energy noted that Ukraine is making significant efforts to implement projects aimed at reducing traditional energy consumption, increasing energy efficiency and introducing energy-saving technologies. The draft National Energy Efficiency Action Plan developed by the Ministry of Energy provides for a decrease in final energy consumption by more than 17% by 2030.
In its turn, the Danish Energy Agency will contribute in the form of consultations, technical assistance and mutual training of specialists from the Ukrainian energy sector.
“The energy partnership with Denmark will help improve conditions for the introduction of the latest environmentally friendly energy technologies and attracting investments in sustainable energy,” Haluschenko said.
JYSK Ukraine LLC (Kyiv), developing the furniture and home goods store chain in Ukraine of the JYSK Group (Denmark), on March 7, 2019 opened six stores in Zhytomyr, Dnipro, Kherson, Odesa and Kyiv after their restyling and plans to launch the XL format store in Kyiv’s Retroville shopping and entertainment center.
“We have a standard store format of 1,000 square meters of retail space and 200 square meters of warehouse space. We also have a city format of 500 square meters. It works in other markets, but we do not bring it in Ukraine yet, since we have enough space for the development of the main format. And we have XL format of about 2,000 square meters. It allows us to expose furniture, including from the online assortment, which we cannot put in the usual format. In the Retroville shopping and entertainment center, we plan to open the XL format,” Executive Director of JYSK in Ukraine Yevhen Ivanitsa told at a press conference in Kyiv.
According to him, the company has completely updated the JYSK stores in the Ukraine Department Store shopping mall in Kyiv and the Fontan Sky center in Odesa in accordance with the new concept 3.0. The retail area of the stores will be the same: 903 square meters and 982 square meters respectively, while the interior design is completely changed.
In addition, the retailer overhauled four stores: the Poliarny shopping center (Kyiv), the Global.UA shopping center (Zhytomyr), in Sicheslavska Naberezhna Street (Dnipro), and SEC Factory (Kherson).
“We are planning to open the next store in Kamianets-Podilsky, as we continue to go to the regions. We are opening the second store in Chernihiv, a store in the Dream Town shopping center in May. It will be the 50th store in Ukraine. We also have a lease agreement with Kyiv shopping centers Retroville and Novus (on Zdolbunivska Street),” Ivanitsa said.
At the same time, he said that the share of online sales of JYSK in Ukraine, including the order online and pick up service, is more than 10%.
In general, the company intends to maintain the pace of opening stores in Ukraine and launch 12 new facilities this fiscal year, and in four fiscal years to increase the network to 100 stores.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a draft framework agreement with the government of Denmark regarding the general conditions and rules, organization measures and financial conditions of the implementation of the Danida Business Finance programme in Ukraine.
The respective government resolution was approved at a meeting on February 20.
“In order to strengthen cooperation between the government of Ukraine and the Kingdom of Denmark, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, under Danida Business Finance, agreed to provide funds to invest in sustainable infrastructure projects that are implemented by Danish suppliers,” according to the framework agreement, which is available to Interfax-Ukraine.
This program involves the provision of interest-free loans by the Kingdom of Denmark to the Government of Ukraine, or economic entities under government guarantees, to finance projects related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, water supply and water treatment.
The direct creditor will be a commercial bank or a financial institution with a representative office in the Kingdom of Denmark, which has concluded an agreement with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The projects will be selected in accordance with the Ukraine 2020 Sustainable Development Strategy and approved by the Danida Program Committee under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.
The benchmark cost of one project is EUR 100 million. Projects worth less than EUR 13.5 million are not eligible for financing, except for separately selected projects. A loan can cover up to 100% of the value of the facility, and no less than 35%.
Along with the financing fee, there is also no export credit premium and bank margin. Borrowing will be provided in euros or U.S. dollars. The repayment period is up to 10 years after the completion of a facility, for which the loan is taken.
Danida Business Finance provides soft loans for funding of sustainable infrastructure projects in energy, water and sanitation, which cannot otherwise be financed on commercial terms in developing countries tied to transfer of technology and knowhow through Danish companies. Danida Business Finance offers technical assistance and support to authority-to-authority cooperation, if necessary, to transfer institutional knowledge in the relevant sector area.
JYSK Ukraine LLC (Kyiv), which develops the network of JYSK furniture and household goods stores of the JYSK Group (Denmark), plans to open about 12 stores in Ukraine every year. “We have opened five stores this financial year (September 1, 2017 through August 31, 2018) and are working on opening two more JYSK stores in Kharkiv in August. On average, we plan to open 12 stores annually. We need, conditionally 10 years In order to close the needs of the Ukrainian market. Starting in September, all JYSK stores will be opened in the 3.0 new format. All the working stores will be rebuilt within six years,” CEO of JYSK Ukraine Yevhen Ivanitsa told Interfax-Ukraine.
As he specified, in 2012 the parent company JYSK bought out all the franchise stores of the network in Ukraine and went through an independent development.
Ivanitsa says the company did not study how the Swedish retailer Ikea will influence the development of JYSK in Ukraine, but the experience of JYSK in other countries indicates that the European competitor’s entry into the market had no negative impact on sales dynamics.
