Two applications for support are being processed by Innovation Norway, one has been rejected, and the last has been withdrawn. It is not publicly known which companies are concerned. Innovation Norway informs news that they will only publish information about the companies that may receive support from the state. When Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre (Ap) visited Kimek, director Greger Mannsverk informed that the local business community had to put arrangements in place to secure the future. Photo: Karen Gjetrang / news Worried The package was launched in Kirkenes in March, and will help companies with many Russian customers to survive. The cornerstone company Kimek had already sent out 80 layoff notices. – Now we have listened to the businesses and municipalities in Eastern Finnmark, said Minister of Industry Jan Christian Vestre (Ap) when he was in Kirkenes in March. But director Greger Mannsverk at the Kimek shipyard has not applied for money. – We are not wasting time on it, the crisis package is useless, says Mannsverk. Dependent on Russian customers The reason why Kimek cannot get support is that they are still operating more or less as normal. The government allows Russian fishing boats to come to Norway, and 70 percent of the yard’s turnover comes from Russian customers. – We need support for restructuring so that we become less dependent on Russian customers, but there are no such arrangements. It must make sense to start such a change now while we still have momentum in the company, says Mannsverk. In Sør-Varanger there is uncertainty about what will happen if the Russian customers disappear. The exemption Russian fishing boats have from the sanctions is debated. – We are very happy that the government is so clear that Russian fishing boats must be kept out. The crisis has not reached Sør-Varanger yet, but we do not know if the exception will remain, says Mannsverk. For Kimek, assignments from Russian customers make up 70 percent of turnover. Photo: Christian Kråkenes / news Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre (Ap) points to other support schemes for restructuring. One of them is what is known as regional instruments, which are distributed by the county councils. – We feel that we have a good dialogue with the business community and the actors in Eastern Finnmark, and are keen to assess whether the measures introduced by the government meet the needs of the business community, says Vestre. He adds: – And then we are happy that the business world has done well over the past six months. It shows the number of applications. It will be possible to apply for money from the crisis package until 1 December. – We will see if the companies wait to send an application for documentation of any drop in turnover is clear, says Vestre. Not many companies qualify. It is Innovation Norway that is set to receive and assess applications for money from the crisis package. – I am not too surprised by the figures, says director Linda Beate Randal in Innovation Norway Arctic. To get money from the crisis package, at least half of the company’s turnover must be linked to customers from Russia – and it must have disappeared. Director Linda Beate Randal in Innovation Norway Arctic is prepared that there may be more applications. Photo: Hallgeir Henriksen/Sør-Varanger municipality – The challenge is that there are not that many Norwegian companies that qualify to apply in the first place, on a national basis there are not very many more than twenty, says Randal. – Is it possible that the criteria are too strict? – I think that is difficult to answer, but this is an arrangement that was made when we were in a very unclear situation. The authorities stepped up, and the situation has not turned out to be quite as bad as one might have thought, says Randal. Different frameworks In the long term, the director at Kimek wants to offer other services, but he is asking for high-risk loans and support from the state. – The green shift is interesting, and not just within the maritime sector. Building up wind power and hydrogen plants could be important for us. If we are to deliver, we must build new workshops and train people, including in advanced welding of high-quality metals, says Mannsverk. Leader Magnus Mæland of the Churches business association has the impression that running a shop in the border municipality has gone well so far. Leader Magnus Mæland of the Churches Business Association tells about different answers about how things are going in the business world. Photo: Kristina Kalinina / news – I hope there are no more people who have applied for the crisis money because business has not needed it, and in the maritime sector things seem to be going well, says Mæland. Other sectors have other problems. – When I talk to our companies, I get very different answers. For those who have it most difficult, we also see that a number of problems remain from the shutdown during the pandemic. Cultural enterprises in particular are lagging behind, says Mæland. – Sanctions can be a tragedy The Port Manager in Kirkenes, Terje Jørgensen, has looked at the development of all Russian vessels since the outbreak of war until August. – There has been a decrease in the number of calls of 13 per cent, which is a marginal decrease. For Russian fishing boats alone, we are close to normal, says Jørgensen. The exemption from the sanctions has been debated several times in the past six months. Director Linda Beate Randal in Innovation Norway Arctic says she expects more applications for crisis money if the sanctions are tightened, as other central politicians in the Liberal Party have advocated. – It will be a tragedy for northern Norway, so I really hope that doesn’t happen, says Randal.
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The crisis money was supposed to save companies in Eastern Finnmark that lost customers from Russia, but has not been used – news Troms and Finnmark
