Poland's Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego will provide Moldova with a loan of 5 million euros to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
It will also be complemented by an EU grant of 1.6 million euros. This is stipulated by a relevant loan agreement, the ratification of which was approved by the Moldovan government. The document was signed on 19 December by representatives of the Polish Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) and the Economic Development and Digitalization Ministry. The agreement between the Moldovan government and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises through the Organization for Entrepreneurship Development (ODA) stipulates that BGK will provide Moldova with a loan of 5 million euros for 7 years, including a 12-month grace period on the loan. The loan will be disbursed in two tranches of 2 million euros (in Q1 2024) and 3 million euros (in Q2 2024), respectively. In total, the interest rate will be 3.65% per annum and will consist of two components. In particular, the fixed interest rate to be paid by Moldova will amount to 0.5% p.a., while the rate of 3.15% p.a. (the difference with the rate of 3.65% p.a.) will be covered by the European Commission from the grant approved for BGK for this purpose in the amount of 1.6 million euros. The final goal of the Agreement is to attract long-term financial resources from the Moldovan authorities to the Organization for Development of Entrepreneurship (ODA) to finance investment projects of enterprises, including in the field of energy efficiency, to increase the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, to facilitate the development and implementation of European norms. Financial assistance will go to the Fund for Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth (FACEM) to facilitate SMEs' access to concessional and long-term financing with below-market interest rates. The BGK loan will be granted to the Ministry of Finance, which will later provide these funds to ODA/FACEM for on-lending to beneficiaries through participating financial institutions. The agreement does not involve expenditures from the state budget. The credit risk will be borne by the participating financial organizations. //27.12.2023 - InfoMarket.
