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Funding package for private small and medium-sized enterprises in FYR Macedonia
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in FYR Macedonia will benefit from a DEM 40 million (ECU 21.7 million) credit line provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). At this stage, a package of DEM 30 million (ECU 16.3 million) will go to four banks, with the potential for more FYR Macedonian banks to qualify under this facility, for financing medium-term and long-term investment projects of private SMEs. The agreement was signed today in London.
At the signing ceremony Olivier Descamps, Director of the EBRD’s FYR Macedonia Team, said: “The loans will directly support the development of SMEs in FYR Macedonia, as well as the development of growing and profitable private financial institutions. The project will specifically meet the requirements for term funding for SMEs in FYR Macedonia which are not met by the domestic financial sector.”
The four participating banks to benefit from the package are Almako Banka a.d., (DEM 6 million), Export-Import Banka a.d. (DEM 4 million), Makedonska Banka a.d. (DEM 10 million) and Stopanska Banka a.d. (DEM 10 million). In 1996 these banks may increase their participation in the credit line and further banks may qualify for the remaining amount of DEM 10 million. The loan facility will be guaranteed by FYR Macedonia, with an option for the guarantee to be lifted.
Term finance will be in foreign currency for investment and working capital purposes, with a small portion for acquiring shares of SMEs in the process of being privatised. The credit line will also increase the participating banks’ lending capacity and operations, and strengthen their credit risk assessment capabilities.
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