March 30 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's finance minister Vladislav Goranov said that he will propose amendments to the 2020 budget this week in order to allow the government to take on new debt to finance its efforts to soften the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic.
The budget revision will also include 1 billion levs ($/511 million euro) in funding the government is going to provide to employers in the most affected sectors of the economy who decide to retain their current employees, Goranov said in a press release issued by the finance ministry on Sunday.
Bulgaria targets a balanced budget in 2020.
Last week, prime minister Boyko Borissov said that Bulgaria will introduce a package of financial measures worth 4.5 billion levs to support businesses under strain from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and preserve jobs.
The measures include increasing the capital of state-owned Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) to help businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, government-backed payment of 60% of the salaries of employees who might otherwise be fired, delaying the payment of annual corporate tax until June 30 and offering interest-free loans to workers put on leave.
Bulgaria's next auction of government securities is scheduled for April 6, when the country will seek to raise 200 million levs by reopening a five-year treasury bond issue due in January 2025.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)