BELGRADE (Serbia), May 29 (SeeNews) – Serbia's government has approved a programme for additional support to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) active in sectors that were most affected by the coronavirus crisis, the finance ministry said.
Companies active in the tourism, catering and passenger transport sectors will be able to apply for loans to finance liquidity and working capital with a repayment period of up to five years, including a two-year grace period, the finance ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The loans will have an annual interest rate of 1% and will be extended by the state-owned Development Fund.
Entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises will be able to receive loans worth up to 20 million dinars ($189,000/170,000 euro), while for the small and medium-sized companies the maximum amount was set at 80 million dinars and 180 million dinars, respectively.
"[...] we came to the conclusion that the most important thing is to extend the loan repayment period and have a longer grace period, in order to have more time to stabilise their business. The goal is to start economic activity as soon as possible," finance minister Sinisa Mali said.
On March 31, Serbia's government introduced a 5.1 billion euro ($5.7 billion) financial package for the support of its economy, or 50% of the 2020 budget. The package includes a 2 billion euro guarantee scheme for loans extended by commercial banks.
(1 euro = 117.676 dinars)