BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 23
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
In order to support Kazakhstan’s small and medium business (SMEs) most affected as a result of emergency state introduction, a number of measures were taken for tax incentives, deferred payments on loans, rent and utility payments, public procurement procedures and affordable concessional financing, Head of Entrepreneurship Development Department of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of National Economy Chingis Akhmetov said, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstan’s Central Communications Service.
Akhmetov said that currently any business entity can receive preferential financing under the Business Roadmap 2025 program. The cost of loans for the borrower will not exceed 6 percent per annum, and the amount of credit support per entrepreneur has been increased to seven billion tenge ($16.2 million).
In turn, the amount of the loan for working capital replenishment was increased from 60 million tenge ($138,905) to 500 million tenge ($1.1 million) and will be provided on a renewable basis. Ventures engaged in trade are entitled to receive state support on loans worth not over 100 million tenge ($231,509).
For the partial guarantee, the loan amount was increased to 1 billion tenge ($2.3 million), under which the guarantee amount will not exceed 50 percent. At the same time, loans up to 360 million tenge ($833,433) will be covered by a guarantee of up to 85 percent of the loan amount.
The list of goods and services has been expanded within the framework of the program ‘Economy of Simple Things’ as the total volume of lending under the program was increased to one trillion tenge ($2.3 billion).
Of this amount, 700 billion tenge ($1.6 billion) are to be allocated for processing and production in agriculture, 300 billion tenge ($694.5 million) are to be allocated for manufacturing industry and services.
The size of the guarantee will be 30 percent within the framework of the ‘Economy of Simple Things’ for loans of up to five billion tenge ($11.5 million). If the required financing value does not exceed 3 billion tenge ($6.9 million), the guarantee will be up to 50 percent of the loan amount.
Furthermore, Akhmetov said, Kazakhstan’s National Bank has launched a new program of concessional lending to SMEs affected by the emergency state. Some 600 billion tenge ($1.3 billion) were allocated for these purposes. Within this program loans will be issued to replenish working capital at a rate of 8 percent and a loan term will be up to one year.
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