Government has paid €3.5Bn from credit lines to companies

Portugal’s Minister of the Economy and Digital Transformation, Pedro Siza Vieira said on Tuesday that over €5.5Bn has already been paid out to companies from a credit line and will make more funds available soon.

The minister made his comments to the parliamentary economy, innovation, public works and housing commission reported by State-run TV station RTP.
According to data from IAPMEI, the agency for competitiveness and innovation, released last week, of the €6.2Bn from credit lines approved, just little over €1.7Bn had reached companies. In other words only 27.9% of approved credit had actually got to companies.
However, data released on Tuesday by the Government shows that companies received more than double the figure released by IAPMEI (Institute to Support Innovation for Small and Medium Companies).
The minister also revealed that new credit lines aimed at SMEs would be opened. “We have the capacity to open up new credit lines and we’re going to do so,” he said adding that the Government was in discussions with the banking sector as to the “best way forward to meet the demand for credit which had not been satisfied.”
“The priority is to channel the funds to micro and small companies where there is more demand that has not been satisfied,” he said but clarified that the credit lines for micro companies operating in the tourism sector would be broadened.
The European Commission has given Portugal the green light to provide public guarantees to the value of €13Bn of which €6.6Bn has already been used so that €6.4Bn of credit is still available.