Portugal 4th largest EIB beneficiary
Portugal came fourth last year in terms of those countries in the eurozone which most benefitted from European Investment Bank funds. (EIB in percentage of GDP)
In 2020, the EIB financed projects worth €2.33Bn in Portugal, an increase of 44% compared to 2019 according to Ricardo Mourinho Félix, vice-president of the bank and responsible for the Portugal market.
Half of this support was given over to helping companies offset the effects of the pandemic. The EIB supported 27 operations in Portugal, with a total investment amount the equivalent of 1.2% of Portugal’s GDP.
Portuguese SMEs continue to represent the lion’s share of funding provided by the EIB in Portugal with Mourinho Felix saying: “SMEs in Portugal make up significant beneficiary of EIB funds and this should be so given the need (for investment) resulting from the impact of Covid-19.”
He stressed that the bank’s priorities in Portugal have “varied over time,” with 72% of the bank’s investment activities in 2020 dedicated to SMEs, when in other years that investment had been around 50%.
To mitigate the effects of the pandemic, the measures adopted by the EIB have been focused on supporting the health sector and SMEs.
Contracts for ten operations for Portugal were approved, worth a total of €1.3Bn or 56% of total investment activity.
It means that Portugal comes in fourth place as the country with the greatest amount of financing conceded for projects related to Covid-19.
Mourinho Félix also stressed that the bank’s response to Covid had “varied over time” having in February and March 2020 opted for speeding up approvals and payments, with most support going to SMEs and the health sector.
In April, the bank widened its criteria for eligibility and upped its levels of available finance with an emergency aid package backed by EU fund guarantees, with €25Bn for Member States with an intention to mobilise up to €200Bn in investment.
In the health sector, funds went to companies working in the bio-medical research areas, with emphasis on “the development of the BioNtech vaccine” that received €100 million from the EIB.