Government provides cheap loans for manufacturers to offset rising production costs

The Portuguese Government has released a €600 million credit lifeline to help manufacturing companies offset the rising cost of production costs.

The loans, which will have an interest-free grace period of 12 months, must be used by companies within a maximum period of eight years.
The funds, which have a maximum spread of 2.5%, will be made available through Portugal’s development bank Banco de Fomento.
Companies that wish to do so can apply for funds with spreads varying between 1.5% and 2.5% depending on the maturity of the loan. According to the terms and conditions published on the bank’s website, the credit lines will have a maximum cost of 5.788%. These loans from the treasury will be made available by the Banco de Fomento on Friday.
The loans were created as part of a package of measures designed to help companies and bodies from the social economy to help them mitigate the effects of inflation arising from the current political context. This measure is aimed at companies that are especially hard-hit by the sharp increase in energy costs and the cost of raw materials, as well as disruptions in the supply chain.