The participatory loans and “recovery” bonds, launched in May 2021, have supported 800 companies for a total of close to 3,000 million euros distributed, as reported by the Ministry of Economy on Thursday.
Associated with the device, the insurers will increase the allocation of 1,700 million euros initially planned to finance only the recovery bonds by one billion euros, it is also specified in the Bercy press release.
According to the ministry, “by the end of January 2023, 1,740 million euros have already been granted in participatory recovery loans (PPR) and 1,210 million euros in recovery bonds”, out of an initial endowment of 11,000 million euros for PPR.
“In total, these schemes have enabled 800 companies to be supported: 573 small and medium-sized companies (from 10 to 249 employees, editor’s note) and 227 medium-sized companies” (from 250 to 5,000 employees).
800 companies supported
PPRs, which have an eight-year term and typically must begin amortizing after four years, are considered quasi-equity funds and were launched to allow companies weakened by the health crisis to invest and hire. They are 90% guaranteed by the State.
The bonds, intended for large SMEs and ETIs, with a duration equal to eight years, are fully repayable before the end of 2023.
According to Bercy, the main beneficiaries of these “reactivation” devices are companies in the manufacturing industry, commerce, and scientific and technical activities.
Initially supposed to end on June 30, 2022, PPR’s distribution has been extended until the end of 2023.
These loans got off to a slow start, with only €725m borrowed by companies as of mid-March 2022. Fewer than €200m of stimulus bonds had been given out at the same time.
Given the figures published this Thursday by Bercy, “Relance’s bonds and participatory loans have shown their usefulness in strengthening the balance sheets of SMEs and ETIs in this period of pressure on prices and supplies,” said the Minister of Economy, Bruno El Alcalde, quoted in the press release.
Source: BFM TV
