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The Flanders Participation Company supports SMEs with flexible long-term loans thanks to the EIB

Company

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Flanders Participation Company (PMV) have signed a EUR 60 million loan agreement with a view to setting up a new platform, managed by PMV, for loans to Flemish SMEs. This will allow PMV to expand its range of flexible financial instruments with long-term loans for larger SMEs as an alternative to issuing bonds.

PMV is putting up EUR 40 million, which means that initially there will be EUR 100 million available. By collaborating with external financiers the aim is to increase this amount to EUR 200 million. The loans are designed to enable companies to diversify and improve the balance of their debt structure, making them better able to withstand future interest rate rises. The loans (EUR 5-15 million) will have terms of between five and ten years, with a fixed or variable interest rate of between 2% and 4% and repayment in full on the final due date, or with a repayment schedule following a grace period.

PMV intends using flexible long-term loans to provide SMEs with growth or investment plans with the opportunity to further diversify their funding and provide them with solutions supplementing traditional bank loans. “These are very cheap today, but will be less available in the very long term. By diversifying their funding sources, SMEs will become more resistant to future interest rate rises or other market fluctuations. They will also be able to free up working capital to fund further growth. Large companies have been diversifying their funding sources like this for a very long time through debenture loans, which is not so easy for SMEs to do. This partnership with the EIB makes it possible to offer an advantageous interest rate.” says Filip Lacquet, corporate finance group manager at PMV.

EIB Director General Jean-Christophe Laloux added: “The EIB is more than just a bank; it’s a European institution with a very clear purpose: to improve people’s lives through its investments.  SMEs are the driving force of the Flemish economy and are responsible for a very sizeable share of employment.  At a time of geopolitical, economic and climate uncertainty, it’s important for us to give these businesses some support.” Continue reading “The Flanders Participation Company supports SMEs with flexible long-term loans thanks to the EIB”

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First year of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement shows growth in EU exports

Japan

1 February 2020 marks the first anniversary of the entry into force of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). In the first ten months following the implementation of the agreement, EU exports to Japan went up by 6.6% compared to the same period the year before. This outperforms the growth in the past three years, which averaged 4.7% (Eurostat data). Japanese exports to Europe grew by 6.3% in the same period.

Commissioner for Trade Phil Hogan commented: “The EU-Japan trade agreement is benefitting citizens, workers, farmers and companies in Europe and in Japan. Openness, trust and a commitment to established rules help deliver sustainable growth in trade. The EU is and will continue to be the largest and most active trading block in the world. The EU is a trusted bilateral partner to more than 70 countries, with whom we have the biggest trading network in the world.”

Certain sectors have seen even stronger export growth over the same period:

  • Meat exports increased by 12%, with a 12.6% increase for pork exports, and frozen beef exports have more than tripled.
  • Dairy exports were up by 10.4% (including a 47% increase in butter exports).
  • Beverages exports went up by 20%, with 17.3% growth in wine exports.
  • Leather articles exports and apparel have seen an increase of 14% and 9.5%, respectively.
  • Electrical machinery exports, such as telecommunications equipment, storage devices and electronic circuits went up by 16.4%.

Continue reading “First year of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement shows growth in EU exports”

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European Commission and European Investment Fund launch €75 million BlueInvest Fund

Ocean

The European Commission is partnering with the European Investment Fund, part of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB), to launch the BlueInvest Fund today. During the BlueInvest Day conference in Brussels, EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro and Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, launched a €75 million equity investment fund for the blue economy.

The BlueInvest Fund will be managed by the European Investment Fund and will provide financing to underlying equity funds that strategically target and support the innovative blue economy. This sector can play an important role in the transformation to a carbon-neutral economy by 2050, an ambition announced in the European Green Deal. The new programme is backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, the financial pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.

The blue economy includes economic activities related to oceans, seas and coasts. It ranges from companies in the marine environment to land-based businesses producing goods or services that contribute to the maritime economy. The blue economy harbours many promising early-stage ventures and companies – often emanating from EU-funded R&D programmes. These companies develop solutions for renewable energy, sustainable seafood, blue biotechnology, maritime IT and much more. Continue reading “European Commission and European Investment Fund launch €75 million BlueInvest Fund”