December 5 (SeeNews) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided a 150 million euro ($160.6 million) loan to state-owned Bulgarian Development Bank to finance projects promoted by small and medium-sized enterprizes and midcaps in the country, the European Commission said on Monday.
“[The project] combines European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) financing with private sector involvement to improve the access SME and midcap companies have to long-term finance under favourable terms. Supporting this sector is an EIB priority as it is an engine for growth, innovation and job creation in Bulgaria,” Flavia Palanza, EIB Director for lending operations in Central and South-Eastern Europe, said in a European Commission press release.
Around 30% of the funds are intended to support innovative projects. Other priorities include projects undertaken in areas with high unemployment rate as well as projects implemented by companies at start-up, growth or expansion stage.
The loan will also target projects promoted by SMEs with fewer than ten employees.
The European Commission also said that the European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed an advisory services agreement worth 1.5 million euro with Romania's health ministry to facilitate project preparation for the construction of three regional hospitals - in Iasi, Cluj-Napoca and Craiova,
The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) is the financing component of the Investment Plan for Europe, an initiative implemented jointly by the EIB Group and the European Commission aimed at strengthening European investments to create jobs and growth.
($ = 0.9342 euro)
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