April 5 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Union (EU) and Mobiasbanca - Groupe Societe Generale on Wednesday launched the first credit line aimed to boost Moldova's free trade with the EU.
The EU4Business-EBRD Credit Line will enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to take advantage of opportunities under the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the EU, the EBRD said in a press release.
SMEs will receive financial help to invest in improvements to their product quality and to modernise of their services to meet EU standards.
“This is to everyone’s benefit: Moldova’s private sector companies, local and European consumers, and the Moldovan population as a whole, all stand to gain from increased regional trade and investment integration, which can foster economic growth and employment,” head of the EBRD office in Chisinau Dimitri Gvindadze said.
The EU4Business-EBRD Credit Line is part of a comprehensive package of activities that will help businesses make most of their new market access. The EBRD and the EU also support Moldova’s firms through direct lending, expert advice for SMEs on how to grow their businesses and policy dialogue aimed at improving the investment climate.
“Mobiasbanca’s strategy is to provide SMEs with accessible and advantageous financing products and the expertise to develop modern businesses. For this reason, we develop partnerships with European financial institutions focused on attracting international funds in the most favourable financing conditions for our clients,” Mobiasbanca commercial director of corporate banking Elena Guzun said.
At the end of 2016, the EBRD provided 10 million euro ($10.6 million) as ‘unfunded risk participation’ for Mobiasbanca, to help the bank meet the financing needs of medium-sized private companies.
This loan is part of a larger programme which consists of 380 million euro in EBRD loans and trade guarantees to local banks for on-lending to businesses in Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine.
Moldova’s Association Agreement with the EU entered into force in 2016 and creates new trade and investment opportunities as it offers businesses access to the EU’s single market – the largest in the world.
The EBRD is the largest institutional investor in Moldova. Since the start of its operations in the country, the bank has invested over 1.1 billion euro in more than 110 projects in Moldova’s financial, agribusiness, energy, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.
($=0.9387 euro)