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New finance for Hungarian SMEs
€10 million loan to SG Eszközfinanszírozás Magyarország Rt to boost leasing
To support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, the EBRD is
lending €10 million to SG Eszközfinanszírozás Magyarország Rt Leasing Hungary
Rt. The finance will be exclusively used for leases not exceeding €30,000 and
€125,000 respectively. The loan comes under the leasing window of the EU/EBRD
SME Finance Facility and will be supported with an additional €1 million by
the EU.
SG Eszközfinanszírozás Magyarország Rt, a subsidiary of Société Générale,
finances leases for equipment in Hungary and is focused primarily on SMEs. It
is active in equipment and commercial vehicle leases, and is especially
targeting the high-tech and IT sectors. The Hungarian leasing market has been
growing steadily over the past five years, and now exceeds €4 billion in terms
of new assets leased.
Zsuzsa Hargitai, the new head of the EBRD’s office in Hungary, said that the
loan will facilitate the provision of finance to SMEs, which in general lack
access to affordable funds. The growth of small and medium-sized enterprises
is crucial for the structural transformation of the economy, and they are a
primary source of job creation. Local SMEs should benefit from the access to
the international network of one of Europe’s leading equipment finance
companies.
The EU/EBRD SME Finance Facility, a joint programme of the European Commission
and the EBRD, supports the development and growth of entrepreneurs by
facilitating their access to finance. The Bank has committed €700 million, of
which €495 million has been disbursed by local banks and leasing companies via
19,000 loans and leases. The EC has committed €130 million in grant financing
and for technical assistance since the facility’s launch in 1999 under the
Phare Programme, the main channel for the EU’s financial and technical
cooperation with accession countries. Phare’s overall budget is about €1.5
billion a year. For further information see: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement
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