Fund for Industry Development amps up loan ceiling in Tatarstan to 200 million rubles
Doubled limit of preferential loans for SMEs
The Supervisory Board of the Industry Development Fund made a decision to raise the loan ceiling in Tatarstan from 100 to 200 million rubles in federal co-financing programmes for projects with regional industry development funds, Realnoe Vremya was told in the press service of the Industry Development Fund. The Investment and Venture Fund of Tatarstan has been given functions and authority of the regional industry development fund since 2016. Loans are granted to SMEs as co-financing in three federal programme at a 1-5% rate. It is Development Projects, Components and Workforce Productivity projects.
Loans from 20 million to 100 million rubles for five years used to be given previously. A 5-year term is more comfortable for investment projects than those terms offered by banks.
“Today the average amount of preferential loans of the federal Industry Development Fund in more popular programmes — Development Projects and Components — was 206 million rubles in 2022. The raise in the loan ceiling in joint programmes to 200 million rubles will favour more effective use of regional industry development funds and increase the number of all loans of regional industry development funds in the portfolio of the federal fund,” noted Vice Chairman of the Russian Government and Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia Denis Manturov chairing the Supervisory Board of the fund.
The decision on the duplication of the loan amount applies to all Russian regions. These are the terms of project co-financing in joint programmes with regional industry development funds: the Industry Development Fund provides 90% of the loan, a regional fund does 10%. Earlier, the share of the Fund in project co-financing in most regions was 70%, that of regional funds totalled 30%. Some regions were exceptions, for instance, the Far East. The federal Industry Development Fund and regional funds granted over 210 joint loans for a total of 9 billion rubles from the Industry Development Fund and 4 billion rubles from regional industry development funds.
Tatarstan granted several preferential loans to SMEs
Tatarstan’s regional industry development fund is in the top 5 Russian regional funds in the number of joint loans. Perm Krai has 35 joint loans, Sverdlovsk Oblast does 23, Irkutsk Oblast — 12, Tula Oblast — 10, Tatarstan and Udmurtia — 9 loans each, Realnoe Vremya was told in the Industry Development Fund.
A greater share of co-financing of join loans from 70% to 90% will allow regions to attract financing to the region easier. Even with a relatively small budget of the regional fund, for instance, 200 million rubles, the economy of a Russian region can get a total of 2 billion rubles thanks to the federal “shoulder” of 1.8 billion rubles. Tens of industrial enterprises can be supported with this money in co-financing programmes, which will make a notable contribution to the region’s development.
Preferential loan programmes of the Industry Development Fund are very popular among Russian industrial enterprises. Moreover, the main focus of attention of the federal Fund is on mid-sized production businesses. Regions have quite a lot of small companies by standards of the country that aim to create products replacing imports, localise components for other enterprises and introduce the best available technologies. Such projects are often key development drivers of regions.
The Industry Development Fund together with Russia’s Industry and Development Fund have been working on the creation of a network of regional industry development funds for several years now to provide state support for such projects and increase investment activity in regions. There are over 80 regions funds in Russia today that can grant joint loans with the federal Industry Development Fund.