Value of preferential lending to business in Azerbaijan revealed [UPDATE]
![Value of preferential lending to business in Azerbaijan revealed [UPDATE]](https://www.azernews.az/media/2017/12/27/manat_221217.jpg)
By Trend
The Entrepreneurship Development Fund of Azerbaijan (formerly the National Entrepreneurship Support Fund) has so far allocated preferential loans worth 2.2 billion manats, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Economy Minister Sahib Mammadov said Oct. 2 at an event in Baku.
He said that these funds were provided to 36,000 entrepreneurs for implementing projects worth 4.9 billion manats.
One billion manats of the loans allocated through the Fund was secured at the expense of state budget funds, while 1.2 billion manats of loans were secured at the expense of funds returned to the Entrepreneurship Development Fund regarding previously issued loans, he noted.
He added that 75 percent of the total value of allocated loans was directed to the Azerbaijani districts, and 25 percent was allocated to the city of Baku and suburbs.
In addition, 72 percent of the total value of loans was allocated to the agricultural sector and 28 percent was allocated to various spheres, he said.
In accordance with the procedure, the annual interest rate on the loans of the Fund is one percent, another four percent account for the rate of an authorized credit institution.
Mammadov noted that in accordance with international corporate standards, the Fund has already formed a Supervisory Board of nine members, which included representatives of the ministries of economy, finance, ministry of taxes, labor and social protection of the population and the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FIMSA).
He said that the period and the amount of preferential lending didn’t change.
Just like it was before, small loans (from 5,000 to 50,000 manats) will be allocated for a period of up to three years, medium loans (from 50,001 to 1 million manats) will be allocated for a period of five years, large loans (from 1,000,001 to 10 million manats) will be allocated for a period of up to ten years and the grace period will cover half of the used period.
(1.7 manats = 1 USD on Oct. 2)
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