The Secretary of Industry and Productive Development, José Ignacio de Mendiguren, highlighted the growth of the leasing industry and its importance to promote production and generate employment.
“Leasing is a key instrument and the lines of the Secretariat that accompany the growth of this sector are an example of how public policy can promote production and generate employment through the financial system”, assured De Mendiguren after a meeting with the authorities of the Leasing Association of Argentina (ALA).
For its part, the head of ALA, Nicolás Scioli, highlighted that the first semester numbers consolidate the recovery started before the pandemic and it is incorporated into the menu of economic policy tools that contribute to investment and economic development”.
Scioli, who is also director of the Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade (BICE), clarified that the leasing growth was “verified in a context where the investment demand improved by around 14.8% in real terms, with a significant impact on job creation.
The leasing industry recorded a fstrong expansion in the first half of the year, motorized by the lines promoted by the Ministry of Productive Development and the Central Bank, with a total of 2,463 contracts signed, which represents an improvement of 32.8% compared to the same period of the previous year.
This growth is also reflected in a portfolio balance that reached $60,620 million at the end of June this year, contributing to the generation of almost 11,000 jobs directly.
The entity recalled that the last line financed by the National Fund for Productive Development (Fondep) allowed granting credits for $20,000 million that favored 1,400 SMEs and the creation of 1,700 direct jobs in the first semester.
The strong growth of the activity obeyed the greater demand for financing of the purchase of construction machinery (+66%), vehicles for transport and logistics (+41%), agricultural machinery and industrial equipment (+11%) and technology and telecommunications equipment (+2%).
From ALA, the importance of continuing to work together with the Ministry of Industry and Productive Development, and the Central Bank, was highlighted to deepen the use of this tool, which in addition to generating employment, offers important tax advantages.
In addition to Scioli (BICE), representatives of the banks HSBC, ICBC, BBVA, Supervielle, Industrial, Macro, Patagonia, Comafi, Galicia, Ciudad, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, San Juan, Province Leasing and Toyota Financial Company.
