The national government will allocate $500,000 million to finance SME credit, with a bonus of up to 30 percentage points in interest rates to sustain growth and recovery of employment, within the framework of the Argentine Credit Program (CreAr).
“The CreAr aims to put all the resources of the State, in this case more than $500,000 million, to finance the productive development of the SME sector,” said the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, during a ceremony that took place in the municipality Escobar from Buenos Aires, in which he announced the start-up of the program and confirmed that a agreement with the Paris Club.
The minister, who brought forward the closing of the agreement with the Paris Club, also provided details of the new tax relief regime for producers of capital goods, which includes a 70% reduction in employer contributions, with additional benefits that reach 90%. % for MSMEs.
“The challenge is promote credit directed to productive sectors, creating employment and adding value. We do not want to collect reserves on a whim but to have a backing that is the product of Argentine work and thus give strength to our currency,” said Minister Massa.
The create program
The CreAr Program will allocate a total of $500,000 million to finance, increasing SME credit by almost 40%, distributed 50% for financing and the other half for credit guarantees for that sector.
The plan includes a rebate of up to 30 percentage points on interest rates in order to sustain growth and the recovery of employment. In addition, the provinces may discount another 5 additional percentage points* within the Federal SME Investment Line.
Regarding funding, the National Fund for Productive Development (Fondep) will mobilize a total of $250,000 million, through 7 lines of financing.
For its part, the Argentine Guarantee Fund (FOGAR) will allocate the remaining $250,000 million to facilitate financial inclusion, a need for MSMEs when seeking financing for productive investments.
The largest loan program in history
Sources from the Palacio de Hacienda indicated that is “the largest state-sponsored federal loan program in the country’s historywith simplification of instruments to facilitate access to financing for the productive sector and availability in all public and private banks in the country”.
Regarding the new tax relief regime for producers of capital goods, a “70% reduction in employer contributions is foreseen, with additional benefits of up to 90% for Mipymes”.
An annual tax credit Bonus calculated on: income tax; export refunds; investments in R&D; and quality certifications.
“It will generate an increase in additional private investment of more than US$ 2,000 million; US$ 150 million in extra exports; and 15,000 new jobs in the sector by 2027,” they indicated in the Ministry of Economy.
The capital goods industry
The capital goods industry is a sector of strategic value for the productive and technological development of the country: it has the capacity to improve competitiveness, boost exports, facilitate import substitution and generate quality formal employment.
It currently has 70 thousand direct jobs -7,400 more than in 2016- with a salary 30% higher than the average. Between 2019 and 2021, it grew by 10% and created 4,000 jobs.
In addition to Massa, the Secretary of Industry, José Ignacio de Mendiguren; the Secretary of Knowledge Economy, Ariel Sujarchuk; the president of ADEBA, Javier Bolzico; the general secretary of the UOM, Abel Furlán, the president of Banco Nación, Silvina Batakis; and the head of Adimra, Orlando Castellani.
