Implementation of President's Address: Government revises business support measures
In pursuance of the Head of State's instruction given in his Address to the people of Kazakhstan "Economic Course of Fair Kazakhstan", the Government has developed and adopted a Comprehensive Programme for the support and development of small and medium-sized enterprises, combining the programmes "Business Road Map" and "Economy of Simple Things", El.kz cites primeminister.kz.
Taking into account the current agenda of the government's policy in the field of entrepreneurship development and the need to create strong, competitive enterprises, the new programme provides support for effective projects. At the same time, the budget for subsidising new projects is distributed mainly among enterprises in the manufacturing sector (about 50%).
To reduce the burden on the budget, the subsidy period for projects in the service sector has been reduced from 5 to 3 years. A differentiated method of subsidising SME projects with a gradual transition to market conditions is envisaged. Optimisation of certain service sectors subject to subsidies.
The loan guarantee instrument has been expanded: the amount of guarantees has been increased, and business entities can obtain guarantees on market terms for loan amounts exceeding 1 billion tenge.
In addition, the programme provides for an alternative instrument of state support called syndicated lending, which involves the financing of large projects up to 15 billion tenge simultaneously by several banks.
The terms of bond loans have also been significantly expanded. Thus, an entrepreneur-issuer may receive a subsidised coupon interest rate when issuing a bond and attract financing at 6% for up to 5 years for up to 5 billion tenge.
In total, for 6 months of the updated programme, support measures in the form of subsidies and guarantees in Kazakhstan covered about 14 thousand business projects: subsidies 8 624 projects for 566 billion tenge, guarantees 5 381 projects for 178.9 billion tenge.
In addition, it is planned to introduce differentiated mechanisms of state support depending on the technological complexity of production. For entrepreneurs producing high-tech finished products, support measures will include cheaper loans for a longer period of time.
These mechanisms will ensure targeted and effective support for business, which in turn will contribute to sustainable economic growth and increase the competitiveness of the country.
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