Cabinet decided on Wednesday to grant government guarantees to the European Investment Bank (EIB) for two loans to Cypriot banks, to be used to finance small and medium-sized enterprises as well as mid-cap companies. EIB will grant a €50 million loan to RCB Bank and a €100 million loan to Bank of Cyprus.
Deputy Government Spokesman, Panayiotis Sentonas said at the end of the meeting, according to the relevant evaluation studies, these loans were successful as they aimed mainly to support small and medium-sized enterprises as well as mid-cap companies in industry, services, tourism and infrastructures that are the backbone of the Cypriot economy and contribute to sustainable growth and employment.
Sentonas also said that the Cabinet decided to extend the current tax incentive framework for natural persons investing in innovative companies, either directly or through an investment fund, for another 18 months. So far 39 companies have been approved, under the existing framework.
(Cyprus News Agency)
