EXIM Bank $600-M low cost credit facility for MSME now available

• December 15 2019
• http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sunday-finance/exim-bank-600-m-low-cost-credit-facility-for-msme-now-available-government-removes-26-bureaucratic-steps-for-export_181995

The special $600-million low cost credit facility from the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) involved in export is now available for on-lending.

State minister for Industry, Commerce, Agriculture &; Fisheries, Floyd Green, who made the announcement, said the interest rate is a low 4.75 per cent, which is the lowest rate on offer to the MSME any government or private sector funding institution. Describing the move as a step in the right direction, Minister Green argued that the low 4.75 per cent interest rate should send a signal to private lending institutions in Jamaica that loans to MSMEs should be lowered to this level.

Addressing Jampro's Export Max 111 Singing and Orientation Exercise at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Tuesday, the state minister also spoke about the redesigned Credit Enhancement Facility by the Development Bank of Jamaica in which $5 billion will be on-lent to MSMEs over the next 12 months. He used these two credit facilities to highlight the fact that the Government is seriously addressing the need in giving MSMEs more access to credit at reasonable interest rates.

OVER BUREACRATIC EXPORT PROCESS

Turning to the issue of export, Minister Green admitted that Jamaica has over bureaucratised its export process, disclosing that only last week the Government removed 26 bureaucratic steps to export, which were adding no value.

“Quite frankly we have over bureaucratised our processes around trade for far too long…last week I had a meeting with Ministry of Health, National Environment and Planning Agency, Trade Board team and one of the things I highlighted is that we have some steps in our processes that we think is adding value that is absolutely not adding value,” Green reasoned.