The Government added foreign currency from multilateral entities that, in this case, will be applied to productive credit. The Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, presented this afternoon a new line of financing for a total amount of US$130 million that will be used to improve the productivity of small and medium-sized businesses. The objective is to contribute to the transition of Argentine SMEs towards what is known as industry 4.0.
The funds with which the new line will be financed will be provided by multilateral organizations: US$80 million from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and US$50 million from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).
“U$S130 million dollars from the IDB and the Central American Bank are going to enter Argentina to accompany SMEs on the path of development, and it will also allow us to strengthen our reserves in some way,” said Massa in an act held in the Treasury Palace.
The official added that “in a normal year Argentina was going to export US$100,000 million, but this year due to the drought we are going to lack more than US$15,000 million than what we had projected.”
In this sense, Massa assured that “the account that hits our exports, if we do not have a way to compensate it, hurts our imports; and hence the efforts to try to reduce the demand for dollars by improving the purchase of energy, finishing the gas pipeline, putting together a production schedule with the automotive sector, and import schedules with the laboratory sector.”
“We also have a projected schedule for the use of yuan for the equivalent of US$5,000 million from May to August to somehow compensate for this lack of foreign currency, with dollars, yuan and economic planning,” added the minister.
During the ceremony, the minister confirmed that together with the contribution of multilaterals, the public financing will be for $120,000 million to launch programs aimed at promoting innovation and the transition of Argentine SMEs towards industry 4.0.
Lastly, Massa said that “at times when we cannot supply our financing with our own generation of dollars, we have to access the credit market to generate investment, development and added value in the productive sectors.”
digital transformation
The minister was accompanied by the Secretary for Industry and Productive Development, José Ignacio de Mendiguren, and by the Undersecretary for SMEs, Tomás Canosa.
In turn, De Mendiguren assured that “the digital transformation of SMEs is part of a strategic agenda to advance in the change of the productive structure” and stressed that “these programs change the future of more than 500 SMEs from all over the country, which will to be able to enter the universe of industry 4.0. and compete better.
The lines presented were the Digital Transformation of Argentine MSMEs programs with CABEI and Support for Competitiveness (PAC) with the IDB.
The first is for a total of US$50 million and will finance up to 80% of each project through Non-Reimbursable Contributions (ANR), technical assistance for innovation and technological development of SMEs engaged in a digital transformation process, among other benefits. .
The IDB PAC, meanwhile, will be for a total of US$80 million and will grant ANR -of between 50% and 80% of its value- to business projects that incorporate improvements in digital transformation, sustainable development, quality, design and innovation.
Source: Ambito
