BUENOS AIRES CITY (ANDigital) The Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa; the governor of La Pampa, Sergio Ziliotto; and the Secretary of Industry and Productive Development of the Nation, Jose Ignacio de Mendigurenlaunched the Crédito Argentino program in La Pampa to promote the strategic productive sectors of the province.
“We want our SMEs to continue generating employment, to have access to credit, and that is why these 30 rate subsidy points in a total of $500,000 million in credit. $1,000 million today with an additional rate subsidy contribution program by the government of the province of La Pampa,” said Massa.
next to the governor @ZiliottoSergio and the Secretary of Industry @DMVasco We announce the adhesion of La Pampa to the CreAr Program #CréditoArgentinowhich with 500,000 million credits for SMEs at a subsidized rate seeks to promote the development of industries throughout the country. pic.twitter.com/WIosYJoffY
— Sergio Massa (@SergioMassa) February 1, 2023
“We understand that it is the best way to increase the production of goods and it is also a central tool in the fight against inflation. Just as the positive interest rate, the rate of devaluation or the price paths work as an instrument to combat inflation, access to reasonable interest rates on credit for SMEs that produce goods increases the supply of goods and can allow us to a route of increased production, employment and reduction of inflation, which is somewhat the central objective that we all have to follow in our daily work from the Ministry”, completed the Minister of Economy.
“Development goes through the growth of production and for that to be possible there must be a strong involvement of the State. This tool is enormous news for the province,” said Ziliotto, adding that “we envision a present State, involved in the defense of SMEs, which are the greatest engine of the economy, giving them all the necessary competitive advantages so that in Argentina, specifically in La Pampa, productive investment is more business than financial speculation”.
For his part, Secretary Mendiguren assured that “CreAr is an instrument so that investment in Argentina can be financed at affordable rates and reaches the entire country as quickly as possible. Historically, the financial circuit took resources from the interior and placed them in Buenos Aires, thereby defunding the provinces. Here we are inverting that logic: the resources are in Buenos Aires and we allocate them to the regional economies that are the true motor of the federal country”.
“This agreement with the government of La Pampa allows us to quickly reach SMEs in the province and, together with the guarantees that Banco de La Pampa itself gives small and medium-sized businesses, quickly place credits. This synergy between the national government and the provincial government is key to maintaining and increasing the level of activity in a province where the industrial parks are working at more than 70% of their capacity and managed to reach almost full employment,” added Mendiguren.
Crédito Argentino (CreAr) is the largest production financing program in the country’s recent history. It promotes investment projects that change the productive structure, promoting national development, exports, and the efficient replacement of imports in strategic value chains, in order to promote job creation and foreign currency generation.
As of this adhesion, industrial, agro-industrial and industrial services SMEs in La Pampa can now access financing for productive investments, through the CreAr Inversión PyME Federal line that allows obtaining up to $100 million per project through Banco de La Pampas. The province thus joins 12 other provinces such as Buenos Aires, Tierra del Fuego, Neuquén and Corrientes, among others, which already have this productive credit line.
The credits granted by the CreAr Inversión PyME Federal line have a term of between 48 and 60 months, with a grace period of up to 6 months and a rate bonus from the National Fund for Productive Development (FONDEP) of up to 15.5 points, in addition of an additional bonus of 5 points from the province. Likewise, the credits will be guaranteed by the Argentine Guarantee Fund (FOGAR), and may be complemented with an additional guarantee by the Pampean Guarantee Fund (FOGAPAM).
As part of the agreement between the province and the Nation, the local implementation of the Diploma in Management and Direction of SMEs for the Patagonian region and the development of strategic training projects for the strengthening of MSMEs with export potential in La Pampa are also incorporated.
Earlier, Governor Ziliotto and Secretary Mendiguren held a working meeting, where they analyzed the productive news in the province and the impact that the CreAr program projects on the local industrial ecosystem. In the last year, the General Pico industrial park registered a use of installed capacity of 72% and projects investments from companies in the metallurgical, gastronomic and textile sectors for this year. They also addressed the productive financing granted in the last year by FoGaPam, which provided guarantees to more than 1,000 Pampas SMEs, for more than $1,200 million.
The announcement also included the Undersecretary of SMEs, Tomas Canosa; and the national director of SME Financing, Francisco Abramovich. (ANDigital)
