In order to develop the company and implement business goals, 26% of Latvian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have decided to attract new financing or investors in 2024, the representatives of “Luminor Bank” informed LETA agency, referring to the results of the conducted survey.
The bank states that this is the highest indicator among the Baltic states. On the other hand, a third of the companies plan to expand this year, and most expect sales volumes to increase or remain unchanged.
When surveying 250 SMEs in Latvia, it was found that 13% want to attract new financing or investors, 7% plan to take a loan for business development and growth, 3% intend to borrow for another purpose and the same amount – to increase working capital.
On the other hand, every tenth company plans to cover existing loans and almost half or 48% do not plan to borrow this year, citing the turmoil of recent years as the main reasons – the unstable geopolitical situation, high inflation and price increases, as well as high EURIBOR rates.
A third or 32% of the surveyed small and medium-sized companies are interested in car or equipment leasing, 23% – bank guarantees and trade financing solutions, 22% are interested in interest rate, currency risk management and what solutions to use to minimize cash and raw material management risks, while 18% want to learn more about various e-commerce solutions and money management.
Mareks Gurauskas, manager of small and medium-sized enterprises at Luminor Bank, states that despite the economic stagnation, the results of the survey show that entrepreneurs are constantly thinking about the development of their business. Since the rise in inflation has been suppressed practically throughout Europe, according to Gurauskas, it can be expected that at some point a sharper reduction in EURIBOR rates will follow, which will reduce the amount of loan payments for entrepreneurs and leave more funds for development purposes.
The expert believes that this could contribute to the recovery of activity in other European export markets as well and restore economic growth. “Luminor Bank” observes that, in order to reduce monthly expenses, businessmen act very carefully with the financing of working capital and do not accumulate large balances in warehouses, as was the case before. According to the survey data, some businessmen plan to repay the loan obligations before the due date, although such a trend has not yet been observed in the bank.
Gurauskas adds that the European Investment Bank (EIB) and “Luminor Bank” have signed an agreement for 115 million euros in financing in order to, by providing a reduced interest rate that will allow more profitable borrowing, additionally promote lending to SMEs and companies with medium-sized capital in Latvia. in Lithuania and Estonia.
The “Luminor Bank” survey was conducted at the end of 2023, surveying the managers of 750 SMEs (up to 249 employees) in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
2024-02-24 19:10:29
#Latvia #companies #plan #attract #financing #year
