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Slovene Export Corporation (SEC) and KfW have concluded a global loan agreement for €15mn. The funds will be used by SEC to finance long-term investments of small and medium-sized enterprises in Slovenia.


This agreement is concluded under the SME financing facility of the European Commission, which supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the new EU member and accession countries. This means that eligible local banks in Slovenia will be supported with additional grants from the Commission in the expansion of their lending business with small and medium-sized enterprises. Another share of the loan funds is refinanced by the CEB (Council of Europe Development Bank). Already at the end of 2000 KfW had signed a corresponding cooperation agreement under the programme with the European Commission and the CEB.


The SEC is a majority state-owned financial institution established in 1992, which has a promotional mission. The main focus of its work is on providing insurance and financing for Slovenian exports and on the promotion of investments by export-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises in Slovenia.


KfW and SEC have been cooperating closely since 1999. The cooperation was initiated through the advisory activities, in the framework of which KfW supported SEC especially with regard to the development of a loan programme for SMEs. Since then the cooperation was continued and expanded: Altogether four loans in the total amount of approximately €60mn were granted to support the SME sector in Slovenia.

 

“The cooperation with SEC has deepened continuously in the last few years. We are glad that we can contribute to facilitating the access to finance for Slovenian SMEs and to improving the financing of long-term investments,” emphasises Ingrid Matthus-Maier, a member of the board of managing directors of KfW.