Interest on SME Covid loans waived
The President said the biggest complaint he received during his door-to-door campaign was the difficulty in repaying loans.
By
Ahmed Naif
The SME Development Finance Corporation (SDFC), the SME bank set up by this government to provide financing for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has decided to cut interest on loans worth millions of Rufiyaa to small and medium enterprises.
The President announced the decision to cut the interest on these loans, speaking at a campaign rally at the MDP's Huvadhoo camp on Maaveyo Magu, in Male on Thursday evening.
According to the President:
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In addition to waiving the interest on the loans, the money previously paid for the interest will be refunded
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The repayment period of the loans has been extended to 10 years
According to the Finance Ministry, SDFC has disbursed loans worth MVR 368 million to 2,133 SMEs as under the Covid assistance scheme.
The scheme:
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Up to MVR.500,000
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At 6% interest
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Repayable in three years
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Six months as grace period
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The loans were given to businesses that agreed not to lay off any Maldivian employees due to the pandemic
Explaining the reason for announcing the interest waiver, the President said the biggest complaint he received during his door-to-door campaign was the difficulty in repaying loans. The public asked for concessions to repay the loans, he said.
"The interest on the loans taken through SDFC will not have to be paid from today. We will refund the money paid for the interest. We will extend the repayment period to 10 years," he said.
