In English | På svenska
The following press release was published by the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications and the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs:
In order to meet the borrowing needs of both large and small companies in an effective way, the government has today decided to provide Svensk Exportkredit (SEK) with Skr 3 billion, and an additional Skr 2 billion to Almi Företagspartner. The purpose of this is to make it easier for the export industry to make important investments. In addition, it improves the financing situation for new, small and medium-sized companies by strengthening Almi’s lending. Almi will also be allowed to provide a larger share of a company’s lending requirements than the current maximum of 50%.
“This strengthens Sweden’s competitiveness. Now more companies can export and develop their business. It’s an important measure for creating more stable and growing companies that can provide more jobs,” said Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Energy Maud Olofsson.
“The decision means that SEK’s lending capacity will increase by at least Skr 75 billion. These significant additional resources substantially strengthen SEK’s ability to support Swedish companies with credits. This enables us to quickly contribute to improving liquidity in the market,” said Minister for Trade Ewa Björling.
Today’s government bill decision proposes that Sweden’s parliament authorise the government to transfer the state's shares in Venantius AB to AB Svensk Exportkredit, provide AB Svensk Exportkredit with a capital contribution of up to Skr 3 billion and provide Almi Företagspartner AB with a capital contribution of up to Skr 2 billion.
SEK provides medium- and long-term credit facilities for exports and infrastructure. The business is mainly run on a commercial basis. SEK is tasked by the state to administrate the Swedish system for state-supported export credits at fixed rates of interest.
Almi Företagspartner's role is complementary to the market, meaning that it should not compete with services offered by the private market. Almi offers financing and business development services. Its activity covers the whole business process, from idea to growth. Activities are organised into three business areas based on different client needs – innovation, new enterprises and established businesses. Almi provides credit in the form of loans in close cooperation with other creditors, with, of course, banks as important cooperation partners.
ContactHåkan LindChief of Press Staff Office +46 (0)8-405 40 11 Mobile +46 (0)70-269 11 98
Jens ErikssonPress Secretary to Ewa BjörlingMobile +46 (0)76-766 39 99