Issue date: 9th September 2021
Incentive applicable as from 13th September 2021
Applications to be submitted by 31st October 2023
OVERVIEW
This measure is designed to support undertakings engage in plans aiming to :
- Launching new products or entering a new geographical market;
- Addressing environmental concerns and digitise processes;
- Undertakings may be supported through a soft loan covering part of the funding requirements of up to Eur1M (million).
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
- Must be a limited liability company registered with the Malta Business Register and engaged in a manufacturing or service activity;
- The applicant company should have no dues related to VAT, Income Tax and Social Security;
- The applicant company must not be engaged in activities specifically excluded under the de minimis regulation;
- The applicant company must have at lease one (1) full time employee registered with Jobsplus, who is resident and pays income tax in Malta;
- The applicant company must not be subject to collective insolvency proceedings, nor fulfils the criteria under domestic law for being placed in collective insolvency proceedings at the request of its creditors;
- In the case of large undertakings, the beneficiary shall be in a situation comparable to a credit rating of at least B.
THE INCENTIVE
- Implementation period of the projects must not be longer than 18 months;
- The loan may cover up to seventy-five percent (75%) of costs related to the proposed project including the procurement of assets, wage costs, knowhow and other non-recurring costs;
- The loan shall, by way of collateral, be secured by a special hypothec covering at least fifty percent (50%) of the loan amount;
- The loan shall not exceed:
- One million euro (€1 million) (or five hundred thousand euro (€500,000) for undertaking performing road freight transport and must be repaid over a five (5) year period.)
- Five hundred thousand euro (€500,000) (or two hundred fifty thousand (€250,000) for undertakings performing road freight transport) and must be repaid over a ten (10) year period.
- Fixed interest rate charged by the Corporations shall not be lower than 0.5% per annum and which shall be established after considering the project and the current European Central bank reference rate;
- The Corporation may also agree to a moratorium of not more than 24 months;
- Loans issued in line with the above terms shall be considered to have a gross grant equivalent of two hundred thousand euro (€200,000) (or one hundred euro (€100,000) for undertakings performing road freight transport). If the loan is for less than the amounts indicated in Section 1 and 2 above, and/or is granted for a period of less than five years or ten years as applicable, the gross grant equivalent of that loan shall be calculated as a corresponding proportion of the relevant de minimis ceiling;
- The amount not covered by the loan issued by the Corporation, must be financed through a loan issued through a commercial bank and/or through reserves of the undertaking (or other funds considered to be the undertaking’s own funds) which shall be specifically allocated to the project and deposited with a Commercial Bank;
- Drawdowns from the loan provided by the Corporation shall be effected pari passu with the drawdowns made for the loan issued through the Commercial Bank and/or the utilisation of the reserves of the undertaking specifically allocated to the project and deposited with a Commercial Bank;
APPLICATION PROCESS
- Applications must be submitted prior to the commencement of the project;
- The application form and other additional documentation required may be downloaded from the Corporation’s website and must be submitted through the Corporation’s client portal. First time applicants will be required to register on the client portal before they can submit their application. In addition to the application, the following documents must be submitted:
- Business plan / Project Plan;
- Detail on how the portion not financed by Malta Enterprise shall be financed;
- Audited Accounts for the previous two years unless the undertaking has been established for less than 3 years;.
- Audited consolidated accounts if available;
- Details of Directors and Shareholders – Provide details of every Director and Shareholder and a profile of every Director holding 20% or more control in the applicant Enterprise;
- A duly completed and signed de minimis declaration form;
- Applicant may be required to deliver a presentation to further explain their project and projections.
For further information kindly contact us on [email protected]