The European Commission has approved an increase in the State aid envelope supporting MDB’s remit of intervention for the next five years. This remit primarily includes the provision of access to finance for SMEs and the funding for infrastructure projects.
The maximum State aid that may be provided by the Government to the MDB on non-commercial terms for its operations in the form of capital, guarantees and tax measures for the period ending 31 December 2027 is of €678 million, an increase of €423 million compared to the first remit of 2016.
The Commission concluded that the measure is necessary and appropriate to improve access to finance for sectors or companies that have difficulties in obtaining sufficient finance from the market. The Commission found that the measure is also proportionate as MDB will limit its interventions to addressing established market failures, notably investments in areas suffering from insufficient private funding. In addition, MDB will only provide financing if beneficiaries demonstrate that they could not obtain sufficient financing on the market.
Finally, the Commission concluded that the measure has sufficient safeguards to avoid undue negative effects on competition and trade in the EU. On this basis, the Commission approved the Maltese measure under EU State aid rules.
Prof Josef Bonnici, Chairman of the MDB, welcomed this approval as this will allow the MDB to continue rolling out financial instruments and to continue enhancing its role in supporting Maltese businesses and other segments that may face challenges in accessing finance.
Il-Kummissjoni tapprova l-Għajnuna tal-Istat biex tappoġġja l-ħidma tal-MDB sa Diċembru 2027
Il-Kummissjoni Ewropea (KE) approvat żieda fl-għajnuna tal-Istat li tappoġġja l-ħidma tal-Bank Malti għall-Iżvilupp għall-ħames snin li ġejjin. Ir-rwol tal-MDB jinkludi primarjament l-iffaċilitar ta’ aċċess għall-finanzi għall-SMEs u l-finanzjament għal proġetti ta’ infrastruttura.
L-għajnuna massima li tista’ tkun ipprovduta mill-Gvern lill-MDB b’termini mhux kummerċjali biex tappoġġja l-operat tagħha fil-forma ta’ kapital, garanziji u miżuri ta’ taxxa sal-31 ta’ Diċembru 2027 hi ta’ €678 miljun, żieda ta’ €423 miljun meta mqabbel mal-ewwel approvazzjoni li kienet ingħatat lura fl-2016.
Il-Kummissjoni kkonkludiet li l-miżura hi meħtieġa u xierqa biex ittejjeb l-aċċess għall-finanzi għas-setturi jew kumpaniji li jsibu diffikultà biex jiksbu l-finanzjament li għandhom bżonn mis-suq. Il-Kummissjoni sabet li l-miżura hija waħda proporzjonata għaliex l-MDB se jillimita l-interventi tiegħu biex jindirizza nuqqasijiet identifikati fis-suq, b’mod partikolari investimenti li jbatu min-nuqqas ta’ finanzjament privat. Aktar minn hekk, l-MDB jipprovdi finanzjament biss jekk il-benefiċjarji juru li ma setgħux jiksbu l-finanzjament meħtieġ mis-suq.
Il-Kummissjoni kkonkludiet li l-miżura għandha s-salvagwardji meħtieġa biex jiġu evitati effetti negattivi fuq il-kompetitizzjoni u l-kummerċ fl-Unjoni Ewropea. Fuq bażi ta’ dan, il-KE approvat l-miżura Maltija skont ir-regoli tal-UE dwar l-għajnuna tal-Istat.
Il-Prof Josef Bonnici, Chairman tal-MDB, laqa’ din l-approvazzjoni għaliex se tippermetti lill-MDB biex ikompli bit-tnedija ta’ strumenti finanzjarji u jsaħħaħ ir-rwol tiegħu li jappoġġja lin-negozji Maltin kif ukoll setturi oħra li jistgħu jiltaqgħu ma’ sfidi biex jaċċessaw finanzjament.
14 ta’ Decembru 2022