TEHRAN - Iranian banking system has provided 240.314 trillion rials (about $937.3 million) of financial facilities to 5,410 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) over the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20), according to the latest report by Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry.

As IRIB reported, the mentioned facilities were paid under the framework of the Industry Ministry’s program for financing SMEs and semi-finished projects with over 60 percent progress.

Based on the report, over 17,158 units applied for the mentioned facilities during the previous year among which 9,500 were eligible to receive the loans.

The number of paid loans to SMEs and semi-finished projects increased by 13 percent compared to the Iranian calendar year 1399 (ended on March 20, 2021) while the value of the paid facilities also increased by 7.3 percent.

Over the past three years, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has been collaborating with the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry for implementing a program based on which bank facilities are provided to SMEs and semi-finished projects.

The mentioned facilities are mainly provided for renewing machinery, equipping production units, or completing semi-finished projects.

In early May 2019, Former CBI Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati had outlined CBI plans for neutralizing or relieving the impact of U.S. sanctions on the country’s economy and mentioned providing liquidity and working capital to maintain and boost domestic production as one of those plans.

CBI’s plans take two major approaches, one of which is to secure finance for production activities and also to provide the working capital needed for such activities.

EF/MA