Access to Finance (Soft Loan) Regulations, 2021

L.N. 306 of 2021

MALTA ENTERPRISE ACT

(CAP. 463)

Access to Finance (Soft Loan) Regulations, 2021

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 5 of the Malta

Enterprise Act, the Minister for the Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable

Development, in consultation with the Malta Enterprise Corporation

and with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance and Employment,

has made the following regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Access to Finance Citation and

commencement.

(Soft Loan) Regulations, 2021.

(2) These regulations shall be deemed to have come in force on

1 st May 2021.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires

Interpretation.

"Act" means the Malta Enterprise Act;

"Corporation" means Malta Enterprise established under the Act;

"Guidelines" means such guidelines as may be published by the

Corporation from time to time in terms of the Act;

"undertaking" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in

the Act.

Where the Corporation is satisfied that an eligible Eligibility.

undertaking is carrying out an eligible investment project in Malta in

accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the Guidelines, the

Corporation may support the eligible undertaking with a soft loan to

cover part of the funding requirements.

(1) Eligible undertakings may be supported through a Terms of the

soft loan of up to one million euro (€1,000,000) for funding projects soft loan.

leading to further development, expansion of activities, process

optimisation, improved environmental performance and sustainability,

as further outlined in the Guidelines.

(2) The loan may cover up to seventy-five percent (75%) of

costs related to the proposed project including the procurement of

assets, wage costs, know-how and other non-recurring costs as further

defined in the Guidelines.

(3) The loan shall, by way of collateral, be secured by a special

hypothec covering at least fifty percent (50%) of the loan amount.

(4) The value of aid of a loan shall be considered to have a

gross grant equivalent at the time of granting calculated as a

corresponding proportion of the relevant de minimis ceiling as

established in Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 of 18

December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid

(the de minimis Regulation), as amended.

(5) The investment value 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.

(1) Applications for assistance to support eligible

undertakings under these regulations shall reach the Corporation

before 31 st October 2023.

(2) No assistance under these regulations shall be awarded by

the Corporation after 31 st December 2023.

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