Skopje, 8 October 2024 (MIA) - The funds from the EUR 500 million loan agreement signed by Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska with the Hungarian Export-Import Bank on Tuesday are expected to be wired to the Ministry of Finance’s account next week, the Minister said in an interview.

In an interview for TV Sitel the Finance Minister reiterated the terms of the loan – an interest rate of 3.25 percent, a repayment period of 15 years and a three-year grace period. She said EUR 250 million of the funds would be provided to the Development Bank, which would then make them available to the private sector through the commercial banks. While the remaining EUR 250 million would remain in the budget to be used to fund municipal projects.

“Today we spoke about the filling of the additional documents for the funds to be sent. I expect that on Thursday, when we are back in Macedonia, we will print those documents and forward them to the Hungarian Bank so that next week the funds are transferred to the foreign exchange account of the Ministry of Finance,” Dimitrieska-Kochoska said.

She underlined that the funds will be offered to businesses through the commercial banks at the same terms as the initial loan.

“The most important thing that the private sector should know is that we secured the funds, once they are received we will transfer them to the Development Bank, and then it will reach an agreement with the commercial banks over how to distribute them,” the Finance Minister said.

The Minister was asked whether the commercial banks would ask for a certain percentage to distribute the loans to the businesses.

“Our initial talks were for them to participate in this whole thing so that we can rejuvenate the economy, because we know that in the past years we reached the bottom. The expectations of the private sector were very bad, that’s why the inflation was worsening as well, and now, together, we should try to find a way for the commercial banks to support this whole thing with minimal or almost no earnings. Of course, we will talk to them, the Development Bank will talk to them, and then we will see how the procedure will progress,” Dimitrieska-Kochoska said.

She said the second tranche of EUR 500 million under the same terms was discussed in Budapest as well, which she said is very important for the country since the EUR 500 million Eurobond is due in January. The Ministry, she said, would launch the procedure for the approval of the additional EUR 500 million next week, with the loan agreement expected to be signed in December and funds to be received by the middle of January 2025.

The loan was agreed by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban during this year's NATO Summit in Washington. The law for the loan was adopted by Parliament on September 17 in an expedited procedure. 

Photo: MIA Archive