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Add to Preferred SourcesLast year, the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group), which consists of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), provided loans, guarantees and equity worth €1.49 billion in the Czech Republic. This represents a 110% increase compared to EIB Group’s results in 2018.
The EIB signed new loans amounting to €1.3 billion and the EIF committed €255 million in 10 equity, guarantee and microfinance operations benefiting some 5 700 small businesses. EIF financing supported approximately 54 000 jobs and mobilised total investments of €659 million.
The EU bank signed an intermediated loan of €180 million with SG Equipment Finance Czech Republic s.r.o. (SGEF CZ) that will support smaller businesses. 25% of the loan is dedicated to projects contributing to the Climate Change objective.
EIB Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova commented: “2019 was an exceptionally successful year for the EIB Group in the Czech Republic. In cooperation with our Czech counterparts, we provided well-balanced support to the public and the private sector. Our contribution is not limited to money; advice is just as important. EIB technical assistance helped the Czech authorities to complete 10 projects worth €2.3 billion under the JASPERS initiative.”
The EIB signed a loan of €444 million to finance eight components of railway infrastructure upgrades, modernisation and renewal investments located across the Czech Republic.
The EU bank also granted €330 million to the Czech energy utility CEZ to finance the extension, reinforcement and modernisation of the electricity distribution network in nine regions. The investments will contribute to a better integration of electricity from renewable sources into the network.
EIB operations are expected to support 1 228 projects and about 83 650 jobs. This comes in addition to the EIFcommitments for small and mid-sized companies, bringing the total number of jobs supported by EIB Group activity in 2019 to around 137 650.
Original source: EIB
Published on 26 February 2020