Friday, 18 April 2014 03:50
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SMEs, energy efficiency and renewable energy projects to be financed
The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has entered into an agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Energy Efficiency (EE) and Renewable Energy (RE) projects under the EIB SME Green Energy Credit Line extended to the Government of Sri Lanka.
The minimum project size eligible for SME financing will be Rs. 18 million and Rs. 90 million for projects in the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy categories, the bank said. Up to 50% of the project could be considered for financing under this credit line, and beneficiaries can obtain facilities for a longer repayment period and enjoy an attractive lending rate of 8% p.a.
Construction, renovation or extension of factories or commercial buildings, procurement of machinery, and incremental working capital are the key activities eligible for financing under this credit line.
“The segments covered by this refinancing scheme are of critical importance to the national economy, and we are therefore extremely pleased to participate in the disbursement of this credit line,” Commercial Bank’s Managing Director/CEO Ravi Dias said. “The bank has always been deeply committed to supporting the SME sector, and is now increasingly involved in promoting energy efficient and sustainable businesses.”
The Commercial Bank has participated in every refinance lending scheme which has been operating in the country since the inception of ‘SMI-1’ the first scheme launched in1979. The bank has extended its support to a large number of entrepreneurs with such loans over the years to start-up new businesses and expand ongoing businesses.
The bank is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s Small and Medium Enterprise sector. According to a recent study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), SMEs supported by Commercial Bank loans have generated about 200,000 employment opportunities in the country.
The bank collaborates with a large number of organisations which are specialised and engaged in offering services relating to business development and is the pioneer in conducting programs on financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills development for SMEs in collaboration with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
The only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the world’s top 1,000 Banks for three successive years, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon operates a network of 235 branches and 585 ATMs. The bank has been adjudged ‘Best Bank in Sri Lanka’ for many years by ‘Global Finance’ Magazine and has won multiple awards as the country’s best bank from ‘The Banker,’ ‘Finance Asia,’ ‘Euromoney’ and ‘Trade Finance’ magazines.
