January 4 (BTA) - The Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) will provide direct funding of 60 million leva to pandemic-affected micro-, small- and medium-sized firms in the hotel and restaurant branch, the BDB said Tuesday.

The firms can use resources under the new Support for Tourism programme for refinancing overdue debts. The refinanced loans can be rescheduled by up to two years by reducing the amount of the repayment installments to financial institutions.

Hotel and restaurant owners who did not close down in 2020 and 2021 can get up to 500,000 leva or up to 750,000 leva (depending on their personnel and net sales in 2019) in the form of a standard working capital loan with an extended period of 48 months, and up to 250,000 leva in the form of an overdraft loan. The grace period is 18 months for hotel owners and 12 months for restaurant
owners.

The support for the affected micro-, small- and medium-sized firms in the tourism sector is part of the updated strategy of the BDB group for the 2021-2023 period.

LG/DS