Changes and news within the Internationalization Fund

Last week some changes were published for Fund 394/81 for internationalisation, which is aimed at SMEs interested in starting expansion activities abroad.

The most relevant changes affect the following funding laws:

• Law 133/08, art. 6, paragraph 2, lett. to – Subsidized loans for programs to enter foreign markets;
• Law 133/08, art. 6, paragraph 2, lett. b – Subsidized loans for pre-feasibility and feasibility studies and technical assistance;
• Law 133/08, art. 6, paragraph 2, lett. c – Capitalization of exporting companies;
• Law 133/08, art. 6, paragraph 2, lett. c2 – First participation in fairs and exhibitions.

The analysis of the laws follows, starting from the latter which is the main novelty for the Internationalization Fund:

Law 133/08, art. 6, paragraph 2, lett. c2

This is the new law whose purpose is to finance and encourage participation in international fairs/exhibitions on non-EU markets. The key points of this regulation are as follows:

• Only SMEs with registered office in Italy, in single or aggregate form (ATI and Networks) can benefit from the loan;
• When submitting the application, the company must provide a self-declaration certifying that it is the first participation in a specific fair/exhibition;
• Fairs can only be in non-EU countries;
• The maximum amount that can be financed is €100,000 for each SME or combination of SMEs attributable to the same owner; €300,000 for the aggregation of SMEs not attributable to the same ownership (€200,000 in the case of two combined SMEs and €300,000 in the case of three or more combined SMEs);
• The expenses eligible for financing are operating expenses, expenses for promotional activities and expenses for various interventions;
• The loan can cover up to a maximum of 85% of the amount of the expenses indicated and the duration of the loan is 4 years, 2 of which for grace period; the interest rate, as for the other financing laws, is very low (currently at 0.5%).

Law 133/08, art. 6, paragraph 2, lett. to

For the first time, business combinations (ATI and Reti) are also eligible for funding from the internationalization fund, as expressed previously for funding for international trade fairs.

Law 133/08, art. 6, paragraph 2, lett. b

The main changes concern the reduction of the amortization period of the loan, so that the loan will now be 3 years, 1 of which for pre-amortization. Participation in single or aggregate form is also permitted in this loan.

Law 133/08, art. 6, paragraph 2, lett. c

This loan, which had been suspended since December 2012 due to lack of funds, has been resubmitted with important changes. They concern:

• the threshold level or entry level (the index that refers to the capital solidity of the SME) which passes from 0.65 to 0.8 for manufacturing companies (1.0 for commercial and service companies);
• the amount financed which has a ceiling of €300,000 against the previous €500,000;
• the admission of only SMEs which at the time of disbursement of the loan are established in the form of a joint stock company and which have a foreign turnover equal to at least 35% of the total company turnover (previously it was 20%).

We invite all companies that are interested in further information and insights on the matter to contact the Octagona team at the following email address: [email protected] or at the telephone number: 059.9770184.

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