Their interest is high small and medium enterprises for his investment Recovery FundHe finds Survey of the National Bankwith 14% of the sector reporting expanded investment planning.

As a survey of 600 small and medium-sized enterprises showed, their willingness to invest was already evident in the first half of 2021, when almost 50% of the sector declared their willingness to join one or another action of the Recovery Fund. Now the degree of interest seems to be fixed at this level, and the degree of readiness is gradually increasing. Thus, in the second half of 2022, 14% said they had formalized investment plans, compared to a corresponding percentage of just 1% a year earlier, with an estimated investment of €2.8bn, compared to €0.2bn per year . before.

Higher mobility is observed in large enterprises, both in terms of willingness to invest (58% of medium-sized ones compared to 43% of very small ones) and readiness (with active interest in 19% of medium-sized ones compared to only up to 6% of very small ones).

According to the NBG survey, almost 50% of the sector declared their readiness to join one or another action of the Fund.

In terms of the type of investment being promoted, digital investment (mainly from commercial enterprises) as well as green investment (mainly from industry) stand out at the tip of the spear.

Analysts of the bank note that now we are talking about the fastest possible mobilization of small and medium-sized businesses. In this context, it is important that 41% of those with formalized investment plans say they expect them to be completed during 2023, and therefore the first development impulse from the Recovery Fund is expected this year. 34% expect completion in 1-2 years, 13% in 2-3 years, and the remaining 13% in more than 3 years. Investments that are expected to be completed faster are mainly in the service sector, while those that will take longer are in industry. Bank analysts, however, note that “although the acceleration of SME mobility is evident, additional vigilance is required, since the Fund’s schedule is set (1/3 of its lending resources are already tied to submitted investment plans). ) »

“Summarizing,” concludes the relevant bank announcement, “in order for the high investment interest from small and medium-sized enterprises to be fully translated into practice, further technical assistance is needed in the preparation of potentially eligible allocated investment plans, as well as the importance of parallel use of additional financial tools (such as NSRF and Development). Therefore, the high availability of resources, combined with the investment momentum we recognize in SMEs, represents a unique opportunity not to be missed.”