Government hopes private equity will invest in small firm fund

The economic affairs ministry is putting the final touches to a €1.5bn guarantee scheme for the small and medium-sized business sector, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Thursday.

The paper bases its claims on a number of ‘well-informed sources’.
The economic crisis has made it difficult for smaller firms to get credit to fund expansion and investment and this is likely to continue as the economy picks up because banks are still being squeezed, the paper says.
The ministry hopes private investors will put money into a special fund to be used to strengthen the asset base of small firms. The rest of the money will come from the state in the form of guaranteed loans.
Brussels
The scheme still needs finance ministry support. In addition, Brussels will have to decide if it breaks rules on state support for industry, the paper says
Rob Wolthuis of small business association MKB-Nederland said he hoped the new scheme would be ready to be implemented when a new cabinet takes office.
Earlier efforts by the ministry to encourage pension funds to invest in smaller firms failed.