The measures contained in the draft decree-law “Urgent provisions on oil prices related to the international market crises, as well as in favour of companies,” adopted today by the Council of Ministers, includes a new SIMEST measure to support exporting companies, drawing on resources from Fund 394/81.
With the aim of mitigating the negative impact of the economic consequences of the Persian Gulf crisis on the national production system, the measure dedicated to energy-intensive companies, active from March 2025 as part of the “Ecological or Digital Transition” instrument, will be extended to all exporting companies and their supply chains. The existing instrument provides subsidized financing of up to €5 million per requesting company, at a minimum interest rate of 0.3%, on favourable terms, such as up to 90% of the financing for capital strengthening.
Thanks to the new provisions adopted today, the measure will be strengthened by increasing the non-repayable grant to 20%, with the possibility of increasing it to 30% for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Further incentives are planned, which will be adopted by the Incentives Committee, the inter-Ministerial body that runs the 394/81 Fund. These include extending the duration of financing from 6 to 8 years, increasing the amount that can be disbursed in advance from 25% to 50% to ensure greater liquidity, and raising the limit for capital increases or shareholder loans from €800,000 to €1.5 million.
Italian companies – which have been negatively affected by rising energy costs or a decrease in turnover or cash flow – will be able to benefit from a total allocation of €800 million.
