SME POLICIES

1
SME POLICIES

• ivile Kriciuniene
• Director of Small and Medium Business Department

2
REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT SUPPORTIVE OF SMES

• Time required to start-up a company in Lithuania
  is 5 working days
• ? Continuing work to reduce to 3 working days
• ? Considering possibility to simplify the
  establishment of personal comapny and limited
  liability company (cancel the notarial
  verification of registration documents)

3
BUSINESS TRANSFER

• Methodical publication Business Transfer and
  Purchase
• http//www.eic-vilnius.lt/home/eic/lt/FilesForDown
  load/files/metodinis20vadovas.pdf

4
BANKRUPTCY

• ? Time for all legal procedures to wind up
  bankruptcy procedures in 2008 
• Judicial bankruptcy process 1,7 year (20,45
  months)
• Non-judicial bankruptcy process 1,1 year (13,11
  months)
• Simplified bankruptcy process 0,9 year (10,6
  months)

5
SMES ACCESS TO FINANCE

• ? 01-10-2008 Holding Fund in Lithuania under the
  European Commissions initiative for SMEs
  (JEREMIE)
• ? The overall capital amount assigned to the Fund
  80 million EUR (275 million Litas) increased to
  290 million EUR (1 milliard Litas) 04-03-2009

6
SMES ACCESS TO FINANCE
Holding Fund 377 million EUR (1300 million
Litas)
INVEGA Holding Fund 87 million EUR (300 million
Litas)
JEREMIE Holding Fund 290 million EUR (1000
million Litas)

• Risk Capital Fund
• Business Angels Co-investment Fund
• Funded Risk Sharing Financial Instrument
• Portfolio Guarantees

• Small Credits up to 50 000 EUR (175 000 Litas)

7
JEREMIE HOLDING FUND

• ? February-March 2009 Call for Expressions of
  Interest to select Financial Intermediaries that
  will receive resources to implement the following
  Financial Instruments
• Risk Capital Fund (23,2 million EUR)
• Business Angels Co-investment Fund (5,8 million
  EUR)
• Funded Risk Sharing Financial Instrument (14,5
  million EUR)
• ? April-May 2009 Evaluation of Expressions of
  Interest

8
SMES ACCESS TO FINANCE

• ? Small credits (from national budget sources 6
  million EUR (20 million Litas) loans up to 50
  000 EUR (175 000 Litas)
• ? Signed contracts with 3 banks
• INVEGA Holding fund established 7 April 2009
• ? Small credits loans up to 101 000 EUR (350
  000 Litas)
• ? Call for Expressions of Interest (29 million
  EUR (29 million EUR (100 million Litas)

9
OTHER INVEGA MEASURES

• ? Guarantee fund (15,6 million EUR( 54 million
  Litas) EU Structural Funds
• February 2009, INVEGA guarantees 80 of
  investment loans and working capital loans
• ? Regulations for the provision of credit
  guarantees to credit institutions for credits
  taken by large enterprises
• (Temporary measure until 31-12-2010)
• ? Partial compensation of interests (30 million
  EUR (104 million Litas) EU Structural Funds

10
TAX CREDIT SYSTEM

• ? Delayed tax payments for newly-registered Small
  Family business (applied to Corporation tax, Real
  estate tax, Land-tax, State social security
  contribution)
• ? Corporation income tax less than 290 million
  EUR
• ? 5 year delay
• First year 80 calculated tax
• Second year 50 calculated tax
• Third year 30 calculated tax

11
SMES INTERNATIONALIZATION

• ? Lithuania is currently examining possibilities
  to apply trade credit insurance measures in the
  States Trade field
• ? Concrete measures/steps to be taken will be
  established in the nearest term