The president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, announced this Monday an “exceptional and express” measure of extraordinary support for the ceramic sector that “will double and even triple” the non-refundable part in the different lines of credit support of the Institute Valencian Finance (IVF).
With this measure, non-refundable aid in these subsidized lines will be increased by between 12 and 15 million euros, according to Mazón. The president made the announcement at the international Cersaie ceramic tile and bathroom furniture fair that is being held in Bologna and in which 152 Spanish companies are participating, of which 140 belong to the Valencian Community.
The president of ASCER, Vicente Nomdedeu, has assured that it was necessary to “end the slowness and the lack of response and the slowness of management.” The businessman has assured that the sector needs direct and temporary help, “not subsidizing us forever; it is the circumstances that have turned it into a problem.”
Nomdedeu, who has defended the viability of the ceramic sector, has celebrated that “since the aid does not come from the central government, it comes from the Generalitat Valenciana. “We are super satisfied” he declared in relation to the announcement of Mazón’s aid.
The president explained that this is an “improvement of conditions” to respond to the needs of the ceramic sector that will “speed up and make more flexible” the procedures and that, in addition, they will have retroactive effect, he specified.
The president has also explained that this measure means increasing by ten additional points the non-refundable tranche for companies in the ceramic sector in the lines referring to Invest Large Industrial Company and Reactiva Feder, both for loans intended for investment and to reinforce working capital. . In addition, it will have retroactive effect for those credit operations that have already been granted by the Generalitat Valenciana.
Thus, the Reactiva Feder circulating line will go from 12% to 22%, while the Reactiva Feder investment will go from 20 to 30%. In the case of a Large Industrial Company, the current loan will go from 5 to 15% and the investment loan from 10 to 20%. Likewise, all operations must be closed before December 31 as they are aid subject to the European temporary framework.
The objective, as stated by the president, is “between now and the end of the year to be able to authorize, simplify and address three or four times as many credit operations that have occurred in this year and a half since only 11 have occurred.” ; Thus, the initiative estimates to close between 40 and 50 operations in the last quarter of 2023.
Mazón has also expressed his “political will” for the 120 million available in the IVF at the disposal of the sector for these operations to reach companies to support their activity and boost their competitiveness.
In his speech, he explained that in addition to the increase in non-refundable capital, the Generalitat Valenciana will propose a change in the processing of aid that will speed up the procedures and facilitate the access of companies to the IVF financing lines.
At the event, Mazón denounced the lack of support from the central government for the ceramics sector and demanded a change in current legislation that would enable companies to receive greater support aimed at supporting increases in the price of energy and raw materials, to expand their competitiveness and to maintain employment, just as companies in other European countries receive.
“The times in which the Generalitat Valenciana looked the other way when we were left without the support of the Spanish government are over,” he stressed. For this reason, he has expressed the commitment of the Generalitat to implement new measures and reform some of the lines that are in place, such as the line of credits “that have been insufficient, credits that have been poorly managed, that are not simplifying, that they are being very late and that they are little more than a dropper”, he concluded.
