Loan Facility - Athanasios Hatzopoulos Packaging Materials Industry

The Loan Facility is the largest measure in the Greek Recovery and Resilience Plan, and its objective is to facilitate private sector financing and supporting private investment.

This is particularly important in an environment of still high market interest rates.

Projects that are being financed concern green transition, digitalization, increasing export capacity, economies of scale through mergers and acquisitions, and innovation (R&D).

The scheme includes three distribution channels:

• On-lending through the European Investment Bank, European Bank for Rural Development, and commercial banks;
• Equity support to mid-caps and SMEs;
• Additional funds for the InvestEU Member State compartment.

The Loan Facility provides for strict requirements and well-established safeguards, which concern investment participation (maximum 50% Recovery and Resilience Facility; minimum 30% co-financing loans; mnimum 20% investors’ own contribution), financial viability (positive net present value projects), and compliance with the Do-No-Significant-Harm principle and State-aid rules.

The Loan Facility also provides for commitments for financial institutions and InvestEU to invest at least 38.5% of the funds on green transition and 20.8% on digital transition.

An example of approved investment to benefit from the Loan Facility is  Athanasios Hatzopoulos Packaging Materials Industry in Thessaloniki.

The investment consists of energy upgrading of infrastructure through the replacement of old machinery and R&D programme to promote the circular economy with the aim of creating a complete recyclable product portfolio.

The investment aims to contribute to the increase of productivity and economic growth of the company, as well as the expansion of its comparative advantages thus enhancing competitiveness in the domestic and foreign markets.

The overall investment is EUR 12.5 million, of which the Recovery and Resilience Facility covers 50%.

Learn more about the company: https://hatzopoulos.gr/