
Business support
How governments are supporting businesses
Argentina
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Provided financial assistance to sports clubs(...)Announced29/04/2020Policy details
The Argentine Government created a specific fund to help small sports clubs avoid bankrruptcy.
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Established payments to workers of small to medium sized businesses(...)Announced01/04/2020Policy details
The Argentine Government created the National Program of Emergency Assistance to Labor and Production, including several benefits for small to medium sized businesses. A compensatory allowance will be paid by the National Social Security Administration to certain workers of businesses of up to 100 employees.
A non-remunerative allowance will be paid for those businesses that exceed the number of 100 employees.
An unemployment benefit will be granted for workers of small to medium sized businesses.
A government monitoring committee has been created to attend requests on this matter.
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Guaranteed bank loans to small to medium sized businesses(...)Announced20/03/2020Policy details
The Argentine Government will partially guarantee loans to small and medium sized businesses. The policy was adopted by the Central Bank of Argentina, and consists of relaxing the rules for applying for bank loans. Fifty percent of these loans must be to pay salaries of workers.
Australia
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Introduced principles for hardship support by state governments(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The National Cabinet agreed to introduce a set of principles for state and territory governments in providing hardship support for essential services for households and businesses.
Essential services will include energy, telecommunications, water utilities and local government services.
The principles include:
– offering flexible payment options to all households and small businesses in financial stress, including small businesses eligible for the JobKeeper Payment;
– not disconnecting restricting supply or services to those in financial stress;
– deferring debt recovery proceedings and credit default listing;
– waiving late fees and interest charges on debt;
– minimising planned outages for critical works, and providing as much notice as possible to assist households and businesses during any outage. -
Began developing a mandatory code of conduct for commercial leases(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
The National Cabinet agreed that a mandatory code of conduct for commercial tenancies will be developed and legislated by State and Territory governments.
The code of conduct will apply to small and medium enterprises with less than AUD$50 mullion turnover, which also qualify for JobSeeker.
The key measures are that landlords will defer payment of a portion of rent during the pandemic period, and tenants will be required to pay the deferred rent back within a reasonable period. That period will be calculated based on the length of the lease.
States and territories will be responsible for legislating the code of conduct, and for introducing a binding mediation process between landlords and tenants to ensure the code is applied.
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Introduced wage subsidy(...)Announced30/03/2020Policy details
The Australian Government will pay a JobKeeper Payment to eligible employers.
The payment is AUD$1,500 per fortnight (before tax) for each eligible employee. Employers will pay their employees, and the Government will pay the subsidy to employers in arrears. Employers can start payments on 30 March.
Payments will last up to 6 months. Small to medium sized employers are eligible if they have lost 30 percent or more of their turnover from last year. Large employers are eligible if they have lost 50 percent of their turnover from last year.
Casual workers who have worked for an employer for less than 12 months and temporary visa holders who are not New Zealanders are not eligible.
The JobKeeper Payment aims to keep people in jobs, and to enable businesses to restart quickly once the pandemic has ended. It is estimated to cost AUD$130 billion.
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Expanded cash grants for small businesses and not-for-profits(...)Announced22/03/2020Policy details
The Australian Government is providing two payments totalling between AUD$20,000 and AUD$100,000 to eligible small and medium-sized businesses, and to not-for-profits. To be eligible, businesses and not-for-profits must have annual turnover of under AUD$50 million, and they must employ workers.
Under the expanded scheme, employers will receive an initial payment equal to 100 percent of their salary and wages withheld, with a minimum payment of AUD$10,000, and a maximum payment of AUD$50,000.
An additional payment is also being introduced in the July—October 2020 period.This payment will be equal to the total that recipients received in the first round of payments. This means that eligible entities will receive at least AUD$20,000, up to a total of AUD$100,000 under both payments.
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Limited business liquidations and director liability for trading while insolvent(...)Announced22/03/2020Policy details
The Australian Government is temporarily increasing the threshold at which creditors can issue a statutory demand on a company, and the threshold by which bankruptcy proceedings can be initiated against an individual. In addition, the time in which companies and individuals may respond to statutory demands will be expanded.
This measure also makes changes to director’s obligations and responsibilities where they are impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. For example, this includes temporary relief directors’ personal liability for trading while insolvent.
The Australian Tax Office will also assist businesses on a case-by-case basis through reductions of tax payments, deferrals of tax payments and withholding enforcement actions.
These changes are intended to assist otherwise viable businesses impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. -
Guaranteed bank loans to small to medium businesses(...)Announced22/03/2020Policy details
The Australian Government will provide a guarantee of 50 percent on short term loans to small and medium sized businesses.
The loans will start from 1 April 2020, and will be unsecured and repayment free for six months. Up to AUD$40 billion of lending will be guaranteed.
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Relaxed tax rules for business assets(...)Announced11/03/2020Policy details
Up to 30 June 2020, the Australian Government is increasing the instant asset write-off threshold from AUD$30,000 to AUD$150,000 and expanding access to include businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than AUD$500 million (up from the usual AUD$50 million).
This measure will reduce taxation costs for most businesses.
Up to 30 June 2021, businesses with a turnover of less than AUD$500 million will be able to deduct 50 percent of the cost of an eligible asset on installation, with existing depreciation rules applying to the balance of the asset’s cost.
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Established a wage subsidy for apprentices and trainees(...)Announced11/03/2020Policy details
The Australian Government will allow employers to apply for a wage subsidy of 50 percent of the wage of an apprentice or trainee. The subsidy will run for 9 months 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2020.
Employers will be reimbursed up to a maximum of AUD$21,000 per eligible apprentice or trainee (AUD$7,000 per quarter).
Austria
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Implemented second phase of direct economic support for companies(...)Announced14/04/2020Policy details
No further details are recorded for this policy. Refer to the citations below for more information.
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Simplified credit approvals for companies(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
No further details are recorded for this policy. Refer to the citations below for more information.
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Extended economic support package(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
Crisis bond expanded to 28 billion EUR. "Härtefallfonds" expanded to 2 bn. EUR.
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Established support fund for companies(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
15 billion EUR has been set aside for this measure.
No further details are recorded for this policy. Refer to the citations below for more information.
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Expanded short-term work funds at the federal level(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
The fund was expanded to 1 billion EUR.
No further details are recorded for this policy. Refer to the citations below for more information.
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Increased funding for hardship fund for small businesses(...)Announced01/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Finance doubled the "Hardship Fund" from 1 billion euros to 2 billion euros, following an expasion of beneficiaries to include self-employed Austrians.
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Established hardship fund for small businesses(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
As part of the EUR 4 billion for emergency aid, the Ministry of Finance established a hardship fund of EUR 1 billion in which small to medium enterprises can apply for cash assistance.
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Extended deadline for annual tax declaration(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Finance extended the deadline for submitting the annual tax declaration from the end of April and the end of June to August 31, 2020
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Allocated funds for tax deferrals(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Finance allocated EUR 10 billion for tax deferrals.
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Allocated funds for guarantees and liabilities(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Finance allocated EUR 9 billion for guarantees and liabilities
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Provided loans to businesses(...)Announced15/03/2020Policy details
No further details are recorded for this policy. Refer to the citations below for more information.
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Reduced tax pre-payments for people who lose income due to COVID-19(...)Announced14/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Finance allowed taxable persons who suffer from a loss of income due to the SARS-CoV virus to submit an application to reduce income or make corporate tax prepayments for the calendar year, without additional interest.
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Deferred some tax payments(...)Announced14/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Finance allowed taxpayers to request from their tax office a deferral of certain tax payments or payment in installments, without additional interest or fees.
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Allocated funding for emergency aid(...)Announced14/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Finance allocated EUR 4 billion for emergency aid.
Brazil
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Reduced risk-weighting factor for credit operations with small and medium sized businesses(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil reduced the Risk Weighting Factor (FPR) applicable to credit operations with small and medium-sized companies from 100% to 85% from March 16, 2020 to December 31, 2020.
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Extended deadline for payment of taxes(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
The Management Committee of Simples Nacional Extended the deadline for payment of taxes within the scope of Simples Nacional. For Individual Microentrepreneurs (MEI), all taxes calculated in the DAS-MEI Generating Program, that is, federal (INSS), state (ICMS) and municipal (ISS) taxes are extended for 6 months. For others they have 3 months for state (ICMS) and municipal (ISS) taxes and 6 months for federal (INSS).
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Relaxed deadlines for holding certain company meetings(...)Announced31/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy authorised corporations, limited and cooperatives to carry out the ordinary general meetings or partners up to seven months after the end of the year.
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Provided loans to small and medium sized companies for payroll costs(...)Announced30/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil announced a BRL 40 billion emergency credit line in order to support the payroll costs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises' (SME). The financing will be released in two tranches of BRL 20 billion, small and medium-sized companies (SME) — will have access, for two months, to an emergency payroll financing line.
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Exempted banks from making additional provisions for performing loans refinanced in next six months(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil exempted banks from making additional provisions for performing loans that are refinanced during the next six months.
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Temporarily suspended collection of tax debts(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy Attorney General's Office of the National Treasury (PGFN) determined the suspension of the acts of collection for the next 90 days.
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Transferred funds to the severence indemnity fund(...)Announced22/03/2020Policy details
The Brazil's National Bank of Economic and Social Development transferred resources from the PIS-PASEP Fund to the Guarantee Fund for Length of Service (FGTS), a severence indemnity fund, in the amount of R $ 20 billion.
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Temporarily suspended payments of installments of financing to companies(...)Announced22/03/2020Policy details
The Brazil's National Bank of Economic and Social Development temporarily suspended of payments of installments of direct financing to companies in the amount of R $ 19 billion and temporary suspension of payments of installments of indirect financing to companies in the amount of R $ 11 billion.
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Extended loans to micro, small and medium sized businesses(...)Announced22/03/2020Policy details
The Brazil's National Bank of Economic and Social Development expanded credit to micro, small and medium-sized companies (MSMEs), through partner banks, in the amount of R $ 5 billion.
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Provided working capital loans to businesses(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy provided companies with annual gross sales of up to R $ 10 million now have a credit line with resources of R $ 1 billion from the Workers' Assistance Fund (FAT), aimed at financing working capital. The financing terms will be up to 48 months.
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Provided part payment of workers wages(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy established the anti-unemployment program, funded from the Worker Support Fund (FAT), where people who receive up to two minimum wages and have reduced wages and working hours will have access to an advance of 25% of what they would be entitled to monthly, if they applied for unemployment insurance. The anti-unemployment program will pay workers an amount ranging from R $ 261.25 to R $ 381.22.
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Allowed for temporary suspension of collection of tax debts(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy authorized the Attorney General of the National Treasury (PGFN) to adopt a set of measures to suspend collection acts and facilitate renegotiation.
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Provided funds to public banks for working capital loans to small and medium sized businesses(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy released R $ 5 billion by the Income Generation Program (Proger), maintained with resources from the Workers' Support Fund (FAT). The amount will be passed on to public banks so that they grant loans aimed at working capital of micro and small companies.
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Reduced certain payment contributions required of employers(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy postponed, for three months, the period that companies have to pay Severance Pay Fund (FGTS) and also the part referring to the portion of the Union in Simples Nacional. During this three-month period, contributions due to System S will be reduced by 50%.
Canada
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Established facility to provide bridge financing to large employers(...)Announced11/05/2020Policy details
The Canadian government established the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) to provide bridge financing to Canada’s largest employers so they can keep their operations running.
This measure is intended to help protect Canadian jobs, help Canada businesses weather the current economic downturn, and avoid bankruptcies of otherwise viable firms where possible.
The government’s support for large companies through LEEFF will be delivered by the Canada Development Investment Corporation (CDEV), in cooperation with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and the Department of Finance.
The LEEFF program will be open to large for-profit businesses – with the exception of those in the financial sector – as well as certain not-for-profit businesses, such as airports, with annual revenues generally in the order of $300 million or higher.
To qualify for LEEFF support, eligible businesses must be seeking financing of about $60 million or more, have significant operations or workforce in Canada, and not be involved in active insolvency proceedings.
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Established an Industry Strategy Council(...)Announced08/05/2020Policy details
The Canadian government established an Industry Strategy Council, intended to serve as an advisory board to assess the scope and depth of COVID-19’s impact on industries and inform government understanding of specific sectoral pressures.
The Council will be chaired by Monique Leroux – a business leader with a career in Canadian finance, and comprise senior business leaders from throughout Canada.
The Council aims to build on Canada’s partnerships between government and industry, notably the Economic Strategy Tables, to support Canadians and their jobs. Over the next 90 days, the Council will meet regularly to identify and understand sectoral pressures that are common across the industries.
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Provided assistance to fish and seafood processing sector(...)Announced25/04/2020Policy details
The Canadian government announced $62.5 million in assistance to the fish and seafood processing sector.
The recently established Canadian Seafood Stabilization Fund is intended to help businesses access short-term financing, add storage capacity for unsold product, comply with new health and safety measures for workers, support new manufacturing/automated technologies, and adapt products to response to changing requirements and new market demands.
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Provided rent relief to small businesses(...)Announced24/04/2020Policy details
The Canadian government announced the establishment of the Canada Emergency Rent Assistance (CECRA) in partnership with provinces and territories. This program is intended to lower rent by 75 percent for small businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19.
The program will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50 percent of three monthly rent payments that are payable by eligible small business tenants who are experiencing financial hardship during April, May and June 2020.
The loans will be forgiven if the mortgages property owner agrees to reduce the eligible small business tenants’ rent by at least 75 percent for three corresponding months under a rent forgiveness agreement, which will include a term not to evict the tenant while the agreement is in place. The small business tenant would cover the remainder, up to 25 per cent of the rent.
Impacted small business tenants include businesses paying less than $50,000 per month in rent, and who have temporarily ceased operations or have experienced at least a 70 per cent drop in pre-COVID-19 revenues. This support will also be available to non-profit and charitable organizations.
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Provided funding to Indigenous businesses and Aboriginal Financial Institutions(...)Announced18/04/2020Policy details
The Canadian Government announced up to CA$306.8 million in funding to small and medium-sized Indigenous businesses and to support Aboriginal Financial Institutions that offer businesses financing.
The funding allows for Aboriginal Financial Institutions to offer short-term, interest free loans and non-repayable contributions. The Aboriginal Financial Institutions offer financing and business support to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis businesses.
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Provided targeted support to certain businesses and sectors(...)Announced17/04/2020Policy details
The Canadian Government announced CA$1.7 billion in targeted support for businesses. The funding is aimed at job protection and business recovery.
CA$675 million in financing support is set aside for small and medium-sized businesses that are unable to access existing support measures
CA$287 million is set aside for rural businesses and communities, including providing access to capital through the Community Futures Network.
CA$500 million is set aside for to establish an Emergency Support Fund for Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organisations.
CA$250 million is set aside for assistance to innovative, early-stage companies unable to access existing business support.
CA$20.1 million is set aside for support to Futurpreneur Canada aimed at supporting young entrepreneurs.
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Waived ground lease rents to support the air transportation sector(...)Announced30/03/2020Policy details
The Canadian Government announced the waiving of ground lease rents from March 2020 through December 2020 for the 21 airport authorities that pay rent to the federal government.
The government will also provide comparable treatment for PortsToronto, which operates Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and pays a charge to the federal government. This support will help airports reduce cost pressures and preserve cash flow. This will provide relief of up to CA$331.4 million, based on 2018 payments.
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Deferred sales tax remittance and customs duty payments(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Canadian Government announced businesses, including self-employed individuals, can defer payments of the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) as well as custom duties owing on their imports until 30 June 2020. The measure is intended to reduce cash flow pressures on businesses.
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Established temporary wage subsidy program(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
The Canadian Government announced a temporary wage subsidy program to support households and businesses through the dire economic consequences of COVID-19.
Through this program, the Canadian Government will provide businesses and self-employed people with a wage subsidy of up to 75 percent for up to 3 months, retroactive to 15 March 2020. The wage subsidy applies to businesses that can prove a 30 percent decline in revenue.
As of 27 March 2020 the Canadian Government removed caps and expanded the program to include businesses of all sizes.
As of 8 May 2020, the Canadian Government announced the wage subsidy program will extend to beyond June.
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Extended deadline for businesses to pay taxes(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Canada Revenue Agency announced that businesses are allowed to defer, until after August 31 2020, income tax payments owing on or after March 18 2020 and before September 2020. This relief applies to tax balances due, as well as instalments, as defined in Part I of the Income Tax Act.
No interest or penalties will accumulate on these amounts during this period.
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Established a Business Credit Availability Program(...)Announced13/03/2020Policy details
The Canadian Government established a Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP) to help businesses obtain financing. The BCAP will support access to financing for Canadian businesses in all sectors and regions.
Through BCAP, Export Development Canada (EDC) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) will provide more than CA$65 billion in direct lending and other types of financial support at market rates to businesses with viable business models whose access to financing would otherwise be restricted. The program is intended to fill gaps in market access and leverage additional lending by private sector institutions.
As of 11 May 2020, the BCAP has been extended to include mid-sized companies with larger financing needs. Support for mid-market businesses will include loans of up to $60 million per company, and guarantees of up to $80 million.
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Extended the work-sharing program(...)Announced11/03/2020Policy details
The Canadian Government extended the maximum duration of the Canadian Work-Sharing program from 38 weeks to 76 weeks.
Work-Sharing (WS) is an adjustment program designed to help employers and employees avoid layoffs when there is a temporary reduction in the normal level of business activity beyond the control of the employer. The measure provides income support to employees eligible for Employment Insurance benefits who work a temporarily reduced work week while their employer recovers.
Work-Sharing is a three-party agreement involving employers, employees and Service Canada. Employees on a Work-Sharing agreement must agree to a reduced schedule of work and to share the available work over a specified period of time.
China
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Relaxed some job entry requirements(...)Announced21/04/2020Policy details
The Chinese Government will allow some people to begin new positions without having reeived the required certificates, which can be acquired later after examinations processes return to normal.
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Streamlined credit approval process for small businesses(...)Announced07/04/2020Policy details
The General Office of the State Administration of Taxation announced that banks would launch credit products suitable for small and micro enterprises.
These credit products are aimed at further optimising the credit approval process, increasing the speed of loan demand response and extending the duration of loans for small and micro enterprises so that they can have a better development.
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Waived value-added tax for small scale taxpayers in Hubei and reduced it for taxpayers in other regions(...)Announced28/02/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration announced it would waive value-added tax (VAT) for small-scale taxpayers in Hubei province and reduce VAT for small-scale taxpayers in other regions. The measure is effective from 1 March to 31 May 2020.
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Introduced temporary tax relief for businesses(...)Announced25/02/2020Policy details
Social Security Fees will be tax deductible for certain months during the epidemic prevention and control period. Medium and micro businesses will not pay social security fees for five months, and large businesses will pay half of the social security fees for three months.
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Guaranteed bank loans to small businesses(...)Announced14/02/2020Policy details
The Chinese Government will guarantee loans to small and micro businesses. The Government also introduced rules to simplify banks’ procedures for loans for small and micro businesses.
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Discounted loan interest rates for certain businesses(...)Announced07/02/2020Policy details
The Chinese Government discounted 50 percent of loan interest rates for certain businesses to ensure the actual financing cost of the enterprise falls below 1.6 percent and the discount period does not exceed one year.
The policy applies to enterprises that have special re-loan support of the People's Bank and to new contracts applied for during the epidemic prevention and control period.
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Introduced tax relief for the tourism, lodging, catering and transportation industries(...)Announced07/02/2020Policy details
The Chinese Government introduced tax incentives for the tourism, lodging, catering, and transportation industries.
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Guaranteed loans for entrepreneurs infected with COVID-19(...)Announced07/02/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Finance announced that a guarantee loan for entrepreneurs infected with COVID-19 will be extended for one year. Those entrepreneurs will also continue to be eligible for a discount of 50 percent of commercial interest rates charged to businesses.
Denmark
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Established loan guarantee scheme for businesses(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Danish government established a guarantee scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises and large companies affected by COVID-19.
The government will provide a guarantee of 70 percent for new bank loans to companies which have lost or expect to lose at least 30 percent of revenues. The guarantee will be funded via the Vækstfonden (state investment fund).
The government will contribute at least kr. 25 billion to the scheme, and can thus facilitate loans of up to kr. 35.7 billion.
The scheme is valid until 1 October 2020 and also applies to Faroese and Greenlandic companies.
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Established compensation scheme for corporate fixed expenses(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Danish government will compensate companies for between 25 and 80 percent of fixed costs that companies no longer have earnings to cover.
The measure is intended to relieve pressure on companies whose fixed costs threaten their solvency. The compensation scheme will be accessible to businesses across all industries, but is targeted at companies with a large drop in domestic turnover.
Compensation is limited to fixed expenses and covers up to three months.
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Established temporary compensation scheme for self-employed people(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Danish government will compensate self-employed persons and small businesses who experience more than a 30 percent decline in turnover as a consequence of COVID-19.
Self-employed persons or small businesses with fewer than 10 full-time employees can receive compensation for three months from 9 March until 9 June 2020.
Compensation will cover up to 75 percent of lost revenue up to a maximum of kr. 23,000 per month. Compensation may amount to up to kr. 34,500 per month.
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Postponed company tax and VAT payment deadlines(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Danish government provided an additional 30 days to pay VAT for large companies, who are ordinarily required to pay VAT monthly.
All companies will be granted four additional months to pay their labor contributions, known as ‘a-taxes’.
The tax amendments are intended to ease cash flow pressures on Danish businesses.
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Increased ceiling on businesses’ tax accounts(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Danish government increased the ceiling on businesses’ tax accounts, raising the limit from kr. 200,000 to kr. 10 million until the end of November.
This ensures that companies will not have to pay negative interest rates when placing cash in the bank. This measure is intended to maximise the returns on companies’ deposits in Danish banks.
France
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Prohibited penalties or disconnection of utilities for small businesses as a result of failure to pay bills(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
In order to avoid bankruptcies, the French government outlawed the cessation of electricity or water to small businesses during the quarantine period.
Businesses could also request that the government cover the charges for these utilities accrued during the relevant time period. Additionally, the ordinance prohibited fines or penalties on small businesses for failure to pay rent.
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Created a solidarity fund for companies particularly affected(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The French Government established a solidarity fund which will pay aid to companies particularly affected by the economic, financial and social consequences of the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
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Deferred taxes and social security payments for businesses(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The French Government postponed collection of businesses’ taxes and social security payments. The announcement, the Government estimated that postponing these payments would be equivalent to injecting €45 billion into the nation’s businesses and economy.
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Guaranteed loans to businesses(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The French government guaranteed up to €300 billion in bank loans to French businesses. In addition to preventing bankruptcy, the ordinance also aims to allow companies to pay their employees while being closed or only operating partially.
Germany
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Allowed extended deadlines for wage tax registrations(...)Announced23/04/2020Policy details
The German Government allowed employers to extend the deadlines for submitting monthly or quarterly wage tax registrations if they themselves or the person responsible for wage accounting and wage tax registration are demonstrably prevented through no fault of their own from submitting the wage tax registrations on time. The extension of the deadline may not exceed two months.
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Set up contact points for companies affected by international supply chain disruptions(...)Announced15/04/2020Policy details
The German Government together with the state ministries of economics are setting up contact points for companies affected by disruption of international supply chains. At the political level, these should help to ensure that the production and delivery of required supplier products can be resumed smoothly wherever possible.
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Relaxed regulations on investment funds(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The German Government announced that passive violations of limits of investment funds between 1 March 2020 and 30 April 2020 will not be considered a material breach of the laws regulating investment funds. The decision was made in light of the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Introduced tax measures to promote donations for aid(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The German Government introduced various tax measures to encourage aid for those affected by the coronavirus crisis.
The tax measures simplify various administrative requirements such as the collection of donations, usage of donation, sponsoring, financial support amongst business partners and others, to provide flexibility in supporting support efforts.
The measures will be backdated to 1 March 2020 and continue to 31 December 2020.
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Allowed tax-free support payments from employers to employees(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The German Government allowed employers to grant their employees aid and support up to an amount of 1,500 euros tax-free in the form of grants or benefits in kind.
The tax relief is applicable to payments between 1 March and 31 December 2020. The grants must be paid in addition to the salary that is owed in any case.
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Guaranteed loans to small to medium sized businesses(...)Announced06/04/2020Policy details
The German Government introduced an additional loan programme for small and medium sized enterprises.
Businesses can get immediate loans of up to to three months' turnover, up to a maximum of €500,000 for businesses with up to 50 employees and €800,000 for businesses with more than 50 employees. The loan will be at an interest rate of 3% with a term of 10 years.
To qualify for a loan, Businesses must have more than 10 employees, been in business since 1 January 2019, made a profit in 2019 or on average over the last three years, and been in a sound financial state 31 December 2019.
The loans are provided by private banks under a 100 percent indemnity from the Federal Government. Provided the criteria are met, a loan will be made without further credit risk assessment.
The loan programme is based on the Temporary Framework published by the European Union Commission on 3 April 2020.
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Funded business advice for small to medium businesses(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
The German Government funded consulting services for small and medium enterprises, including freelancers, affected by COVID-19. Consulting services of €4,000 are available until the end of 2020.
The policy is intended to assist businesses to develop measures to limit the economic consequences of the corona crisis and to regain their competitiveness.
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Increased capital funding for start-ups and small to medium businesses(...)Announced01/04/2020Policy details
The German Government provided an additional €2 billion financial support for start-ups, early stage technology companies and small and medium sized businesses. The money will be used to expand venture capital financing so that funding rounds for German start-ups can continue.
Public venture capital investors will be provided with additional public funds in the short term, which can be used for start-up funding rounds. Fund of funds investors — KfW Capital and the European Investment Fund — will be provided public funds to buy shares from defaulting fund investors.
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Provided emergency aid for self-employed people, freelancers and small businesses(...)Announced31/03/2020Policy details
The German Government provided special support measures with a volume up to 50 billion euros for small enterprises, self-employed persons and freelancers who are in difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
The policy is intended to provide quick assistance to businesses which have little collateral or additional income.
Qualifying businesses receive a one-off payment for three months of up to 9,000 euros for companies with up to five employees/full-time equivalents, or up to 15,000 euros (for companies with up to ten employees/full-time equivalents).
The one-off payments do not have to be repaid. The payments are intended to secure the economic existence of the applicants and to bridge acute liquidity bottlenecks due to ongoing operating costs, e.g. rents and leases, loans for business premises or leasing instalments.
The emergency aid also applies to farmers and farms with agricultural production with up to 10 employees.
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Provided promotional loans and liquidity support for founders and small and medium-sized enterprises(...)Announced30/03/2020Policy details
In Germany, in response to the dynamic spread of the coronavirus and the associated economic consequences, founders and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are supported on state level. The different state banks are providing various measures on a regional level to support established companies with liquidity bottlenecks caused by the effects of the Corona pandemic. Depending on the different state banks, promotional loans and liquidity support are for founders are being granted for 3 up to 7 years since founding.
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Continued granting export credit guarantees(...)Announced30/03/2020Policy details
The German Government continues to grant export credit guarantees (so-called Hermes Cover) for exports to COVID-19 risk areas.
The package of measures is a comprehensive aid program and is intended to help protect employees and companies from the negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It comprises a number of financing and insurance instruments, including the Federal Export Credit Guarantees.
Federal Export Credit Guarantees continue to be available to cover export transactions and financing, insuring exporters and banks against economically and politically induced bad debt losses on the basis of a comprehensive budgetary authorisation.
In the event that there is an additional need for export cover, the Federal Government can extend this authorisation quickly. This means that sufficient funds are also available in the area of Federal export credit guarantees to provide effective protection for exporters and banks.
Additionally, export transactions on short payment terms (up to 24 months) can now also be covered by official export credit guarantees of the Federal Government within the EU and in certain OECD countries. In particular, this enables possible bottlenecks in the private export credit insurance market to be absorbed. Besides the EU, the beneficiary countries are Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, the USA and the United Kingdom.
The extended cover facilities are initially limited until 31 December 2020. This is made possible by a decision of the European Commission on 23 March 2020 to amend the provisions of the so-called Short Term Communication. This temporarily removes the list of marketable risks, i.e. the countries for which cover by official export credit guarantees is not normally permitted.
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Provided partial guarantees for loans to businesses(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The German Government, through the development bank KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau), is providing partial guarantees for loans to businesses.
The policy is intended to improve access to credit to support companies through short-term liquidity problems caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
While credit applications are handled by retail banks, KfW takes on up to 80 percent of credit risk for large companies and up to 90 percent of credit risks for small companies. In addition, interest rates were further reduced and application processes simplified. For example, there is no risk assessment by KfW for all credit applications up to €3 million and only a basic risk assessment for credit applications up to €10 million. All companies that are in financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 crisis are eligible for these credits.
KfW also now participates in syndicated financing for investments and working capital of medium-sized and large enterprises. Here, KfW assumes up to 80 percent of the risk, but no more than 50 percent of the total debt, to increase chances of obtaining individually structured and tailor-made syndicated financing.
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Introduced a fund to stabilise economic activity(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The German Government launched a large-volume economic stabilisation fund with a value of up to 600 billion euros.
The fund is intended to cushion the economic impact of the pandemic on companies whose existence is of considerable importance for Germany as a business location or for the labour market. It is also intended to eliminate liquidity bottlenecks, support refinancing on the capital market and strengthen the capital base of companies.
The fund consists of 400 billion euro in government guarantees for liabilities, EUR 100 billion for direct state participation and EUR 100 billion for refinancing by the development bank KfW.
The fund's support options also apply to systemically important smaller companies and companies in the critical infrastructure sector as well as start-ups that have been valued by private investors in at least one completed financing round since 1 January 2017 with an enterprise value of at least EUR 50 million, including the capital raised through this round.
The fund may also invest directly in companies for a limited period of time. The aim here is also to prevent a sell-off of German economic and industrial interests. This policy is modelled on SoFFin, the Special Fund for Financial Market Stabilization, which was established to respond to the global financial crisis.
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Allowed consumers and debtors to freeze payments(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The German Government allowed debtors who are unable to fulfil their contractual obligations because of the COVID 19 pandemic to refuse or discontinue those obligations for the time being, without any legal consequences for them.
This right of refusal applies to consumers and micro-enterprises which, because of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, are currently unable to satisfy claims relating to contracts with ongoing obligations that were signed before 8 March 2020.
The right of refusal lasts until 30 June 2020. This ensures that consumers and micro-enterprises are not cut off from basic services (electricity, gas, telecommunications, and, where regulated by civil law, also water) because they cannot meet their payment obligations due to the crisis.
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Simplified regulations for public procurement(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
In Germany, the regulations for public procurement were simplified by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) in order to allow fast access to resources.
The policy is intended to allow faster access to resources for hospitals, doctors and all administrative units, institutions and people working to manage the pandemic.
In the case of urgent awards both above and below the EU thresholds, no contract notice need be published. Companies can be contacted directly by phone or e-mail and offers can be requested.
The actual time limits for tenders can be kept short. In particular, urgently needed medical supplies such as disinfectants, disposable gloves, masks, protective equipment and medical devices can be purchased immediately. The same applies to services to maintain the working capacity of the public administration, for example when higher IT capacities have to be created at very short notice.
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Limited the rights of landlords to terminate commercial leases(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The German Government limited the right of landlords to terminate rental and lease agreements due to payment arrears. This restriction applies to cases where the arrears are due to the effects of the Corona pandemic.
Arrears of payment from the period 1 April to 30 June 2020 do not entitle the landlord — for a period of 24 months — to terminate the lease. Only if the tenant or lessee has not paid the arrears after 30 June 2022 can the lease be terminated. The obligation of the tenant or leaseholder to pay on time will continue to apply during this period.
The regulations are designed to prevent tenants or leaseholders of commercial premises and land from losing the basis of their employment as a result of temporary loss of income due to the Corona pandemic.
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Relaxed regulatory requirements for various legal entities(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The German Government updated the regulatory rules for various legal entities to ensure continuous operation during COVID-19.
These include the option to hold a fully virtual general meeting without the physical presence of shareholders, allowing shareholders to participate or vote electronically at an attendance meeting without being authorized to do so by the Articles of Association, convene an Annual General Meeting with a shortened period of notice (21 instead of 30 days) and others.
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Allowed deferral of tax payments(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The German Government allowed taxpayers who are significantly affected by the COVID-19 epidemic to submit applications until 31 December 2020 for deferral of taxes already due or becoming due by this date.
Taxpayers will not have to prove the value of the damage incurred in detail. No strict requirements will be set when reviewing the conditions for deferral. The charging of interest on deferral will generally be waived.
Companies, self-employed persons and freelancers can also have the amount of their advance payments adjusted for income and corporation tax.
In addition, no enforcement measures shall be taken until 31 December 2020 for all taxes in arrears or due up to this date and late payment surcharges for taxes forfeited in the period from the date of publication of this letter until 31 December 2020 shall be waived as of 31 December 2020.
India
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Subsidised wages for employees in small businesses(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Government of India announced a scheme to subsidise the wages of employees earning below Rs 15,000 per month in businesses having less than 100 workers and who are at risk of losing their employment.
The government will pay 24 percent of the workers’ monthly wages into their PF accounts for three months.
This measure is aimed at preventing disruption in employment.
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Extended tax return deadlines for businesses(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Government of India extended tax return timeframes for businesses.
Those with an aggregate annual turnover less than Rs. 5 Crore Last date can file GSTR-3B due in March, April and May 2020 by the last week of June 2020. No interest, late fee or penalty will be charged.
Others can file returns due in March, April and May 2020 by the last week of June 2020 but will incur a reduced rate of interest 9 percent per annum from five days after the due date. No late fee and penalty will be charged if paid by 30 June 2020.
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Reduced bank fees(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Government of India reduced or removed various bank fees.
Debit cardholders can withdraw cash for free from any other banks’ ATM for three months.
The minimum balance fee will be waived.
Bank charges for digital trade transactions for all trade finance consumers will be reduced.
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Relaxed customs requirements(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Government of India relaxed various customs requirements.
There will be 24/7 custom clearance until the end of June.
The time limit for any compliance under the Customs Act and other statutes where the time limit expires between 20 March and 29 June is extended to 30 June 2020.
Ireland
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Increased funding for working capital loans(...)Announced08/04/2020Policy details
The Irish Government increased funding for working capital loans to businesses. The government will provide €250 million in addition to the €200 million announced on 19 March 2020.
The working capital loans are provided through Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland Working Capital scheme and intended to ensure business liquidity. The loans will be available through AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank.
Businesses can obtain loans of up to €1.5 million with the first €500,000 unsecured, at a maximum interest rate of 4 per cent. Loan terms range from one year to three years and interest-only repayments may be available at the start of the loans.
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Provided funding for long term loans to businesses(...)Announced08/04/2020Policy details
The Irish Government provided €200 million in COVID-19 funding for long term loans to businesses, through its Future Growth Loan Scheme which has been operating since June 2019.
Businesses will be able to obtain loans of between €100,000 and €3 million for terms from 8 to 10 years with a maximum interest rate of 4.5 per cent. Loans of up to €500,000 can be unsecured. Interest-only repayments may be available at the start of the loans.
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Increased funding for vouchers to assist businesses to trade online(...)Announced08/04/2020Policy details
The Irish Government has increased funding for its Trading Online Voucher Scheme, which allows businesses to obtain a grant of €2,500 to cover 90 percent of the cost of an online initiative for the business.
Businesses will be allowed to apply for a second voucher of up to €2,500 where they have successfully used their first voucher. The voucher can be used for adding payment facilities, booking systems, developing new apps for customers, or subscriptions to low-cost online retailing platform solutions.
An additional €3.3 million is being provided to the scheme.
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Provided grants to assist companies improve online presence(...)Announced08/04/2020Policy details
The irish Government established grants to improve online retail capabilities of companies.
Companies with more than ten employees and an existing online presence can apply for grants of between €10,000 and €40,000 to fund up to 80 percent of a project to improve their online capability.
The government has provided €2 million for the scheme.
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Provided repayable advances to manufacturing and internationally traded services businesses(...)Announced08/04/2020Policy details
The Irish Government provided €180 million for repayable advances of up to €800,000 to businesses operating in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors. The government calls the scheme the Sustaining Enterprise Fund.
The scheme is intended to support companies that have been impacted by COVID-19 and are vulnerable but viable. It is open to companies with 10 or more employees.
Applicants must provide a Business Sustainment Project Plan outlining the eventual stabilisation of the business and a return to viability. The grants will only be repayable if and when a business returns to financial good health.
The fund will be operated by Enterprise Ireland. The fund is intended as an alternative source of credit after a company has exhausted other credit options.
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Established a wage subsidy(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Irish Government created a temporary wage subsidy that will be available to employers who keep employees on payroll throughout the pandemic.
The policy is intended to preserve links between employers and employees for when business picks up after the crisis. It is part of the government’s €6.3 billion stimulus package.
The subsidy scheme will refund employers up to a maximum of €410 per each qualifying employee. Employers should pay no more than the normal weekly net pay of the employee. Employers make this payment to their employees through their normal payroll process.
Employers will then be reimbursed for amounts paid to employees and notified to Revenue via the payroll process.
In April, the scheme will move to a subsidy payment based on up to 70 percent of the normal net weekly pay for each employee to a maximum of €410.
To be eligible for the scheme the business must be experiencing significant negative economic disruption due to Covid-19, be able to demonstrate at least a 25 percent decline in turnover, be unable to pay normal wages and normal outgoings fully and retain their employees on the payroll.
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Deferred local authority rates on businesses(...)Announced20/03/2020Policy details
The Irish Government agreed with local authorities that commercial rates would be deferred for three months for businesses most immediately impacted by COVID-19, such as businesses in the retail, hospitality, leisure and childcare sectors.
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Provided vouchers for consultancy services for small and medium businesses(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Irish Government provided a €2,500 Business Continuity Voucher for businesses that employ up to 50 people.
Businesses can use the voucher to obtain third party consultancy services to assist in developing short-term and long-term strategies to respond to the pandemic.
The voucher is available through Local Enterprise Offices.
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Worked with banks to provide debt payment holidays(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Irish Government and Central Bank of Ireland consulted with the 5 retail banks (AIB, Bank of Ireland, KBC, Permanent tsb and Ulster Bank), along with their representative body Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), to prepare a series of measures to support personal customers and businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
There will be a payment break of up to three months for businesses and personal customers.
Flexibility will be afforded to bank customers with buy-to-let properties that have tenants impacted by COVID-19. These landlords can seek a mortgage payment break of up to three months which they can pass on to their tenants.
A simplified application process will be implemented to make it easy for businesses and personal customers to get support from their bank.
COVID-19 applications for a payment break will not affect credit ratings. The Central Bank will discuss the details of this with the Central Bank of Ireland
Court proceedings will be deferred for 3 months.
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Relaxed tax compliance requirements for small and medium enterprises(...)Announced13/03/2020Policy details
The Irish Government relaxed a number of tax compliance obligations for small and medium enterprises.
The application of interest on late payments will be suspended for January and February value added tax and both February and March employers PAYE liabilities.
All debt enforcement activity is suspended until further notice. Current tax clearance status will remain in place for all businesses over the coming months.
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Delayed redundancy claims of recently laid off employees(...)Announced13/03/2020Policy details
The Irish Government delayed redundancy claims for those temporarily laid off, or temporarily put on short-time work.
Ordinarily, an employee who is laid off or put on short-time hours can claim redundancy payments from the employer.
Workers will not be able to claim redundancy during the emergency period if you were laid off or put on short-time work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergency period set out in legislation is 13 March 2020 to 31 May 2020. This period may be extended.
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Provided funding for working capital loans for businesses(...)Announced10/03/2020Policy details
The Irish Government provided €200 million worth of loans for businesses through the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland Working Capital scheme. Businesses can obtain loans of up to €1.5 million with the first €500,000 unsecured.
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Increased microfinance lending to small businesses(...)Announced10/03/2020Policy details
The Irish Government increased the maximum microfinance loans available from Microfinance Ireland from €25,000 to €50,000.
The loans are available to sole traders and firms with up to nine employees with turnover of less than €2 million, and for which 15 percent of actual or projected turnover or profit is negatively impacted by COVID-19.
On 21 March, the government announced that businesses can opt for the first six months to pay 0 percent interest and make no repayments. The loan would then be repaid over the remaining 30 months of the 36-month period.
The interest rates on the loans have been reduced from 7.8 percent to 4.5 percent for those applying through Local Enterprise Offices or Local Development Committees, and 5.5 percent for direct applications.
The government has provided Microfinance Irelands with an additional €13 million in capital support.
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Repurposed credit guarantee scheme(...)Announced10/03/2020Policy details
The Irish Government repurposed its existing SME Credit Guarantee Scheme to assist small and medium business to obtain working capital to respond to COVID-19. The scheme can be used by businesses to obtain loans to support business changes in response to Covid-19.
Under the scheme, the government guarantees 80 percent of bank lending to qualifying small and medium businesses. Loans of up to €1 million will be available at terms of up to seven years with the possibility of a three to six month interest only payment period.
The scheme is operated by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland and is available from participating banks.
Nepal
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Provided interest subsidies and rescheduled loan payments for individuals and businesses(...)Announced29/03/2020Policy details
The Nepal Rastra Bank, which is the central bank of Nepal, will provide an interest subsidy for lenders and reschedule loan payments for businesses whose incomes have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This measure is intended to reduce the economic impact of COVID-19.
Netherlands
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Increased funding for free business coaching(...)Announced11/05/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has allocated additional funding to support free professional coaching for small businesses during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Stichting Ondernemersklankbord (OKB) is an organization providing expert coaching to small businesses from former entrepreneurs. This usually takes the form of 6-month programs, in which businesses can make unlimited use of the expertise from OKB.
The Government has increased the subsidy to OKB for this year by €240,000, to allow free coaching to businesses heavily impacted by COVID-19 measures (e.g. if they are in danger of going bankrupt). Previously, businesses had to pay a personal contribution of 150 euros for this. OKB assits more than 1,000 entrepreneurs every year, and is estimated to help over half of them restore their businesses.
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Allocated additional funding for companies to secure small loans(...)Announced08/05/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has allocated an additional €750 million towards a new Small Credit Corona Guarantee Scheme (KKC), which aims to support banks and other accredited lenders in providing loans to companies with small financing needs (from €10,000 to 50,000).
Under the scheme, 95% of loans provided will be guaranteed by the Government (totalling €713 million). The loans will also have an interest rate of up to 4%. Approval by the European Commission is required before the scheme can officially enter into force.
It is expected that tens of thousands of companies will take advantage of the new scheme.
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Provided advance payment to local authorities for support scheme for entrepreneurs(...)Announced08/05/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has provided a third advance payment totalling €550 million to local authorities, towards implementing its Temporary Bridging Scheme for Self-employed Entrepreneurs (Tozo).
The Government has allocated €3.8 billion to fund the scheme, and to date has provided € 2.0 billion in advance to local authorities to implement the scheme. Reviews are being done every three weeks to determine whether additional advance payments are necessary based on the number of applications being submitted under the scheme.
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Provided tax relief to residents in the Caribbean Netherlands(...)Announced05/05/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has allocated €7.8 million of tax relief to the Caribbean Netherlands to help reduce the cost of living for residents.
All households and businesses will be able to recieve reductions to their utility bills including electricity, drinking water and internet from 1 May to December 2020. This amounts to around USD$44-60 in tax relief per month for households and companies in the Caribbean Netherlands.
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Extended economic support for businesses(...)Announced28/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has further extended its economic support package for businesses impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.
This includes easing the application criteria for its SME Credit Guarantee (BMKB) scheme, which helps small-to-medium businesses secure loans from banks and other lenders. It has also extended the loan terms under the scheme to four years giving businesses more time to repay it. The extensions are in addition to the increased budget of €1.5 billion allocated to the scheme in early April.
The Government has also extended its SEED Capital scheme and increased the annual budget from €22 million to €32 million. The scheme helps provide small, innovative tech start-ups the ability to obtain venture capital from investment funds.
Additionally, people eligible to claim compensation under the Allowance for Entrepreneurs Affected Sectors (TOGS) scheme for their secondary business activity, but could not do so due to their main business falling outside of the approved sectors for the scheme, can now do so. To date, a quarter of the Dutch business community have recieved the €4,000 one-off payment under the scheme.
The European Commission also recently approved the Government's increased guarantee ceiling of its Business Loan Guarantee or GO (Garantie Ondernemingsfinanciering) scheme to €10 billion, giving the green light for businesses to get bigger loans from lenders.
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Relaxed eligibility criteria for income support for self-employed professionals(...)Announced24/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has extended the category of self-employed professionals eligible to apply for its 'Temporary Bridging Scheme for Independent Entrepreneurs' (Tozo). Those who live in the Netherlands, but have businesses established in another European Union (EU) country can now apply for income support under the Tozo scheme.
Those who live elsewhere in the EU, but have businesses in the Netherlands, as well as self-employeed professionals eligible for state pensions, can now apply for low-interest business loans under the scheme. Applications are open until 31 May 2020.
The Tozo scheme is aimed at compensating self-employed professionals who expect to earn less than the minimum wage (for the period 1 March to 31 August 2020) as a result of COVID-19. Those who are married or codependent can recieve €1500 net a month for a maximum of three months, while those who are single can get €1050. Those facing cash-flow problems can also request a three year loan of up to €10,517 at an interest rate of 2 percent, with repayments from January 2021.
The government has allocated €3.8 billion to fund the scheme and is providing local authorities €250 million in advance to enable its implementation.
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Launched online platform to help people find work in much high need sectors(...)Announced23/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has launched an online platform (www.NLwerktdoor.nl) to help match employers with people who have become unemployed as a result of COVID-19. The platform is a collaborative effort with employer organisations, unions, education centres and local government authorities, and has recieved 20,000 registrations already.
The online platform has been established to address difficulties businesses are facing to recruit additional personnel, particularly in healthcare, logistics, agriculture and horticulture sectors. At the same time, the platform seeks to provide assistance to people who cannot find employment, despite being capable and willing to work. At the end of March, a total of 250,000 people registered for the unemployment benefit, an increase of 10,000 compared to February.
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Provided one-off compensation for entrepreneurs in the Caribbean Netherlands(...)Announced23/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has announced a one-off compensation scheme for entrepreneurs operating in the Caribbean Netherlands, who are affected by the COVID-19 measures.
Entrepreneurs on the islands of Bonaire, Saba or Sint Eustatius, can recieve a one-off payment of $4400 if they expect to lose at least $4400 in sales (for the period 13 March to 12 June 2020), and have at least $4400 in fixed expenses during the same period.
Fixed expenses include, for example, costs for commercial premises, insurance and financing, but do not include taxes, employer contributions and wage costs.
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Relaxed eligibility criteria for wage subsidy(...)Announced22/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has eased the criteria for businesses applying for its 'Temporary Emergency Bridging Measure for Sustained Employment' or NOW (Noodfonds Overbrugging Werkgelegenheid) scheme. Previously, only businesses who expected to lose at least 20 percent or more in turnover from 1 March 2020, could apply for compensation under the scheme to help pay their employees’ wages for up to 6 months.
The Government is now allowing businesses who don't meet this criteria to also apply. This takes into account that some businesses have operating branches that have come to a complete or partial standstill due to the Corona crisis, but may not meet the 20 percent loss in turnover required to be eligible for the scheme.
Under the scheme, businesses can claim up to 90 percent of wages, depending on how much turnover they lose. However there are certain conditions that businesses must met, including additional audits, agreements with unions about job preservation, and refraining from paying dividends or bonuses, or repurchasing own shares for 2020.
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Increased funding for income support for self-employed professionals(...)Announced17/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has provided an additional €1.2 billion to local authorities to ensure implementation of its Temporary Bridging Scheme for Independent Entrepreneurs (Tozo).
The scheme is aimed at compensating self-employed professionals who expect to earn less than the minimum wage (currently €1,653.60 per month for people over the age of 21) over the next three months as a result of COVID-19.
The government has allocated €3.8 billion to fund the scheme. In late March 2020, local authorities recieved €250 million in advance from the Government to implement the Tozo scheme. The €1.2 billion is a second advance payment for local authorities towards the scheme.
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Extended loan repayments for startups(...)Announced08/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has eased measures for startups and other small businesses currently receiving funding under the Proof-of-concept (VFF) or Innovation credit (IK) schemes. Both schemes provide low-interest loans to small businesses.
Businesses under the VFF scheme can request a six month suspension on loan repayments and on pending interest from 1 April to 1 October 2020. Businesses under the IK scheme can also apply for an extension on repaying their loan.
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Extended investment guarantees for small to medium businesses(...)Announced08/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has extended its Growth Facility Scheme (Regeling Groeifaciliteit) until 1 July 2021.
The scheme provides investors who invest in small to medium enterprises a government guarantee that if they incur a loss on the investment, they can claim 50 percent of that loss. The term of the guarantee is a maximum of 12 years.
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Extended economic support package(...)Announced07/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has further increased support for businesses due to the economic impact of COVID-19. This includes increasing funding for its Business Loan Guarantee (GO) scheme and its SME Credit Guarantee (BMKB) scheme.
The government also expanded the category of jobs allowed to apply for a €4,000 one-off payment under its Allowance for Entrepreneurs Affected Sectors (TOGs) scheme.
The Government has allocated €100 million to help start-ups obtain loans, and €12 billion to provide insurance for companies that supply goods to small-to-medium enterprises (known as supplier credit).
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Provided funding for loans to startups(...)Announced07/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has allocated €100 million to help startups and other small innovative companies to get loans under the so-called Corona Bridging Loan (COL) scheme from 29 April 2020. This bridging loan is aimed to help start-ups, scale-ups and innovative SMEs with loans ranging from €50,000 to €2 million, at an interest rate of 3 percent. For loans above €250,000, shareholders or other investors are expected to co-finance 25 percent of the loan. Applications for loans under €500,000 are expected to be processed within four to nine working days, while those above €500,000, are likely to have decisions made within three working weeks.
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Provided funding for supplier insurance(...)Announced07/04/2020Policy details
The government has allocated €12 billion to provide insurance for suppliers of goods. Many shops and retailers are supplied goods on the basis of supplier credit, which is insurance taken out by the supplier in case payment is not made on the goods (businesses usually have 30 or 60 days to pay their products to the supplier).
Currently, insurers are facing increasing risks and may reduce or withdraw the insurance limits on companies, which could affect 75,000 companies. The new measure ensures suppliers with insurance for the full year so that trade can continue.
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Established a wage subsidy(...)Announced31/03/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government established a subsidy businesses pay employee wages under a new Temporary Emergency Bridging Measure for Sustained Employment or NOW (Noodfonds Overbrugging Werkgelegenheid) scheme.
Businesses who expect to lose at least 20 percent or more in turnover from 1 March 2020 or onwards can apply for compensation under the scheme to help pay their employees’ wages for up to 6 months. Businesses can claim up to 90 percent of wages, depending on how much turnover they lose.
The scheme replaces the Unemployment Benefit During Short-time Working (WTV or Werktijdverkorting), which was cancelled on 17 March 2020. People who already applied for the WTV permit, will automatically be considered under the new NOW scheme.
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Guaranteed loans for medium to large businesses(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has increased funding for its Business Loan Guarantee or GO (Garantie Ondernemingsfinanciering) scheme from €200 million to €1.5 billion, allowing medium to large businesses to temporarily get bigger loans from lenders.
Businesses can now borrow up to €150 million from lenders, with the government guaranteeing loans of up to €75 million (previously businesses could only borrow up to €50 million with the government guaranteeing loans up to €25 million). The government will guarantee 80 percent of loans for large businesses and 90 percent for smaller businesses.
On 7 April 2020, the Dutch Government further increased funding for the GO scheme by €10 billion.
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Compensated businesses affected by public health restrictions(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government is offering select businesses a one-off payment of €4,000 to compensate for the impact by COVID-19 measures on their business through its Allowance for Entrepreneurs Affected Sectors (TOGS) scheme.
The scheme includes businesses in retail, tourism, education, recreation, wellness and other services who have suffered damage due to forced closures, limitations to meetings and international travel restrictions.
Only specific businesses registered under a Standard Business Classification code are eligible for compensation under the TOGs scheme. On 7 April 2020, the Dutch Government has recently expanded the category of jobs allowed to apply for the one-off payment.
Businesses such as tattoo shops, taxi services, dentists, physiotherapists and food, beverage and cultural event suppliers and smaller food retailers can now apply for the one-off payment towards their business costs.
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Extended economic relief policies to the Caribbean Netherlands(...)Announced20/03/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has extended their economic relief package to the Caribbean Netherlands, inlcuding the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba.
The aim is to help local businesses impacted by COVID-19 measures such as bans on air travel, cruises and other tourism activities in the region.
Businesses in these regions are now able to get similar compensation offered to those in the Netherlands, including support for employee wages, self-employment compensation, government guaranteed loans and other financial relief measures.
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Relaxed restrictions on transport industry for delivery of essential goods(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has temporarily relaxed rules for the delivery of goods to essential sectors such as supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel stations, waste and garbage facilities.
The driving times for transporters have been increased to a maximum 11 hours per day, 60 hours per week, and 96 hours every two weeks.
The rules apply only to the delivery of food, agricultural, livestock, petroleum, cleaning, pharmaceutical and medicinal products (including medical devices), as well as waste and garbage.
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Relaxed certain business tax rules(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government announced a range of tax relief measures for businesses, including delaying income tax, corporate tax, sales tax or wage tax payments for three months or more.
The Government has also temporarily lowered the interest on tax debts (often imposed on businesses for not paying the correct tax or not paying tax on time) from 4 percent to 0.01 percent.
Businesses can also request a cut to their provisional tax (tax based on preliminary assessments of their income tax or corporate tax), meaning they can pay less tax.
These measures have been extended until 28 April 2020.
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Relaxed loan repayments for small businesses(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has set aside €6 million for microfinance company Qredits, to prevent Dutch entrepreneurs from having to repay their microcredit loans (up to $50,000) for a period of 6 months, as well as to reduce interests on loans to 2 percent during the same period.
Qredits provides small business loans to approximately 20,000 Dutch businesses. The government’s contribution is expected to help 3,000 to 6,000 small entrepreneurs.
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Guaranteed loans for small to medium businesses(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has extended their SME Credit Guarantee (BMKB) scheme to help small to medium businesses secure loans from banks and other lenders.
Under the scheme, 75 percent of the lending credit (loan) can be guaranteed by the government. This is intended to encourage financial providers, such as banks, to increase lending and businesses to borrow more money. The government estimates that this measure will provide €300 million of additional financing for small to medium businesses affected by COVID-19.
The scheme is available to businesses (including in the Dutch Caribbean—Bonaire, Saba or St. Eustatius) which have been established for over three years, with less than 250 employees, and an annual revenue of €50 million or a balance sheet total (total value of assets) of €43 million.
The Dutch Government reduced the interest rate for the BMKB scheme from 3.9 percent to 2 percent and increased the scheme’s budget from €765 million to €1.5 billion. It also allowed non-bank lenders to become accredited to finance their existing customers under the BMKB scheme.
New Zealand
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Provided funding for regional digital hubs(...)Announced05/05/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government provided NZ$2 million funding for the establishment of five new regional digital hubs, funded through the government's Provincial Growth Fund, in order to improve internet connectivity as part of the response to COVID-19.
The hubs are facilities with business support and development services, free wifi, coworking spaces and internet use training.
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Provided interest free loans to small businesses(...)Announced01/05/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government established an interest free loan scheme for small businesses.
The government will make loans to firms employing 50 people or fewer of $10,000, plus $1,800 per full-time employee up to a total of $100,000.
The loans will be interest free if paid back within a year. No repayments need to be made in the first two years. Interest will be charged at no more than 3 per cent for a maximum term of five years.
All firms will be able to get $10,000, and further amounts of $1,800 per full-time employee.
To qualify, a firm must declare its business is viable, that the loan will be used for core business operating costs, and enter a loan agreement.
The scheme will be administered by Inland Revenue and applications accepted from 12 May 2020.
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Established new employment services to assist people to find work(...)Announced28/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government established a range of new employment services to assist unemployed people to find work.
The services include an online recruitment tool, online courses and 35 new employment centres.
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Allowed businesses to carry back tax losses to refund tax paid in previous years(...)Announced15/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government has changed tax rules to allow businesses to carry losses back on year. This means many businesses will be able to access their previous tax payments as cash refunds.
Businesses expecting to make a loss in the 2019/20 or 2020/21 tax year will be able to estimate the loss and use it to offset profits in the past year.
The government can then refund some or all the tax already paid for the year the company was in profit, and businesses could in effect cash out losses in 2019/20 or 2020/21.
Without the change, firms would have to wait for a future profitable year to carry forward and take advantage of any loss.
The Governement estimates this change will cost NZ$3.1 billion over the next two years.
Legislation to enact the changes will be introduced on 27 April 2020 and will apply retrospectively.
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Provided funding for free business advisory services(...)Announced15/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government allocated NZ$25 million to fund free access to advice for businesses.
The Regional Business Partner Network will scale up its existing advisory services and existing helplines operated by the Employers and Manufacturers Association and the Canterbury Chamber of Employment and Commerce will be extended.
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Extended time for landlords to cancel commercial leases and mortagagees to exercise rights(...)Announced15/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government has extending the timeframes required before landlords can cancel leases and mortgagees can exercise their rights to sale or repossession. The measures are inteded to support stability in commercial property transactions and allow more time for breaches or defaults to be remedied.
The period in which a commercial landlord may cancel a lease is extended to 30 working days, up from 10 working days. The extension will apply to both the period the tenant is in arrears before the notice is given, and for the period to remedy the breach.
The government has extended the timeframes for mortgagees to exercise their rights to sale or repossession from 20 to 40 working days for mortgaged land, and from 10 to 20 working days for mortgaged goods.
The extension will apply to commercial mortgages and home loans, but the government expects most residential borrowers will be protected by the existing mortgage deferrals.
Legislation to enact the changes will be introduced on 27 April 2020 and will apply retrospectively.
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Gave tax authority power to modify due dates for tax payers(...)Announced15/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government announced it will give its tax authority, Inland Revenue, power to modify timeframes and procedural requirements for taxpayers impacted by COVID-19.
Inland Revenue could use the power to extend deadlines for filing tax returns and paying provisional and terminal tax. The power will be time-limited for a period of 18 months.
Legislation to enact the changes will be introduced on April 27 and will apply retrospectively.
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Allowed companies to carry forward tax losses despite change of ownership(...)Announced15/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government will change tax rules to allow companies to carry forward losses despite a substantial change in ownership.
Previously, if a company has more than a 51% change in ownership it cannot keep its tax losses. The government intends to change the law to allow losses to be carried forward if a business continues in the same or a similar way it did before ownership changed. This is the ‘same or similar business’ test, modelled on Australia’s rules.
The change is intended to improve access to capital for businesses because being able to carry forward losses makes the business more valuable to investors.
The government has made an in-principle decision to change the law to give taxpayers raising capital a level of certainty to undertake these transactions. Legislation will be introduced following consultation in the second half of 2020.
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Repurposed regional development subsidies(...)Announced08/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government began repurposing regional development subsidies, distributed through its Provincial Growth Fund, to focus on responding to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Priority will be given to projects which: redeploy displaced workers, first to horticulture and manufacturing and later to public works; national programmes that will support employment and community resilience long term, such as apprenticeship; generate job opportunities in the short term and support the rebuild of the economy beyond the recovery, particularly in the primary sector and manufacturing; and infrastructure investments under NZ$10 million that support employment in the short term and strengthen fundamental infrastructure in surge regions.
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Allowed companies to defer payment of debts(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government has created a process whereby any business affected by COVID-19 will be allowed to defer payment of debts for six months — a “business debt hibernation” — with the agreement of 50 percent of the business’s creditors.
The changes are intended to avoid premature or unnecessary insolvencies.
The legislation to give effect to the changes was introduced to Parliament on 5 May 2020.
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Provided 'safe harbour' for directors of insolvent companies(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government will change the law to provide directors of companies facing significant liquidity problems with a ‘safe harbour’ protection from their ordinary duties not to trade while insolvent.
The changes are intended to avoid premature insolvencies.
The legislation to give effect to the changes was introduced to Parliament on 5 May 2020.
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Relaxed legal obligations on companies(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government will temporarily change key legal obligations on companies and other entities.
Administrative changes will allow greater use of electronic signatures, extension of deadlines for regulatory filing obligations, and exemptions for entities which are unable to comply with their constitutions or rules because of public health restrictions.
The legislation to give effect to the changes was introduced to Parliament on 5 May 2020.
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Guaranteed bank loans to small to medium businesses(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government will partially guarantee loans to small and medium businesses.
Solvent firms with turnover of between NZ$250,000 and NZ$80 million will be eligible for loans of up to $500,000. Loans will be made by banks for up to three years.The New Zealand Government will carry 80 percent of the credit risk and banks will carry the remaining 20 percent. The business loans are expected to cost NZ$6.25 billion.
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Provided debt holiday to mortgage-holders and small to medium businesses(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government negotiated with retail banks to provide a six month principal and interest payment holiday for mortgage holders and small to medium business customers whose incomes have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Banks will publish details of the scheme once details have been finalised.
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Increased wage subsidy to businesses and self-employed people(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government will increase the coverage of the wage subsidy to businesses and self-employed people who are economically affected by COVID19.
When first announced, the subsidy was capped at NZ$150,000 per business. The cap was removed on 25 March 2020. The subsidy will be worth NZ$585.80 per week per full-time employee, and NZ$350 per week per part-time employee. The subsidy will be paid in a lump sum to cover a period of 12 weeks.
Businesses who receive the subsidy must undertake to keep employees in employment for the duration of the subsidy and make best efforts to pay them a minimum of 80 percent of their normal income.Where an employer is unable to pay 80 percent of the worker’s former income, the employer must pass on at least the whole value of the wage subsidy to the worker. If the worker’s former income was less than the subsidy, they should be paid their former income and the excess applied towards paying other workers 80 percent of their former income.
The subsidy is intended to avoid job losses and bankruptcy of businesses. It is estimated to cost between NZ$9 billion and NZ$12 billion.
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Requested competition regulator allow businesses to cooperate(...)Announced22/03/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government asked the independent competition regulator, the Commerce Commission, to take a flexible approach to businesses cooperating during the COVID19 pandemic. Ordinarily it is unlawful for competing businesses to cooperate.
The request is intended to facilitate cooperation between businesses to ensure continued access to products during the pandemic.
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Relaxed certain business tax rules(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government will change certain business tax rules. The changes are intended to maintain businesses’ cashflows and encourage investment.
Depreciation on commercial buildings will be tax deductible. Assets valued less than NZ$5,000 will be immediately deductible for 12 months from 17 March 2020. The provisional tax threshold will increase from NZ$2,500 to NZ$5,000. Refunds of research and development tax credits will become more broadly available.
Interest on late tax payments may be written off where the payer has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Established a wage subsidy to businesses and self-employed people(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government will pay a wage subsidy to businesses and self-employed people who are economically affected by COVID19. The payment will be worth NZ$585 per week per full-time employee, and NZ$350 week per part-time employee, up to a total of NZ$150,000 per business. The subsidy will be paid in a lump sum to cover a period of 12 weeks.
Businesses who receive the subsidy are obliged to make best efforts to retain employees and pay them a minimum of 80 per cent of their normal income for the subsidised period.
The subsidy is intended to avoid job losses and bankruptcy of businesses. The subsidy is estimated to cost NZ$5.1 billion.
A searchable list of recipients of the wage subsidy is published on the internet.
Pakistan
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Provided loans to businesses for wages(...)Announced10/04/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Pakistan introduced a temporary refinance scheme for businesses to support the employment of workers during the pandemic.
The scheme will provide financing for wages and salaries expenses for three months from April to June 2020 for businesses which do not lay off their employees for the three months.
The mark-up on the loans will be up to five percent. Borrowers on the active taxpayers list can get loans at a reduced mark-up rate of four percent.
Businesses with a three month wage and salary expense of Rs200 million or less will receive the full amount of their expense in financing.
Businesses with a wage and salary expense of Rs200 million to 500 million will receive up to 75 percent of their three months’ salary and wage expense. Business with a wage and salary expense greater than Rs500 million will receive up to 50 percent of their expense.
A grace period of six months would be allowed to the borrowers while the repayment of the principal amount would be made in two years.
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Provided soft loans to industries that retain their workers(...)Announced31/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Pakistan announced that it would provide soft loans to industries that do not lay off their workers and continue to pay them their monthly salaries.
A soft loan is a loan with a below-market rate of interest.
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Created guidelines to keep industries and shops operational(...)Announced31/03/2020Policy details
The Pakistan Government devised guidelines to make industries and shops operational.
This decision was made at a meeting held at the National Command Centre of COVID-19. It is intended to support the economy while stopping the spread of the disease, and prevent a break-down of lockdown due to hunger.
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Increased limit on extension of credit for small to medium enterprises(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Pakistan increased the regulatory retail limit on the extension of credit for small to medium enterprises to Rs 180 million from Rs 125 million.
The measure is intended to incentivize banks to provide additional loans to retail small to medium enterprises.
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Deferred loan payments(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
Banks and DFIs will defer the payment of principal on loans and advances by one year.
To benefit from this relaxation, borrowers must submit a written request to the banks before 30 June 2020.
The deferment of principal will not affect a borrower's credit history and such facilities will also not be reported as restructured/rescheduled in the credit bureau's data.
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Relaxed regulatory criteria for restructuring loans(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Pakistan has relaxed the regulatory criteria for restructuring and rescheduling loans.
Loans re-scheduled or restructured within 180 days from the due date of payment will not be treated as defaults. Banks would also not be required to suspend the unrealized mark-up against such loans.
The timeline for classification of trade bills has also been extended from 180 days to 365 days.
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Deferred payment of loans for small and medium businesses and the agriculture sector(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Pakistan Government approved Rs100bn for the deferred payment of loans for small and medium enterprises and agriculture and concession loans to ensure their input costs do not go up. Additionally, the government will try to reduce the price of fertiliser.
This policy is part of the RS1.25 trillion economic package announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan on 24 March 2020 aimed at absorbing the adverse impacts of the pandemic.
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Set aside funds for the business community(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Pakistan Government has created a Rs100 billion fund for demands of the business community.
This policy is part of the RS1.25 trillion economic package announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan on 24 March 2020 aimed at absorbing the adverse impacts of the pandemic.
Peru
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Expaned sales tax refunds for purchase of capital items(...)Announced17/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Peru extended and expanded the scope of the Special Regime for Early Recovery of the General Sales Tax (IGV), extended the validity of the regime until December 31, 2023 and broadened the scope of the measure.
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Extended credit lines and guarantees to factoring companies to assist small and medium businesses(...)Announced17/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Peru ordered that factoring companies access credit lines and guarantees that The CRECER Fund provides in order to facilitate access to working capital for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
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Guaranteed working capital loans to businesses(...)Announced06/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Peru will guarantee amount of up to S30,000 million for short-term working capital lonas (4% of GDP) under the "Reactiva Peru" programme.
Smaller loans enjoy larger government guarantee by percentage. The loans must fund payment of suppliers and employees.
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Provided working capital loans to businesses(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central de Reserva del Peru announced it will inject 30 billion soles into banks for loans to mainly smaller companies to help cover their working capital.
Loans will be guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance and Economy. Liquidity will be provided by the central bank. Terms are to be three years.
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Provided loans for small and medium businesses(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Peru established a Business Support Fund for MSMEs run by the Development Finance Corporation. The corporation will set up an special purpose vehicle that will guarantee financial institution loans to MSMEs.
The fund in place for 5 years and provide favorable loan terms for borrowers. The scheme will guarantee credits between S / 30,000 and S / 90,000 for working capital needs. The total size of the fund will be S300 million.
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Allowed insurers to modify payment schedules and restricted termination of insurance for non-payment(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
The The Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Fund Administrators (SBS) allowed insurance companies to modify the payment schedules originally agreed with the insurance contractors, and imposed restrictions on terminating insurance in cases where premiums are not paid.
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Modified refinancing rules(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The The Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Fund Administrators (SBS) SBS authorized financial institutions to make modifications to credit contracts so that debtors can meet their payments without logging the action as a refinancing.
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Allowed lenders to defer loan payments for six months during emergency(...)Announced28/02/2020Policy details
The The Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Fund Administrators (SBS) made regulations confirming the ability of lenders to offer up to six months of forbearance/reschedule loans of retail debtors (consumer, mortgage, microenterprise and small business) located in areas declared in state of emergency.
Saudi Arabia
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Provided loan guarantees to small to medium enterprises(...)Announced24/04/2020Policy details
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, in cooperation with the Small and Medium Enterprises Financing Guarantee Program, launched the secured financing program.
This program guarantees a rate of 95% of the value of the financing granted according to the mechanisms approved within the Kafala program.
The Kafalah Program is a program launched by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) and Saudi banks that aims to promote financing to small and medium enterprises within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
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Directed banks to extend the validity of ATM cards(...)Announced12/04/2020Policy details
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) directed banks to extend the validity of ATM cards that have expired or are about to expire.
SAMA also directed banks not to suspend individuals’ bank accounts.
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Permitted employers to reduce employees’ working hours(...)Announced07/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has issued a decision to regulate the contractual relationship between employees and employers during the pandemic.
Where it is necessary to reduce an employee’s working hours due to government pandemic measures, the employer may agree with the employee, within the six months following the start of the enforcement of these procedures, to either reduce the employee’s wage to adjust with the actual work hours, or grant the employee local leave to be deduced from his/her deserved annual vacation, or granting him/her an exceptional leave.
The employer may not terminate the employee’s contract if the employer has benefited from any government subsidy to deal with this situation.
In addition to that, the employee will have the right to terminate his/her work contract.
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Raised E-wallet top up monthly ceiling limit(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) has increased the allowed top-up of the monthly ceiling limit for e-wallets up to (20,000) SAR.
SAMA has instructed that licensed Payment Services Providers (PSPs) should provide the necessary support and guidance and instructions to the clients.
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Deferred tax payments(...)Announced20/03/2020Policy details
The General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) has declared that the payment of value-added tax, excise tax, income tax, and the submission of Zakat declarations and the payment of obligations can be postponed for three months.
GAZT will also grant zakat certificates without the 2019 fiscal year restrictions, and will accept instalment requests without applying the condition of advance payment.
GAZT will also postpone the execution of services suspension procedures and financial seizures.
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Increased support to small to medium enterprises and limited income families(...)Announced20/03/2020Policy details
The Social Development Bank has launched a SAR 12 billion program to cushion the economic impact of COVID-19 on family based small to medium enterprises and limited income families.
Support for low income families will increase by 4 billion riyadh.
2 billion riyals is allocated for the support of small and micro- enterprises.
2 billion riyals is allocated for the support of small health care centers.
2 billion riyals is allocated for funding 50 thousand small establishments to support local content in all regions of the Kingdom.
Grace period for payments is extended for all projects that were funded during 2019 and 2020 for 6 months, bringing the total value of the deferred premiums to 2 billion riyals.
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Increased the limit for contactless card transactions(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority increased the PIN-less card (supporting NFC technology) transaction limit from SAR 100 to SAR 300 for a single transaction.
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Provided financing support to private sector(...)Announced14/03/2020Policy details
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority introduced a SAR 50 billion private sector financing support program.
The program will reduce cash flow fluctuations, support working capital, enable the sector to grow during the coming period and contribute to supporting economic growth, and maintaining employment.
The program consists of three sub-programs: a deferred payments program, funding for lending program and loan guarantee program.
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Deferred payment of dues owed to banks by small to medium enterprises(...)Announced14/03/2020Policy details
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority deposited SAR 30 billion for banks and financing companies to delay the payment of dues to the financial sector from small to medium enterprises for six months as of its date.
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Provided concessional loans to small to medium enterprises(...)Announced14/03/2020Policy details
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority will provide concessional finance of about SAR 13.2 billion for small to medium enterprises by granting loans from banks and finance companies to the SME sector to support business continuity and sector growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Provided relief to small to medium enterprises for finance costs(...)Announced14/03/2020Policy details
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority will deposit SAR 6 billion for banks and insurance companies in order to relieve small to medium enterprises from the finance costs of KAFALA Program.
The Kafalah Program is a program launched by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) and Saudi banks that aims to promote financing to small and medium enterprises within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
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Paid business’ POS and e-commerce fees for three months(...)Announced14/03/2020Policy details
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority will support stores and entities in the private sector by paying POS and e-commerce fees to payment service providers for a period of 3 months with an amount exceeding in total SAR 800 million.
Singapore
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Provided US dollar funding to Singapore banks(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Monetary Authority of Singapore will provide up to US$60 billion of funding to banks in Singapore through a new USD facility. Auctions for these funds will be conducted every Monday.
The facility is intended to stabilise USD funding conditions in Singapore, and facilitate USD lending to businesses in Singapore. The measure is funded by the USD liquidity swap arrangement between the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the US Federal Reserve.
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Deferred corporate income tax payments(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Singapore Government will grant an automatic three-month deferment of corporate income tax payments due in the months of April, May, and June 2020. Payments deferred from April, May, and June 2020 will instead be collected in July, August, and September 2020.
This measure was announced as part of the government’s Resilience Budget.
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Deferred personal income tax payments for self-employed people(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Singapore Government will defer personal income tax for all self-employed persons. Self-employed persons will be granted an automatic three-month deferment of their personal income tax payments due in the months of May, June, and July 2020. These payments will instead be collected in August, September, and October 2020.
This measure was announced as part of the government’s Resilience Budget.
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Increased property tax rebates for non-residential properties(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Singapore Government will grant a property tax rebate for qualifying non-residential properties for the period of 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2020. This measure is an enhancement of the property tax rebate announced at Budget 2020 on 18 February 2020. It extends the rebate to additional types of properties, and increases the amount of rebate for certain types of properties.
Owners of qualifying properties will be granted rebates of up to 100% on their property tax payable. Landlords are expected to fully pass on the rebate to their tenants by reducing rentals to directly ease the cash flow and cost pressures faced by tenants. For properties that are eligible for 100% property tax rebate, this is equivalent to more than one month’s rental.
All qualifying non-residential properties have been classified into types which will receive rebates of 30%, 60% or 100%.
This measure was announced as part of the government’s Resilience Budget.
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Waived rent for tenants in Government-owned or managed non-residential properties(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Singapore Government implemented support measures for tenants in government-owned or managed non-residential facilities.
Stallholders of hawker centres and markets who qualified for the one month’s worth of rental waiver announced in Budget 2020 will now get three months’ worth of rental waiver, with a minimum waiver of $200 per month.
Commercial tenants who qualified for the half a month’s worth of rental waiver announced in Budget 2020 will now get two months’ worth of rental waiver in total.
Other non-residential tenants who do not pay property tax may be eligible for half a month’s worth of rental waiver. Eligible tenants may include those in premises used for industrial or agricultural purpose, or as an office, a business or science park, or a petrol station.
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Provided a wage subsidy(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Singapore Government will co-fund the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages for each local employee for nine months.
There are three levels of co-funding for employers in different sectors.
For employers in the aviation and tourism industry, the government will provide 75% of the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages per local employee. For employers in the food services sector, the government will provide 50% of the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages per local employee. For all other sectors, the government will provide 25% of the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages per local employee.
This measure was introduced as part of the government’s Stabilisation and Support Package, and is intended to help enterprises retain their local employees during the pandemic.
South Africa
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Announced second and third phases of economic response(...)Announced21/04/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa announced the second and third phases of its economic response to COVID 19 pandemic.
Phase 1 began in mid March 2020 and included tax relief, release of disaster relief funds, emergency procurement and wage support.
Phase 2 is intended to stabilise the economy and address the decline in supply and demand.
This includes a social and economic relief support package of R500 billion (10% of GDP). R130 billion within the current budget will be reprioritised, and the rest will be raised from local sources and global partners and finance institutions.
Phase 3 is to be implemented to drive the economy as the country emerges from the pandemic.
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Established fund to protect and create jobs(...)Announced21/04/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa announced that as part of the second phase of economic response to the virus an additional R100 billion will be set aside for the protection of jobs and to create jobs.
R40 billion has been set aside for income support payments for workers who are not able to pay their wages.
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Established loan guarantee scheme for businesses(...)Announced21/04/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa announced a R200 billion loan guarantee scheme as part of a broader business relief package, in partnership with major banks, national treasury and reserve bank.
The scheme is aimed at assisting with operational costs, salaries, rent and payment of suppliers.
Companies with turnover of less than R300 million a year will be eligible.
700,000 firms and more than 3 million employees are expected to benefit.
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Provided additional funding for small businesses(...)Announced21/04/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa announced that as part of the second phase of economic response to the virus an additional R2 billion will be made available to assist small to medium enterprises and spaza shop owners and other small businesses.
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Established relief fund for youth owned enterprises(...)Announced20/04/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa has introduced a Youth Micro Enterprise relief fund aimed to support youth owned enterprises that might not qualify for other funds during the lockdown.
Funding will be capped at R10000 for qualifying businesss
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Established support scheme for informal convenience stores and general dealers(...)Announced18/04/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa in partnership with Nedbank created a support scheme for 'Spaza shops' (informal convinience stores).
The support scheme is also intended for general dealers and grocery stores in townships and villages that are 100 percent owned by South African Citizens. Support includes access to working capital investment and credit facility, business management support and legal compliance support.
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Postponed loan repayments for small businesses(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The Small Enterprise Finance Agency has postponed loan repayments for small enterprises for six months.
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Provided funding for debt relief for small businesses(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa provided R500 Million to support small businesses with debt relief during the pandemic.
This measure is intended to assist businesses affected by COVID-19.
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Streamlined approach to pay outs of unemployment insurance funds(...)Announced28/03/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa has established a system of paying funds from the Unemployment Insurance Fund to reduce the total number of applications.
Funds will be paid to employers, sectoral associations, and bargaining councils, rather than employees as is normally the case. Employers will then pay out the benefit to employees.
The Unemployment Insurance Fund has set aside R40 billion to help employees who will be unable to work, as part of the effort to prevent job losses as a result of the lockdown.
Businesses that are considering, or have decided on, short term shutdowns will be eligible for the short term Unemployment Insurance Fund benefit, provided they register with the Fund. This means employers are required to opt into the fund, and payments made from the fund are subject to memorandums of understanding, rather than overarching government law or policy.
All funds paid out under this measure will be subject to government audit.
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Exempted banks from competition laws to enable coordinated debt relief(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa has exempted commercial banks from ordinary competition laws.
The measure is aimed at enabling banks to coordinate approaches to debt relief and similar measures for businesses and people experiencing financial stress.
In particular, banks will be able to coordinate approaches to payment holidays and debt relief, limitations on asset repossessions, and the extension of credit lines.
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Relaxed tax rules for small to medium businesses(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa temporarily changed tax rules for small to medium businesses.
Businesses with a turnover of less than R50 million may delay 20 percent of their pay-as-you-earn liabilities for four months. Additionally, a portion of provisional corporate income tax payments may be delayed without penalties or interest for six months.
The Government expects the scheme to assist 75,000 small and medium businesses.
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Provided cash grants to distressed small to medium enterprises(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa is providing over R500 million, available immediately, to support small and medium enterprises. The application process to access the cash grants has also been simplified.
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Reduced required employer contributions to unemployment insurance fund(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa will allow some distressed businesses not to pay into the Unemployment Insurance Fund. This measure aims to keep operating costs low for businesses so that workers are not laid off.
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Provided special leave to employees who need to self-quarantine for 14 days(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa advised businesses that where an employee must self-quarantine for 14 days, the employee will be entitled to special leave.
Both employer and employee must provide written confirmation that the special leave was agreed to.
South Korea
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Announced additional relief package for businesses and individuals(...)Announced22/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced an additional financial relief package aimed at businesses and individuals. This includes an additional 75 trillion won liquidity injection, on top of the 100 trillion won previously allocated at the 2nd Emergency Economic Council meeting.
Of the 75 trillion won infusion, 35 trillion will be allocated for businesses, and 40 trillion will provide added liquidity to select cash-strapped industries, including the airline, automotive, shipping, and oil refinery industries.
The program also allocates 10.1 trillion won in subsidies and unemployment benefits, of which 0.9 trillion won will go toward small business wage subsidies; 1.9 trillion won to unemployment relief; 3.6 trillion won for the job creation for low-income and young adult groups; and 3.7 trillion won in job seeker benefits and job training.
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Expanded free trade zones(...)Announced06/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced it would increase the size of the Incheon International Airport free trade zone by 10 percent and the Busan Port by 30 percent, to improve export capacity.
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Introduced closure and reopening subsidies for small and medium enterprises(...)Announced30/03/2020Policy details
The Korean government rolled out subsidies to assist businesses forced to close due to COVID-19. The closure subsidy will pay up to 2 million won (US$1637) per employer.
In areas hard-hit by COVID-19, businesses that were forced to close and will now reopen will be able to receive a subsidy of 3 million won (US$2425) to offset the costs of reopening.
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Introduced broad wage support measures for businesses(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
The Korean government expanded its previously-announced wage subsidy plan from 100 billion won (US$80.8 million) to 500 billion won (US$400.3 million).
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Offered rent discount to firms on state-owned land(...)Announced26/02/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced a 30 percent rent discount over a three-month period for companies in state-run industrial complexes, worth up to 1 million won (US$ 800) per month.
According to the ministry, 600 companies are eligible for the subsidy.
Spain
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Cancelled some labour inspection deadlines and reinforced penalties for companies that submit fraudulent ERTE reports(...)Announced21/04/2020Policy details
This policy was announced as part of a package of measures to protect workers.
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Delayed some social security payments(...)Announced01/04/2020Policy details
Payment of social security debts by companies and self-employed workers are deferred if they were due to be paid between April and June 2020, provided that the individual had no other postponement in force.
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Allowed for public sector contracts to be suspended with compensation(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
Contracts entered into by companies and Spanish public entities that cannot be complied with or which obligations cannot be performed as a result of the COVID-19 disruption cannot be terminated by the public entity.
Instead performance may be suspended and the company may seek compensation from the public entity.
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Increased insurance coverage(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Government of Spain created a line of insurance coverage of up to 2 billion euros from the Risk Reserve Fund for Internationalisation.
This measure is intended to provide additional liquidity to companies, especially SMEs and the self-employed.
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Deferred some tax payments for some businesses(...)Announced12/03/2020Policy details
Small and medium sized businesses with a trading volume of €6 million or less may defer the payment of tax amounts due not exceeding €30,000 for up to six months, with no interest penalties to be applied during the first three months.
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Provided loan holidays to small and medium sized enterprises(...)Announced12/03/2020Policy details
Businesses that have received loans from the General Secretariat for Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises are allowed to postpone their repayment.
Sweden
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Paid landlords to reduce rent for vulnerable businesses(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Swedish Government established a programme to encourage rent reductions by landlords to businesses in vulnerable sectors such as restaurants, hotels, shops, dentists and hairdressers.
The government will pay landlords up to 50 percent of rent reductions (up to a maximum of 25 percent of the original rent) given to tenants from the period 1 April to 30 June 2020.
The landlord needs to apply to the relevant agency to receive the funding after the 1 July 2020.
The intent of the policy is to encourage negotiations between landlords and vulnerable business tenants to temporarily lower rents, keeping businesses afloat and avoiding evictions.
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Reduced employers' required social security contribution(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
The Swedish Government implemented a temporary measure to reduce employer’s costs and social security contributions for up to 30 employees per company up until the 30th of June 2020.
The reduction means that only old age pension contribution is paid and is equivalent to a reduction in employer’s costs up to SEK 5300 per employee and month.
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Guaranteed loans for small and medium sized businesses(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
The Swedish Government will guarantee 70 percent of any new loans that banks provide to companies experiencing financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 virus. The guarantee will be issued to banks, which in turn will provide guaranteed loans to companies.
As usual, the borrower pays interest to the bank, determined by the bank and based on their credit risk assessment of the individual company, taking into account that the central government is guaranteeing a large part of the loan. The borrower may defer paying interest on the loan for the first 12 months.
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Provided temporary tax cuts to sole proprietors(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
The Swedish Government introduced a temporary change to tax rules so that sole proprietors severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak will receive tax cuts.
All taxable profits for 2019, up to SEK 1 million, can be set aside in the tax allocation reserve and then be set off against possible future losses. This means that many people will be able to get back the preliminary tax they paid in 2019.
The tax cut is applicable to sole traders and natural persons who are partners in Swedish partnerships.
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Provided capital for lending to companies(...)Announced20/03/2020Policy details
The Swedish Government provided additional capital to select lending institutions to increase liquidity in the economy.
The state-owned company Almi Företagspartner AB will receive a capital contribution of SEK 3 billion to increase its lending to small- and medium-sized businesses throughout the country.
The Swedish Export Credit Corporation’s credit framework will be increased from SEK 125 billion to SEK 200 billion and can be used to provide both state-supported and commercial credit to Swedish export companies.
Increased credit guarantees totalling SEK 500 billion and lower risk for banks will provide new and improved credit opportunities for companies. A new guarantee for faster and more secure payment to Swedish export companies will also be introduced. This will apply to small- and medium-sized export companies, major export companies and their suppliers.
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Allowed companies to defer VAT and employer’s cost payments(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The Swedish Government allowed companies to request deferred payment of Value Added Tax and certain employers costs.
Companies will pay interest on deferred payments and can request to defer already paid amounts (going back to 27th of December 2019) which would result in receiving funds back from the government to boost short term liquidity.
In total up to three months worth of payments can be deferred by up to 12 months.
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Reduced time required to access paid sick leave(...)Announced13/03/2020Policy details
The Swedish Social Insurance Agency made statutory sick pay available from the first day of sickness, instead of the second day, as a temporary measure.
The Agency also decided to not to require medical certificates until the 14th day of sick-leave.
Additionally, the Swedish Government committed to temporarily finance all sick-leave payments for March and April. Under normal circumstances, companies would pay for employees’ sick-leave up until the 14th day of sick-leave.
Taiwan
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Approved emergency relief package to support businesses and individuals(...)Announced01/04/2020Policy details
The government announced a US$34.64 billion package to keep the economy afloat, including a US$1.99 billion special budget to support affected industries, US$1.33 billion in stimulus emergency relief funds, and US$11.6 billion in loans for businesses.
Thailand
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Reduced and deferred mandatory employee and employer contributions to social security fund(...)Announced20/04/2020Policy details
The Social Security Board implemented a reduction in the mandatory contributions to social security funds, reducing employer contributions to 5%, and employee contributions to 4%.
The Board also announced a deferral of all contributions for March, April and May by three months, with contributions resuming July 15.
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Reduced corporate income tax for investments in medical sector(...)Announced13/04/2020Policy details
The Thailand Board of Investment confirmed that a 50 percent reduction in corporate income tax for a period of 3 years will be extended to investments in the medical sector.
This extension is on the condition that investments realise production output by 31 December 2020, and that 50 percent of the output is distributed or donated domestically between 2020-2021.
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Established fund for job creation and infrastructure(...)Announced07/04/2020Policy details
Cabinet set aside B400 billion for economic and social rehabilitation projects targeting job creation and infrastructure.
This measure was announced as part of the third phase of the Thai Government’s economic stimulus programme, totalling B1.9 trillion.
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Provided direct cash stimulus and soft loans to small and medium businesses(...)Announced07/04/2020Policy details
Cabinet approved B600 billion for six months of direct cash stimulus and a further B500 billion in soft loans for small and medium sized businesses.
This measure was announced as part of the third phase of the Thai Government’s economic stimulus programme, totalling B1.9 trillion.
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Extended corporate income tax deadline(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
Cabinet extended the corporate income tax filings to 30 August, with the deadline for filing other taxes extended by one to three months.
This measure was announced as part of the second phase of the Thai Government’s economic stimulus programme, totalling B117 billion.
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Removed taxes and fees for debt restructuring with non-financial creditors(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
This measure was announced as part of the second phase of the Thai Government’s economic stimulus programme, totalling B117 billion.
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Extended low interest loans for small businesses(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
This measure was announced as part of the second phase of the Thai Government’s economic stimulus programme, totalling B117 billion.
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Reduced the withholding tax rate(...)Announced10/03/2020Policy details
This measure was announced as part of the first phase of the Thai Government’s B400 billion economic stimulus programme.
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Subsidised some employee’s salaries(...)Announced10/03/2020Policy details
This measure was announced as part of the first phase of the Thai Government’s B400 billion economic stimulus programme.
United Kingdom
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Established government-backed loan scheme for small businesses(...)Announced27/04/2020Policy details
The UK Government announced a new finance scheme for small businesses offering loans with a 100% government-backed guarantee for lenders.
Businesses will be able to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 and the loans will be interest free for the first 12 months.
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Allocated funding to remote victim services(...)Announced23/04/2020Policy details
The UK Government reallocated £600,000 of existing funding for the Ministry of Justice to charities which offer remote based support services for victims.
This funding shift will allow helplines to stay open longer and employ more support workers to handle calls.
The money will also be used to fund the technology needed for other forms of contact such as video calls as well as a new online chat service and digital hub run by Victim Support.
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Expanded loan scheme for large businesses to cover all viable businesses(...)Announced21/04/2020Policy details
The UK Government further expanded the loan scheme for large businesses. All viable businesses with turnover of more than £45m will be able to apply for UK Government-backed support.
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Created support finder tool for businesses(...)Announced20/04/2020Policy details
The UK Government launched a support finder tool for businesses.
The tool is for businesses and self-employed to quickly and easily determine what financial support is available to them during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Established investment fund for companies affected by COVID-19(...)Announced19/04/2020Policy details
The UK Government established a £1.25 billion fund to support innovative businesses affected by coronavirus.
£500 million will be used to create an investment fund for for high-growth companies impacted by the crisis. £250 million of this fund comes from government funding and the rest comes from private investors.
£750 million will be available as grants and loans for SMEs focusing on research and development.
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Expanded business loan scheme to cover large businesses(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
The UK Government expanded the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme to cover large businesses.
Under the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loans Scheme, all viable businesses with turnover of more than £45m can apply for up to £25 million of government-backed finance. Businesses with turnover of more than £250 million can borrow up to £50 million.
The government provides lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance. The list of accredited lenders is listed on the British Business Bank website.
Business with turnovers of more than £500 million were originally not eligible for the scheme. The measure is intended to ensure more firms are able to benefit from government support.
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Established fund to support food distribution organisations in England(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
The UK Government established a £3.25 million fund to support food distributions organisations in England.
The fund is designed to assist these organisations cut food waste and redistribute up to 14,000 tonnes of surplus stock during the coronavirus outbreak.
All food redistribution businesses and charities can bid for grants throughout April.
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Extended period to file company accounts(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government will allow companies to apply for a three month extension to file accounts, and intends to automatically approve applications for extensions related to COVID-19.
Ordinarily, companies are penalised if accounts are filed late.
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Deferred VAT tax payments(...)Announced11/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government deferred Value Added Tax (VAT) payments for three months.
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Deferred income tax payments(...)Announced11/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government deferred self-assessed income tax payments, with no penalties or interest for late payment until 31 January 2021, with the option to set up a budget payment plan.
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Reimbursed businesses for sick pay(...)Announced11/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government supported small and medium sized businesses and employers to reclaim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) paid for sickness or self-isolation absence due to COVID-19, covering up to two weeks of work for employers with fewer than 250 employees. Businesses must be UK-based to obtain the support.
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Provided cash grants to small businesses(...)Announced11/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government provided on-off grants of £10,000 to small businesses that already pay little or no business rates. Grants will be administered by local authorities.
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Guaranteed loans to businesses(...)Announced11/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government established a business loan scheme, known as the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Businesses will be able to apply for loans of up to £5 million and for up to six years. The government will guarantee 80 percent of each loan.
The government also established the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which guarantees 80 percent of bank loans up to £25 million for businesses with an annual turnover of between £45 million and £500 million. -
Protected commercial tenants from eviction(...)Announced11/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government protected commercial tenants who cannot pay their rent because of COVID-19 from eviction, up until 30 June 2020. Tenants cannot be evicted, but remain ultimately liable for their rent.
United States
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Funded lending programs for large corporations(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The U.S. Congress funded a $500 billion lending program for corporations with over 500 employees as part of phase 3 legislation.
This measure is intended to make financing available to struggling companies and limit unemployment. Loan conditions include a ban on stock buybacks and dividends for the length of the loan plus one additional year. In addition, companies must keep 90 percent of their staff as of 24 March 2020 "to the extent practicable" through 30 September 2020.
All loans must be publicly disclosed and will be subject to oversight from a specially-appointed Inspector General. The legislation also bans the president, vice-president, members of the Cabinet, and members of Congress from benefiting financially from the program.
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Funded forgivable loans and grants for small businesses(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The U.S. Congress allocated billions of dollars in funding through multiple legislative packages for small business loans, forgiveable loans, and grants. Phase 3.5 legislation allocated $2.1 billion to the Small Business Administration to administer the program.
Multiple bills provided funding for small business emergency grants. Phase 3 legislation included $10 billion for small business emergency grants of up to $10,000 per business to assist with immediate operating costs. Phase 3.5 legislation provided an additional $10 billion for these grants.
In addition, multiple bills funded small business loans. Phase 1 legislation allocated $20 million for the Small Business Administration to issue low-interest economic injury disaster loans. Phase 3 legislation allocated $350 billion for small business forgivable loans of up to $10 million per business. If a business keeps workers on through the end of June, portions of the loan for items such as payroll, rent, or existing debt can be forgiven. Phase 3 legislation also allocated $17 billion to extend existing Small Business Administration loan payments for six months. Phase 3.5 legislation funded an additional $50 billion in loan subsidies as part of $350 billion in economic injury disaster loans.
Small businesses are defined as those with 500 or fewer employees.
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Provided special payroll tax credit to closed or struggling businesses(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The U.S. Congress issued a special refundable tax credit for all closed or struggling businesses in order to keep the employees on payroll, as part of phase 3 legislation.
The tax credit reimburses employers for 50 percent of each employee’s first $10,000 in pay, including health benefits. For businesses with over 100 employees, the tax credit is only available for employees who are not working due to coronavirus.
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Granted a variety of business tax relief measures(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The U.S. Congress issued a number of tax relief measures as part of phase 3 legislation.
Measures include a payroll tax credit to closed or struggling businesses on 50 percent of each employee’s first $10,000 in pay, and the delay of the employer-side Social Security tax payment until 21 January 2021 (50 percent due) and 31 December 2021 (remaining 50 percent due).
The legislation also changed the tax code so that firms may benefit more from net operating losses (NOLs) by carrying losses in 2018, 2019, or 2020 back for five years for tax purposes. The tax rate for NOLs was also changed from a limit of 80 percent to no limit, so that companies may offset their taxes more fully.
In addition, firms can claim larger refundable tax credits than normal through tax credit carryforwards and previous alternate minimum tax, and the net interest deduction limitation was expanded from 30 percent to 50 percent to allow firms to pay less tax and increase liquidity.
Other changes include the suspension of excise taxes on aviation and alcohol for hand sanitizer.
Vietnam
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Allowed non-essential services to resume(...)Announced07/05/2020Policy details
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has decided to allow non-essential service establishments, except for clubs and karaoke parlors, to resume operations but they have to maintain preventive measures.
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Considered further stimulus package(...)Announced06/05/2020Policy details
The Government is considering further relief aid to revive the local economy, following the introduction last month of the VND62-trillion financial support package to help poor people and businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment has completed a draft stipulating missions and solutions to bolster production and business activities, speed up public investment disbursement and secure social order. Besides this, the draft aims to improve the investment environment to attract more resources for the country.
According to the draft resolution, the ministry suggested a business registration fee exemption for business households affected by the disease and a 30% reduction of the land leasing fee for six months for companies that have ceased operations.
For the aviation sector, the ministry proposed guarantee-fee exemptions in 2020 for loans endorsed by the Government, together with a 50% reduction in takeoff and landing fees and the management fees of domestic flights.
The ministry also suggested deferring value added tax payments for virus-hit sectors such as apparel, footwear and beverages; cutting lending rates for small and medium-sized enterprises; and postponing personal income tax payments.
According to the draft, foreign experts, business leaders and skilled workers may be subject to a special entry procedure to maintain business operations in the country. The Government will also consider streamlining administrative procedures to attract investment and speed up project progress.
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Suspended licencing requirement for exports of medical masks(...)Announced29/04/2020Policy details
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a resolution on the exports of medical masks amid the COVID-19 prevention and control period, in which he allowed the abolition of the regulation on applying the export licensing regime to medical masks.
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Restarted some non-essential businesses(...)Announced24/04/2020Policy details
Under Directive 19, non-essential services like beauty clinics, karaoke, massage parlors, bars, entertainment venues will continue to remain closed until further notice.
Services like wholesale and retail, lotteries, hotels and other accommodation facilities, and restaurants, sport training facilities, tourist sites are allowed to reopen provided that the safety measures are deployed.
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Reduced electricity bills for affected businesses and households(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Industry and Trade reduced electricity bills for customers affected by Covid-19 for three months from April to June 2020.
Electricity bills will be 100 percent reduced for quarantine facilities, 20 percent reduced for hotels being used as quarantine facilities, 20 percent reduced for testing facilities, and 10 percent for other entities, including households and businesses.
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Provided cash transfers to affected people, workers and household businesses(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The Government of Vietnam announced it would provide cash transfers to affected people ,workers and household businesses for three months from April 2020.
People living within or just above the poverty line will receive VND1.0 million a month.
People already receiving social protection monthly allowance will receive VND 0.5 million a month.
Workers having to stop work temporarily or on unpaid leave will receive VND 1.8 million a month.
Unemployed workers without unemployment insurance and self-employed workers will receive VND 1.0 million a month.
Households businesses that have been suspended will receive VND1.0 million a month.
The package is worth VND 62,000 billion.
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Provided concessional loans to employers for workers’ salaries(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The Vietnam Social Policy Bank will provide concessional loans to employers for employees’ salaries.
The loans will be interest free and will cover 50 percent of their minimum regional salary thresholds for three months.
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Deferred tax and land rent payments(...)Announced08/04/2020Policy details
The Government of Vietnam deferred payment of value added tax, personal income tax, corporate income tax, and land rental for five months from the deadline of payments for March, April, May or Q1, Q2 for affected individuals and businesses.
The package is worth VND 180 000 billion.
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Capped interest rates for bank deposits(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Vietnam imposed caps on interests on VND-denominated deposits at credit institutions and foreign bank branches.
For under one month, the rate is reduced from 0.8 percent to 0.5 percent per annum.
For one to six months, the rate is reduced from 5 percent to 4.75 percent per annum.
For one to six months, the rate is reduced from 5.5 percent to 5.25 percent per annum.
At People’s Credit Funds and micro finance institutions, for under six months, the rate can be decided by the credit institution based on the capital supply and the demand in the market.
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Set interest rate for deposits at micro-finance institutions(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Vietnam imposed an interest rate of 1 percent per annum for deposits in VND at the Vietnam Development Bank, the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, the People’s Credit Funds and micro finance institutions.
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Reduced fund transfer fees to promote cashless payment(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The National Payment Corporation of Vietnam halved fund transfer fees to promote cashless payments.
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Suspended business contributions to national insurance fund(...)Announced09/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs suspended contributions from affected businesses to the pension fund and survivorship fund for up to 12 months.
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Provided credit support for affected firms and households(...)Announced04/03/2020Policy details
The Prime Minister announced a credit package totaling VND 250,000 billion from the banking sector for affected firms and households.
The State Bank of Vietnam directed credit institutions to promptly and adequately meet capital demand for production and business, streamline the loan approval process, reschedule loans, waive and lower interest rates and reduce service fees for enterprises affected by the virus.
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Proposed deferral of tax and land rent payments(...)Announced04/03/2020Policy details
The Prime Minister proposed to defer tax and land rents, worth VND 30,000 billion.
Industry interventions
How governments are supporting specific industries and sectors
Argentina
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Eliminated import taxes on certain medical and cleaning supplies(...)Announced01/04/2020Policy details
The Argentine Government established a zero-percent rate to import taxes applied to supplies that are considered ‘critical’.
Alcohol, lab and pharmacy equipment, gloves, disinfectants and sanitary supplies fit in this category. The aim is to avoid an eventual shortage of supplies.
This policy will remain in place for the period of the national sanitary emergency.
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Fixed prices for basic goods(...)Announced20/03/2020Policy details
The Argentine Government established maximum price increases for certain products for a period of 30 days. This includes staple food, beverages and personal hygiene products. Sanitizers, gel alcohol and thermometers have also been included in the list of products.
Businesses may not sell listed products at a price higher than they were on March 6. This policy applies to ‘hypermarkets’, wholesale and retail supermarkets, mini markets, stores and small kiosks.
On April 7, the Government asked public institutions to comply with this policy, as overpriced food had been purchased by the Ministry of Social Development.
Australia
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Guaranteed certain domestic flights(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
The Australian Government is providing $165 million to guarantee a network of domestic flights for Qantas and Virgin Australia across all states and territories.
Flights will run through all capital cities, and all major regional centres such as Albury, Alice Springs, Coffs Harbour, Dubbo, Kalgoorlie, Mildura, Port Lincoln, Rockhampton, Tamworth, Townsville, and Wagga Wagga.
This builds on previous commitments of AUD$198 million (announced 28 March) and AUD$715 million (announced 18 March) to support flights to regional and remote communities.
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Provided tax relief to higher education institutions(...)Announced12/04/2020Policy details
The Australian Government will provide higher education institutions with regulatory fee relief from the Australian Skills Quality Authority and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. There will also be a six month exemption from loan fees under FEE-HELP and VET Student Loans.
Institutions do not need to apply for funding under the scheme. Payments will be triggered when students enrol. The scheme will not affect eligiblity for JobKeeper.
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Introduced a range of measures to support the aged care workforce(...)Announced20/03/2020Policy details
The Australian Government provided AUD$444.6 million to support the aged care workforce.
AUD$234.9 million is for a COVID-19 ‘retention bonus’ to ensure the continuity of the workforce for staff in both residential and home care.
AUD$78.3 million is for additional funding for residential care to support continuity of workforce supply.
AUD$26.9 million is to supplement the viability of residential aged care facilities, including National Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Program and Multi-Purpose Services and homeless providers.AUD$92.2 million is for additional support to home care providers and organisations that deliver the Commonwealth Home Support Program, including for services such as meals on wheels.
AUD$12.3 million is to support the myAgedcare service to respond to the needs of older Australia.
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Established relief fund for tourism, education and agriculture industries(...)Announced12/03/2020Policy details
The Australian Government has established a AUD$1 billion relief fund to help businesses in hard-hit areas.
The measure will include waiving fees for the Great Barrier Reef marine park and national parks for tourism operators, and helping industries such as crayfishing.
The package will also support education. States and territories will be left to implement this part of the package.
Austria
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Exempted athletes from paying flat-rate travel allowances while sports facilities are closed(...)Announced24/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Finance exempted athletes from paying flat-rate travel allowances when sports facilities are closed due to the crisis.
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Provided support for artists(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Government of Austria provided 5 million EUR for artists who are not eligible for other economic support packages.
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Provided cheap loans to hard-hit sectors(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Finance provided EUR 15 billion in emergency aid for hard-hit sectors.
Support will be in the form of a grant loan agreement, which allows companies to apply for a cheap loan.
Necessary operating costs, such as energy, insurance or rent, can be deducted 75 percent from loan repayments
Brazil
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Delayed deadlines for certain insurance(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy auspended the authentication of documents and deadlines for complying with the requirements of special rural insured persons for 120 days and the deadlines for fulfilling requirements that cannot be met by remote channels are suspended.
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Allowed remote reporting of losses of Agricultural Activity Guarantee Program (Proagro)(...)Announced02/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brazil adapted rules for remote reporting losses of Agricultural Activity Guarantee Program (Proagro) beneficiaries to COVID-19.
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Provided loans to certain non-profit entities(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy will provide, through Caixa Econômica Federal, a R $ 5 billion financing line for Santas Casas - which are non-profit entities - from all over the country at a rate of 10% per year.
Canada
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Established facility to provide bridge financing to large employers(...)Announced11/05/2020Policy details
The Canadian government established the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) to provide bridge financing to Canada’s largest employers so they can keep their operations running.
This measure is intended to help protect Canadian jobs, help Canada businesses weather the current economic downturn, and avoid bankruptcies of otherwise viable firms where possible.
The government’s support for large companies through LEEFF will be delivered by the Canada Development Investment Corporation (CDEV), in cooperation with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and the Department of Finance.
The LEEFF program will be open to large for-profit businesses – with the exception of those in the financial sector – as well as certain not-for-profit businesses, such as airports, with annual revenues generally in the order of $300 million or higher.
To qualify for LEEFF support, eligible businesses must be seeking financing of about $60 million or more, have significant operations or workforce in Canada, and not be involved in active insolvency proceedings.
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Established an Industry Strategy Council(...)Announced08/05/2020Policy details
The Canadian government established an Industry Strategy Council, intended to serve as an advisory board to assess the scope and depth of COVID-19’s impact on industries and inform government understanding of specific sectoral pressures.
The Council will be chaired by Monique Leroux – a business leader with a career in Canadian finance, and comprise senior business leaders from throughout Canada.
The Council aims to build on Canada’s partnerships between government and industry, notably the Economic Strategy Tables, to support Canadians and their jobs. Over the next 90 days, the Council will meet regularly to identify and understand sectoral pressures that are common across the industries.
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Provided funding to support farmers, food businesses and food processors(...)Announced05/05/2020Policy details
The Canadian government provided CA$252 million in funding to intended to support farmers, food businesses and food processors as well as announcing measures within agriculture programs.
CA$77.5 million is set aside to create an Emergency Processing Fund aimed at helping food producers access more personal protective equipment (PPE), adapt to health protocols, automate or modernize their facilities, processes, and operations, and respond to emerging pressures.
CA$125 million is set aside to launch national AgriRecovery initiatives aimed at helping producers faced with additional costs incurred by COVID-19. This includes set-asides for cattle and hog management programs to manage livestock backed-up on farms due to the temporary closure of food processing plants. This funding is also aimed at helping beef and pork producers and processors adapt to a changing market, and help farmers and ranchers keep their animals longer before marketing.
Initial funding of CA$150 million has been set aside for a Surplus Food Purchase Program, aimed at helping redistribute existing and unsold inventories (e.g. potatoes, poultry) to local food organisations.
The Canadian government intends to work with provinces and territories to increase interim payments from 50 per cent to 75 per cent through AgriStability, a federal, provincial and territorial program that aims to support producers who face significant revenue decline. This change has already been enacted in some provinces.
The Canadian government intends to work with provinces and territories to explore possibilities for expanding the AgriInsurance program to include labour shortages as an eligible risk for the horticulture sector.
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Provided assistance to fish and seafood processing sector(...)Announced25/04/2020Policy details
The Canadian government announced $62.5 million in assistance to the fish and seafood processing sector.
The recently established Canadian Seafood Stabilization Fund is intended to help businesses access short-term financing, add storage capacity for unsold product, comply with new health and safety measures for workers, support new manufacturing/automated technologies, and adapt products to response to changing requirements and new market demands.
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Provided funding to the energy sector(...)Announced17/04/2020Policy details
The Canadian Government provided $2.5 billion in aid to the energy sector.
The funding includes CA$1.72 billion for cleaning up orphan and/or inactive oil and gas wells, CA$750 million for creating a new proposed emissions reduction fund, and expanding eligibility for the new Business Credit Availability Program announced on 13 March.
The measure is intended to support Canada’s energy sector, which is facing low prices due to a surge in global crude oil supply and a decline in demand.
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Waived ground lease rents to support the air transportation sector(...)Announced30/03/2020Policy details
The Canadian Government announced the waiving of ground lease rents from March 2020 through December 2020 for the 21 airport authorities that pay rent to the federal government.
The government will also provide comparable treatment for PortsToronto, which operates Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and pays a charge to the federal government. This support will help airports reduce cost pressures and preserve cash flow. This will provide relief of up to CA$331.4 million, based on 2018 payments.
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Increased lending capacity for Farm Credit Canada(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The Canadian Government allocated an additional CA$5 billion in lending capacity to Farm Credit Canada (FCC), for loans to producers, agribusinesses, and food processors. FCC is Canada’s leading agriculture and food lender.
This will increase financial options to farmers who face cash flow issues and to processors who are impacted by lost sales, helping them remain solvent.
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Lowered the Domestic Stability Buffer(...)Announced13/03/2020Policy details
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OFSI) reduced the Domestic Stability Buffer (DSB) from 2.25 percent to 1 percent of risk-weighted assets. Reducing the DSB is intended to allow Canada’s large banks to offer an additional CA$300 billion of lending.
The OSFI expects all federally regulated financial institutions to halt dividend increases and share buybacks for the time being. This is to ensure that banks use additional lending capacity to support Canadian businesses and households rather than to increase distributions to shareholders or employees or undertake share buybacks.
China
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Provided financial support to civil aviation authorities(...)Announced04/03/2020Policy details
The Chinese Government is providing financial support to civil aviation authorities for the duration of the epidemic prevention and control period.
This measure is intended to encourage international airlines to restart work, guide the resumption of suspended international routes, and support air transport companies in fighting the epidemic.
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Provided financial support to export businesses(...)Announced20/02/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Commerce provided support to export businesses through the use of short-term export credit insurance policy tools.
The intention is that CITIC Insurance's business institutions act as policy-oriented financial institutions, that they further expand the coverage of short-term insurance, and that they coordinate resource allocation and introduce targeted professional services.
This policy aims to strengthen export risk management and to reduce business loss for foreign trade enterprises.
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Introduced tax relief for the tourism, lodging, catering and transportation industries(...)Announced07/02/2020Policy details
The Chinese Government introduced tax incentives for the tourism, lodging, catering, and transportation industries.
Denmark
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Provided state-backed credit guarantees to Scandinavian airline(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Danish government, in partnership with the Swedish government, will provide SEK1.5 billion in credit guarantees to SAS, the Scandinavian carrier.
This measure is intended to support SAS to borrow from commercial banks, so as to support the viability of the airline.
France
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Allowed tourism operators to provide reimbursements in kind(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
The French Government modified the obligations of tourism professionals, organizers or retailers, to allow them to offer their customers, for a fixed period of time, a reimbursement for their trip or stay in the form of an identical service offer or equivalent, or in the form of a credit valid for eighteen months.
Germany
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Allowed cruise lines to suspend repayment of debt(...)Announced14/04/2020Policy details
In order to prevent liquidity crises for cruise lines, the governments of Germany, France, Finland, Italy and Norway agreed on principles on how cruise lines can, upon request, suspend for one year the repayment of debts of cruise ships financed with the help of state export credit guarantees.
This is also intended to avoid negative consequences for European shipyards and their suppliers.
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Funded business advice for small to medium businesses(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
The German Government funded consulting services for small and medium enterprises, including freelancers, affected by COVID-19. Consulting services of €4,000 are available until the end of 2020.
The policy is intended to assist businesses to develop measures to limit the economic consequences of the corona crisis and to regain their competitiveness.
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Increased capital funding for start-ups and small to medium businesses(...)Announced01/04/2020Policy details
The German Government provided an additional €2 billion financial support for start-ups, early stage technology companies and small and medium sized businesses. The money will be used to expand venture capital financing so that funding rounds for German start-ups can continue.
Public venture capital investors will be provided with additional public funds in the short term, which can be used for start-up funding rounds. Fund of funds investors — KfW Capital and the European Investment Fund — will be provided public funds to buy shares from defaulting fund investors.
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Introduced financial support for social service providers(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
The German Government introduced a legal basis for service providers to continue making payments to social service providers and institutions, regardless of whether or not they actually carry out their originally agreed service.
It is based on an amount which, in principle, is equivalent each month to a maximum of 75 percent of the average amount of the last 12 months. In return, social service providers should support crisis management with the capacities at their disposal.
In Germany, social service providers are remunerated by service carriers (“Leistungsträger”) for providing social services. Social service providers as not-for-profit entities are not allowed to build up financial reserves and usually cannot access credit.
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Relaxed compliance requirements for energy sector(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The BMWi and the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) have agreed on measures to address the impacts of COVID-19 on the energy sector.
Allowances will be made for planned and already subsidised renewable energy sector projects that cannot be constructed within the specified implementation period because of COVID-19. In the case of onshore wind turbines and biomass plants, for example, the BNetzA will grant an extension of the implementation period upon informal application.
The applications can be submitted by email, in which the reasons that have led to a delay in the project must be stated. Penalties are also not to be levied.
The BMWi and the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) will also extend deadlines for applications for reductions in the EEG levy, known as the Special Equalisation Scheme (BesAR). The 30 June 2020 deadline will not be invoked if it is missed because of COVID-19.
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Established an information portal for the tourism industry(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The German Government established the information portal Corona-Navigator.de to provide current news, facts and recommendations for action for the tourism industry.
The Federal Competence Centre for Tourism carries out the necessary relevance check and its own classification of news. The service is supplemented by the Tourism Sentiment Barometer, which surveys business expectations in tourism on a daily basis.
The new information offering is an important addition to the media offerings, which are also bundled on Corona-Navigator.de. The range of information is constantly updated and expanded. The portal is optimized for use by smartphones. Many contents can be freely exported via RSS feed.
India
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Provided early payments under support scheme for farmers(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Government of India will front-load the first instalment of Rs 2,000 due in 2020-21 to farmers under existing PM Kisan Yojana, which is a minimum income support scheme for farmers.
The first payment will now be paid in the first week of April 2020.
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Established fund to provide support to construction workers(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Government of India established a Building and Construction Workers Welfare Fund to provide financial assistance to construction workers.
State Governments will be given directions to utilise this fund to provide assistance and support to these workers to protect them against economic disruptions.
Ireland
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Provided repayable advances to manufacturing and internationally traded services businesses(...)Announced08/04/2020Policy details
The Irish Government provided €180 million for repayable advances of up to €800,000 to businesses operating in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors. The government calls the scheme the Sustaining Enterprise Fund.
The scheme is intended to support companies that have been impacted by COVID-19 and are vulnerable but viable. It is open to companies with 10 or more employees.
Applicants must provide a Business Sustainment Project Plan outlining the eventual stabilisation of the business and a return to viability. The grants will only be repayable if and when a business returns to financial good health.
The fund will be operated by Enterprise Ireland. The fund is intended as an alternative source of credit after a company has exhausted other credit options.
Morocco
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Established fund for vulnerable economic sectors(...)Announced15/03/2020Policy details
King Mohammed VI ordered the creation of a 10 billion dirham ($1 billion) fund to help vulnerable economic sectors.
No further details are recorded for this policy. Refer to the citations below for more information.
Nepal
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Suspended mountaineering permits(...)Announced14/03/2020Policy details
The Nepal Government suspended for 2020 all permits for mountaineering expeditions. This measure is intended to reduce movement of people and non-essential activities.
The cancellation of visas and mountaineering expeditions is expected to put around 20,000 tour, trekking, and mountain guides out of job.
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Suspended tourism promotion(...)Announced29/02/2020Policy details
The Nepal Government will suspend all promotional activities relating to the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign.
Netherlands
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Allocated additional funding for companies to secure small loans(...)Announced08/05/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has allocated an additional €750 million towards a new Small Credit Corona Guarantee Scheme (KKC), which aims to support banks and other accredited lenders in providing loans to companies with small financing needs (from €10,000 to 50,000).
Under the scheme, 95% of loans provided will be guaranteed by the Government (totalling €713 million). The loans will also have an interest rate of up to 4%. Approval by the European Commission is required before the scheme can officially enter into force.
It is expected that tens of thousands of companies will take advantage of the new scheme.
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Allocated additional funding to sports associations(...)Announced01/05/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has allocated an extra €110 million to sports associations or clubs affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
€90 million will go owards covering rent for sports clubs over the period 1 March to 1 June 2020, which supports more than 11,000 sports clubs.
€20 million will go towards compensation scheme, providing sports clubs a one-off allowance of up to €2500. This is aimed at helping clubs resume training for young people and set up activities for non-members.
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Announced framework to assess large companies for additional financial support(...)Announced01/05/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has established an assessment framework to help determine whether additional financial support should be provided to large companies greatly impacted by COVID-19 measures.
The aim is to allow a case-by-case assessment of individual companies who are facing financial difficulties and unable to be supported by existing economic relief measures, as to whether or not additional support should be granted to them. Support will be based on a strict criteria, including the need for companies to have strategic economic or social importance.
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Launched online platform to help people find work in much high need sectors(...)Announced23/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has launched an online platform (www.NLwerktdoor.nl) to help match employers with people who have become unemployed as a result of COVID-19. The platform is a collaborative effort with employer organisations, unions, education centres and local government authorities, and has recieved 20,000 registrations already.
The online platform has been established to address difficulties businesses are facing to recruit additional personnel, particularly in healthcare, logistics, agriculture and horticulture sectors. At the same time, the platform seeks to provide assistance to people who cannot find employment, despite being capable and willing to work. At the end of March, a total of 250,000 people registered for the unemployment benefit, an increase of 10,000 compared to February.
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Implemented measures to support construction and infrastructure work(...)Announced22/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has taken measures to ensure construction and infrastructure work, including on roads, waterways, and bridges, can continue or be accelerated despite COVID-19. A special task force has been established with the construction and engineering sector to identify projects that can be brought forward or carried out immediately. An additional €265 million has been allocated to this work over the next two years, as well as an extra €150 million towards work on waterways this year.
The Government, along with banks, industry associations and the construction and engineering sector, have signed a joint declaration to continue 'Building the Netherlands Together'. The aim is to ensure ther is continuity across the sector, including maintaining employment, cash-flow, building materials, and a robust and safe working environment during COVID-19. It also seeks to reinforce the sector's commitment to reducing the housing shortage and transitioning to a sustainable built environment, in addition to the acceleration of infrastructure projects.
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Increased funding for the cultural sector(...)Announced15/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Goverment has provided an additional €300 million towards the country's cultural sector. The support is aimed at helping cultural institutions maintain employment and overcome financial difficulties due to COVID-19, as well as enable their investment in the coming cultural season.
The money will go towards increasing subsidies to maintain cultural infrastructure and festivals, as well as increasing the National Restoration Fund for national monuments. It will also extend national funds to support cultural infrastructure in regions and cities, such as important municipal and provincial museums, stages and film theaters, as well as free theater producers, commercial festivals and art galleries.
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Provided subsidies to specific agricultural sectors(...)Announced15/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has allocated €650 million to provide additional compensation for specific agricultural industries affected by COVID-19.
€600 million will go towards compensating the floricultural and certain horticultural sectors, while a total of €50 million has been allocated to potato growers to compensate for the large amount of produce that can no longer be processed into French fries this season.
The additional money is intended to help sectors confronted by the immediate drop in demand of their products, due to no longer having a domestic or export market to sell to.
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Established subsidy for media(...)Announced07/04/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has allocated €11 million towards a new Temporary Support for Local Media scheme.
The scheme allows local newspapers and public service broadcasters to apply for a one-off contribution of between €4,000 to tens of thousands of euros, depending on circulation and reach. For example, a public service broadcaster can get €6,600 to €16,500 if their reach was around 20,000 or 50,000 respectively. A local newspaper can get €13,200 to €33,000 for a similar reach.
The extra contribution is meant to cover a period of three months from 15 March to 15 June 2020. The policy is intended to ensure local communities continue to receive local news and information.
The Regional Public Broadcasting is also providing €2 million to boost regional and local journalism.
Additionally, the Government is extending the deadline for annual reports to be submitted by government subsidised media organisations from 1 May to 1 June 2020.
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Provided funding for supplier insurance(...)Announced07/04/2020Policy details
The government has allocated €12 billion to provide insurance for suppliers of goods. Many shops and retailers are supplied goods on the basis of supplier credit, which is insurance taken out by the supplier in case payment is not made on the goods (businesses usually have 30 or 60 days to pay their products to the supplier).
Currently, insurers are facing increasing risks and may reduce or withdraw the insurance limits on companies, which could affect 75,000 companies. The new measure ensures suppliers with insurance for the full year so that trade can continue.
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Provided advance payments for export businesses(...)Announced31/03/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government will provide payments in advance to help export businesses impacted by COVID-19 maintain the cost of running their businesses. This support will be provided through the Dutch Trade and Investment Fund (DTIF) which provides loans, guarantees and export financing to exporters.
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Suspended rent payments for national museums(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government is offering national museums, who rent their property from the government, a suspension from having to pay rent for three months.
The measure is part of an additional package for the arts and culture sector to combat the impact of COVID-19 on their industry.
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Advanced subsidies for arts and culture(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government will make advance subsidy payments to the arts and culture sector. The payments are usually made in the third-quarter of the year.
The government has guaranteed that subsidies will continue to be available to cultural institutions even if they can’t meet agreed performance numbers.
The government is also considering ways to reimburse ticket holders, perhaps in the form of vouchers.
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Extended government insurance schemes for export businesses(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has temporarily increased support measures for businesses who export goods or services from the Netherlands by making changes to its export insurance scheme.
The scheme allows export businesses to insure their transactions by the Dutch Government (e.g. if overseas buyers can no longer pay for goods due to civic or political unrest in their country).
The extended scheme allows businesses to get short-term loans (under 2 years) guaranteed by the Government, alongside additional export insurance coverage both domestically and overseas. The changes will remain in place until the end of 2020. The policy is intended to facilitate international trade and to prevent the loss of exports and jobs.
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Extended subsidy for development of digital healthcare technologies(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has extended their Incentive scheme eHealth at Home (SET), which allows healthcare organisations to apply for a subsidy of up to €50,000 for the development of new apps, software or other digital solutions that improve their client’s quality of life, including tools to provide better and more efficient healthcare.
As of 27 March, this subsidy is temporarily unavailable due to the unexpectedly large number of applications.
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Guaranteed loans for agricultural businesses(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Dutch Government has extended their Agricultural Guarantee Credit (BL) scheme to support small to medium agricultural and horticultural businesses affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Under the scheme, agricultural or horticultural businesses in the Netherlands can apply to have the government guarantee part of their financing or loans. This is intended to address changing demand in agricultural and horticultural products, the need to redistribute perishable goods, and other cash-flow problems.
This scheme does not include the fisheries and aquaculture sectors in the Netherlands (with the exception of the Dutch caribbean). Separate measures for the fisheries and aquaculture sectors in the Netherlands are being prepared.
New Zealand
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Delayed customs fee increases(...)Announced07/05/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government has delayed implementation of customs fee increases, which was scheduled for 1 June. The new fees will be delayed for at least a year.
The government has also agreed not refund or remit late payment penalties for customs duties for penalties arising after 25 March and for up to to years.
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Allowed competition regulator to authorise anticompetitive conduct which would have a public benefit(...)Announced05/05/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government changed the law to allow the Commerce Commission to to authorise conduct that may technically breach the restrictions on cartel conduct, but would be of such a benefit to the public that it should be permitted.
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Announced fast-tracked planning process for major development and infrastructure projects(...)Announced03/05/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government will change the planning process for certain development and infrastructure projects to allow faster approval.
Under the new system, the Minister for the Environment will identify projects to be fast-tracked, which will then be considered by an Expert Consenting Panel. Once a project is referred to the panel there will be a high level of certainty the resource consent will be granted.
Legislation implementin the changes is expected to be passed in June.
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Provided loans to provincial development projects(...)Announced30/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government has provided $NZ48 million in loans to various regional development projects which are intended to help offset the economic impact of COVID-19.
The projects receiving loans include water storage projects and horticulture development on under-utilised land.
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Provided funding for news media(...)Announced23/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government provided $NZ50 million funding to assist domestic news media.
The funding comprises NZ$21 million to cut television transmission fees for six months and NZ$16.5 million to reduce media organisations' NZ On Air content contribution fees for the 2020/21 financial year.
The funding also includes NZ$1.3 million for central government agencies to purchase news media subscriptions and NZ$11.1 million for specific targeted assistance for media companies as required.
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Repurposed regional development subsidies(...)Announced08/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government began repurposing regional development subsidies, distributed through its Provincial Growth Fund, to focus on responding to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Priority will be given to projects which: redeploy displaced workers, first to horticulture and manufacturing and later to public works; national programmes that will support employment and community resilience long term, such as apprenticeship; generate job opportunities in the short term and support the rebuild of the economy beyond the recovery, particularly in the primary sector and manufacturing; and infrastructure investments under NZ$10 million that support employment in the short term and strengthen fundamental infrastructure in surge regions.
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Began planning for tourism industry recovery(...)Announced08/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government began planning for recovery of the country’s tourism industry, with a focus on domestic tourism in the short term. The planning will involved a review of the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, a NZ$35 charge imposed on all tourists visiting New Zealand.
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Extended funding for national sports organisations(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government has committed to maintain current levels of funding to national sports organisations for the next year.
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Provided advance payments to transport construction industry(...)Announced01/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government will make advance payments to transport construction contractors. Advance payments will be made to contractors who currently have a National Land Transport Programme funded projects in construction with the NZ Transport Agency.
The policy is intended to support contractors to retain their workforces so they can quickly resume work when the lockdown period ends.
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Began planning infrastructure projects(...)Announced01/04/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government is seeking infrastructure projects which are ready to begin within six months once restrictions on construction are lifted.The kind of projects the government will consider include water, transport clean energy and buildings with a public or regional benefit. An industry reference group has been established to identify suitable projects.
The government has begun work on law changes to accelerate the planning approval process for infrastructure projects. The policy is intended to reduce the economic impact of COVID-19.
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Provided loan to national airline(...)Announced20/03/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government has agreed to provide the national airline, Air New Zealand, a NZ$900 million loan. The loan will comprise commercial 24-month loan facilities and can be converted to equity at the request of the New Zealand Government. The loan is intended to avoid the bankruptcy of the airline.
The loan will be provided in two tranches with interest rates varying from 7 to 9 per cent. A condition of the loan agreement is that Air New Zealand cancel a dividend to investors announced in February 2020, and not pay any dividends during the term of the agreement.
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Established payments to maintain air freight services(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government will provide NZ$600 million to support airlines and air freight operators to maintain air freight services. Airlines and air freight businesses will be invited to submit proposals for financial support to deliver freight capacity on key routes.
The funding is intended to preserve New Zealand’s access to critical imports of medicines and medical supplies, and the export of high value goods. NZ$1 million of the funding has been committed to Air New Zealand freight flights.
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Provided funding for redeployment of workers from struggling industries(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The New Zealand Government provided NZ$100 million funding to redeploy workers from struggling industries in alternative employment for three to six months.
The first funds were allocated to redeploying forestry workers in Gisborne-Tairāwhiti. Alternative employment includes work on local roading work, hazardous tree removal, tree planting projects, conservation activities, or undertaking retraining and educational opportunities.
Subsequent funds were allocated to jobs in biosecurity and conservation projects.
Pakistan
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Allowed low-risk industries to reopen(...)Announced14/04/2020Policy details
The Pakistan Government allowed certain industries to reopen, which had been closed as part of the government's response to COVID-19.
The industries that would be allowed to open include: chemical and manufacturing plants, e-commerce for export, e-commerce for local deliveries of necessary items, software development and programming, paper and packaging units, industries whose labour is present in their premises, cement and fertiliser plants, mines and minerals, dry cleaners and laundry services, horticulture nurseries, units making agricultural machinery, glass manufacturing, veterinary services, all export industries provided their orders are confirmed by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, and books and stationery shops.
The construction sector would also be reopened in phases.
The measure was taken to allow Pakistan to transition from a strategy of total lockdown to a strategy of testing, tracing and quarantining.
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Compensated national rail operator for lossed revenue(...)Announced08/04/2020Policy details
The Pakistan Government will compensation Pakistan Railways, the state-owned railway company, for lost revenue as a result of the closure of train services across Pakistan.
This measure was taken as Pakistan Railways was losing Rs1 billion in revenue every week.
The government has asked all employees of Pakistan Railways over the age of 50 and working in the Islamabad carriage factory, the Rawalpindi central diesel locomotive workshop and the Risalpur locomotive factory to go on leave without any cut in salary.
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Provided incentives for the construction industry(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
The Pakistan Government released an incentives package for the construction industry.
Those who invest in the sector will not be asked about their source of income.
A fixed tax will be introduced in the construction sector. If an investor invests under Naya Pakistan Housing Authority, 90 percent of that tax will be removed.
Withholding tax on construction will be lifted for all sectors, except steel and cement, and sales tax will be reduced.
The government will provide a 30 billion rupee subsidy to Naya Pakistan Housing project for construction activities, and a Construction Industry Development Board will be set up to promote the construction industry.
These measures are aimed at protecting the construction sector during the pandemic, so as to avoid widespread hunger. Construction is the second largest sector in Pakistan after agriculture.
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Created guidelines to keep industries and shops operational(...)Announced31/03/2020Policy details
The Pakistan Government devised guidelines to make industries and shops operational.
This decision was made at a meeting held at the National Command Centre of COVID-19. It is intended to support the economy while stopping the spread of the disease, and prevent a break-down of lockdown due to hunger.
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Provided tax refunds to export industry(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Pakistan Government provided Rs100 billion in tax refunds to the export industry.The measure is aimed at improving cash flows for payments to the labour force.
This policy is part of the Rs1.25 trillion economic package announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan on 24 March 2020 aimed at absorbing the adverse impacts of the pandemic.
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Deferred payment of loans for small and medium businesses and the agriculture sector(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Pakistan Government approved Rs100bn for the deferred payment of loans for small and medium enterprises and agriculture and concession loans to ensure their input costs do not go up. Additionally, the government will try to reduce the price of fertiliser.
This policy is part of the RS1.25 trillion economic package announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan on 24 March 2020 aimed at absorbing the adverse impacts of the pandemic.
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Purchased wheat from producers(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Pakistan Government will purchase 8.2 million tonnes of wheat.
This policy is part of the RS1.25 trillion economic package announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan on 24 March 2020 aimed at absorbing the adverse impacts of the pandemic.
Peru
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Imposed payment plans and moratorium on gas and electricity payments(...)Announced04/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Peru established payment plans and moratorium for gas and electricity payments during March and the rest of the national emergency to be extended for up to 24 months. The moratorium is means tested. Utilities will be partially compensated by the government.
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Imposed payment plans for telecommunications services(...)Announced04/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Peru imposed payment plans for payments to public telecoms during March and the rest of the national emergency to be extended for up to 12 months. Telecommunications companies will not be compensated by the government and can reduce service quality to those who don't pay.
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Allowed insurers to modify payment schedules and restricted termination of insurance for non-payment(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
The The Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Fund Administrators (SBS) allowed insurance companies to modify the payment schedules originally agreed with the insurance contractors, and imposed restrictions on terminating insurance in cases where premiums are not paid.
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Suspended certain insurance deadlines(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The The Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Fund Administrators (SBS) SBS suspended deadlines for responding to claims occurred at the national level. This encompasses the presentation of claims notices, coverage requests, claims adjustment and settlement processes, and communications on claims rejection.
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Allowed insurers to offset payments due against amounts owed to policy beneficiary(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The The Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Fund Administrators (SBS) New power for insurance companies. They now have the power to offset premiums pending payment by the contractor and / or insured against compensation due to the insured or beneficiary of the insurance.
Saudi Arabia
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Reduced electricity bills for subscribers in the commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
The Saudi Arabian Electricity company has cut the electricity bill by 30% for subscribers in the commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors.
The decision includes bills issued in April and May.
Singapore
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Provided financial support to the aviation industry(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Singapore Government has provided financial support to the aviation industry as part of the Aviation Sector Assistance Package. Support will be provided to airlines, the cargo sector and other airport stakeholders, such as ground handling agents. The measure is intended to defray business costs and protect jobs, as well as safeguard Changi Airport’s air connectivity.
All airlines that had operated scheduled passenger flights between China and Singapore before the COVID-19 outbreak will receive landing credits. Those that operate scheduled passenger flights between China and Singapore up to 31 July will receive 100 percent landing charge rebates for these flights.
Further support will also be provided to defray airlines’ other operating costs, including parking charge rebates, landing charge rebates, rebates on regulatory fees, waivers on the planned annual increase in landing, parking and aerobridge charges, and rebates on rental for airlines’ lounges and offices.
Rebates will also be provided to freighter airlines, cargo agents and other airport stakeholders impacted by the disruption in supply chains.
Assistance will be provided for six months. The policy is co-funded by the Singapore Government, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Changi Airport Group (CAG), as part of the Aviation Sector Assistance Package.
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Provided financial support to the maritime sector(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Singaporean Government has provided financial support to the maritime sector.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will provide a 50 percent port dues concession to cruise ships and regional ferries with a port stay of no more than five days, and passenger-carrying harbour craft. This measure will be implemented from 1 March 2020 to 31 December 2020.
Singapore Cruise Centre will provide a 15 percent rebate to regional ferry operators to offset their rental fees for overnight berthing of vessels and counter rental at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal for three months from March 2020. The MPA will provide an additional 35 percent rebate to these operators.
THe MPA will grant passenger terminal operators a 100 percent waiver of their public licence fees for one year.
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Provided financial support for the land transport sector(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Singaporean Government implemented support measures for the Land Transport Sector. Eligible taxi hirers and PHC drivers will continue to receive the Special Relief Fund payments of $300 per vehicle per month until end-September.
The Land Transport Authority will grant further waivers to operator licence fees totalling about $3 million. The Land Transport Authority will extend a tax rebate to offset some of the special tax and road tax payable for each idle taxi. LTA will also waive the $100 PHC vehicle outward conversion fee from May to September 2020.
South Africa
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Issued safe workplace guidlines for mining industry(...)Announced23/04/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa issued a directive to all mining operations to ensure safe start-up procedures as the sector began to ramp up production.
Additional measures to be put in place include rigorous screening of all employees, testing for COVID 19, adequate social distancing and povision of personal protective equipment and quarantine facilities.
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Announced second and third phases of economic response(...)Announced21/04/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa announced the second and third phases of its economic response to COVID 19 pandemic.
Phase 1 began in mid March 2020 and included tax relief, release of disaster relief funds, emergency procurement and wage support.
Phase 2 is intended to stabilise the economy and address the decline in supply and demand.
This includes a social and economic relief support package of R500 billion (10% of GDP). R130 billion within the current budget will be reprioritised, and the rest will be raised from local sources and global partners and finance institutions.
Phase 3 is to be implemented to drive the economy as the country emerges from the pandemic.
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Allowed some mining and energy operations to continue(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
The Govenment of South Africa amended the National Disaster Act specifically related to mining and energy.
Colleries that supply Eskom (the national electricity supplier) will continue to operate at full capacity. Refineries will continue to operate at full capacity. Mining operations will be conducted at 50 percent capacity during the lockdown and thereafter increase capacity.
These measures are intended to allow the economy to ramp up production systematicallly once the lockdown has ended.
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Provided funding to small-scale farmers(...)Announced06/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has set aside R1.2 billion to assist financially distressed small-scale farmers.
Of the R1.2 billion, R400 million has been allocated for farmers within the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS) programme. The remainder will be channelled to all other farmers, mainly within the poultry, other livestock and vegetables sectors. Other commodity sectors will be evaluated on a case by case basis.
The measure is intended to provide immediate support to small-scale farmers affected by COVID-19, and to ensure food supply.
To qualify for support, farmers must be South African citizens who have been actively farming for 12 months and have an annual turnover between R50 000 and R1 million, or be a communal farmer, among other criteria. Priority will be given to women, youth and people with disabilities.
Funding will not go toward mechanisation, infrastructure and overhead cost, or the payment of debts. Farmers who are currently receiving support through other government programmes are also ineligible.
Applications for funding will be open from 8 April to 22 April 2020.
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Reprioritised funds to the sports, arts and culture sectors(...)Announced25/03/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa reprioritised R150 million to assist the sports, arts and culture sectors.
Priority funding will go to artists and practitioners who have had to cancel or postpone events funded by the Government.
The National Film and Video Foundation will provide R4.5 million in relief to young and emerging producers.
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Allowed agriculture and food supply sector to continue to operate(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa classified the food and agriculture sector as essential so that they can continue to function during the 21 day lock down period.
The entire sector is classified as essential, ranging from farms, agro-processing and food manufacturing, to logistics and related services, and wholesale and retail services.
Live auctions of livestock and the sale of other agricultural commodities will continue, but under strict conditions that account for COVID-19.
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Provided funding to the Land Bank to assist farmers(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa allocated R100 million to the Land and Development Bank to assist farmers affected by the pandemic.
Land and Development Bank is a government-owned development bank in South Africa.
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Introduced stimulus package to support various industries(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa is providing a stimulus package of R3 billion.
The package is intended to stabilise a range of industries, and is being delivered by the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, which assists with funding and technical assistance for a range of manufacturers to acquire machinery and equipment.
Other aims of the package are to support food security, tourism, supply chain continuity, primary energy, and to provide working capital to small and medium enterprises that provide components to car-makers.
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Provided cash grants to small and medium enterprises in the tourism and hospitality sector(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa allocated R200 million to assist small to medium enterprises in the tourism and hospitality sector that have been impacted by travel restrictions and the national lockdown.
Grant funding is capped at R50 000 per entity, and will be used to subsidise fixed costs, operational costs, supplies and other pressure items.
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Provided funding for working capital and equipment and machinery(...)Announced23/03/0202Policy details
The Government of South Africa allocated R700 million of the R3 billion stimulus package for working capital and equipment and machinery.
The funding is being delivered by the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, which assists with funding and technical assistance for a range of manufacturers to acquire machinery and equipment.
South Korea
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Provided subsidy for the shipping industry(...)Announced23/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced 1.25 trillion won in support of the shipping industry.
The package includes 100 billion won towards improved financing options that will provide additional liquidity to cash-strapped companies. Under the scheme, eligible companies will have their loan-to-value ratio cap increased to 95%, up from a previous range of 60-80%.
The Ministry additionally announced a 470 billion won scheme to repay maturing debts of the nation’s largest container carrier, Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., to be financed by The Korea Development Bank and the Korea Ocean Business Corp.
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Introduced loan program for brokerages(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
The Bank of Korea announced it would offer loans directly to banks, brokerages, and insurers for up to six months, requiring AA- rated or above bonds as collateral.
The program is worth 10 trillion won (US $ 8 billion), and will run for three months, effective May 4.
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Reduced loan requirements for farmers(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs will extend the repayment period of agricultural and livestock loans purchased by farmers in designated disaster areas for up to two years.
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Expanded free trade zones(...)Announced06/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced it would increase the size of the Incheon International Airport free trade zone by 10 percent and the Busan Port by 30 percent, to improve export capacity.
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Offered zero-interest loans for construction workers(...)Announced30/03/2020Policy details
The Korean government offered zero-interest loans of up to 2 million won (US$1617) to 87,000 construction workers affected by construction suspensions and layoffs due to COVID-19.
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Announced job maintenance subsidies for tourist industry(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced it would offer job maintenance funds to businesses in the tourism industry, subsidizing up to 90 percent of the cost of employee leaves of absence.
Up to 171,500 workers in the tourism industry will be eligible for the subsidy.
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Offered low-cost loans to airlines(...)Announced17/02/2020Policy details
The Korean government offered low-cost loans worth 300 billion won (US$240 million) to airlines affected by the virus.
Spain
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Restricted foreign investment in strategic sectors(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Government of Spain imposed restrictions on the freedom of foreign (nonEU) investment in Spain’s strategic sectors.
Spain’s strategic sectors are critical infrastructures, critical technologies, supply of fundamental inputs, sectors with access to sensitive information (such as personal data), the media, or in any other sector when that may affect public security, public order and public health.
This law amends the current foreign investments regulation (Ley 19/2003, de 4 de julio, sobre régimen jurídico de los movimientos de capitales y de las transacciones económicas con el exterior).
These restrictions were amended on 1 April to establish an authorisation process for certain investments for those that were agreed to before 18 March 2020, or where the investment amount is equal to or greater than 1 million euros and less than 5 million euros.
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Extended credit line to tourism and related sectors(...)Announced12/03/2020Policy details
Spain’s Government created a credit line for 400 million euros to assist with the liquidity of businesses and self-employed workers in the tourism sector, and other related sectors that have also been impacted.
Sweden
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Paid landlords to reduce rent for vulnerable businesses(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Swedish Government established a programme to encourage rent reductions by landlords to businesses in vulnerable sectors such as restaurants, hotels, shops, dentists and hairdressers.
The government will pay landlords up to 50 percent of rent reductions (up to a maximum of 25 percent of the original rent) given to tenants from the period 1 April to 30 June 2020.
The landlord needs to apply to the relevant agency to receive the funding after the 1 July 2020.
The intent of the policy is to encourage negotiations between landlords and vulnerable business tenants to temporarily lower rents, keeping businesses afloat and avoiding evictions.
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Provided subsidy to culture and sports sectors(...)Announced20/03/2020Policy details
The Swedish Sports Confederation and grant-allocating agencies in the area of culture received an extra SEK 1 billion to distribute to actors in the the sports and culture industries to support them in dealing with the economic consequences of COVID-19.
The funding was split 50/50 between sports and culture at SEK 500 million allocated to each industry. The funds were granted to activities that are losing revenue as a result of the restriction on public gatherings.
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Expanded state credit guarantees to airlines(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Government proposed that airlines be able to receive credit guarantees in 2020 amounting to a maximum of SEK 5 billion, of which SEK 1.5 billion was intended for SAS, the national airline.
Thailand
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Provided targeted payments to farmers(...)Announced29/04/2020Policy details
Targeted payment to farming households, with B5,000 payments guaranteed to 8.43 million households registered with the Departments of Agricultural Extension, Livestock and Fisheries through July 31, 2020.
United Kingdom
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Provided grants to the fishing industry(...)Announced17/04/2020Policy details
The UK Government announced a £10 million scheme to support the fishing industry in England.
£9m is available for grants to eligible fishing and aquaculture businesses.
£1 million is available to support projects to assist fishermen to sell their catch in their local communities.
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Provided additional funding to the bus industry in England(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
The UK Government provided new funding of up to £167 million to be paid over 12 weeks under the new COVID-19 Bus Services Support Grant.
The funding is designed to enable bus operators to maintain necessary services at a level sufficient to meet reduced demand, but also to allow adequate space between passengers on board.
The Government also committed to paying £200 million of existing funding under the Bus Services Operators Grant as normal, even though not all services may run during this time.
£30 million of extra government bus funding, originally intended for starting new services, will instead be paid to local authorities to maintain existing services.
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Suspended competition law for certain ferries(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government temporarily suspended competition law to allow some ferry operators to cooperate to maintain services between the Isle of Wight and the mainland.
Ordinarily, competition law prevents cooperation between competitors in the same market to prevent collusion harming consumers.
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Assumed financial responsibility for train services(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government suspended normal franchise agreements with train operators and assumed all revenue and cost risk for six months.
The government will pay a small management fee to operators to continue a small number of services for essential workers. Operators may accept these terms. If they do not, the government’s operator of last resort will operate the services.
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Refunded train tickets(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government offered to refund all advance tickets purchased before 23 March 2020.
This measure is intended to reimburse ticket holders who are no longer able to travel, following the government reducing rail services and restricting travel to key workers and other essential travel.
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Banned export of essential medicines(...)Announced20/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government banned parallel export of various medicines used to treat patients in intensive care units.
Parallel export is where a company buys medicines intended for domestic use and sells the medicine for a higher price in another country.
The ban applies to more than 80 medicines and includes adrenaline, insulin, paracetamol and morphine.
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Entered agreement with energy suppliers to maintain energy supply to customers(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government entered an agreement with domestic energy suppliers to maintain energy supply. The agreement sets out how energy suppliers will support customers who are financially impacted by COVID-19.
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Allowed pubs and restaurants to operate as takeaways(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government relaxed planning rules to allow pubs and restaurants to operate as takeaways, with the relaxation of planning measures to be introduced as soon as possible and to apply for a limited period.
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Implemented business rates holiday(...)Announced11/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government introduced a business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England for the 2020 to 2021 tax year. The rates holiday includes properties being used as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues, hotels, guest & boarding premises or self-catering accommodation. The holiday also includes nurseries.
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Provided cash grants to hospitality and leisure businesses(...)Announced11/03/2020Policy details
The UK Government implemented the Retail and Hospitality Grant Scheme to provide retail, hospitality and leisure business based in England with a rateable value of under £51,000 for a grant of between £10,000 and £25,000.
United States
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Provided loans and grants to the airline industry(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The U.S. Congress allocated $32 billion in grants to the airline industry for wages and benefits within the larger $500 billion pool for large corporations under phase 3 legislation. Passenger carriers receive $25 billion, cargo airlines receive $4 billion, and airline contractors receive $3 billion. The legislation funds an additional $25 billion in loans to passenger carriers and $4 billion in loans to cargo airlines.
Under the program, airline companies cannot furlough staff, make pay cuts, or issue dividends through September 2020. Additionally, the Department of Transportation can require the maintenance of certain routes for healthcare supply chains.
Vietnam
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Reduced various fees in construction, tourism and water sectors(...)Announced05/05/2020Policy details
The fees in construction, tourism and water resource shall be reduced by 20-50% to tackle difficulties in production and ensure social security in respond to COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Finance’s recently-issued Circulars.
Fees will be halved for a certificate of eligibility for construction, a license to practice construction activities, an appraisal for the construction investment project and basic design as well as assessment of technical designs and construction cost.
The fee for a certificate of eligibility for construction to an organization is VND 500,000 while the fee for issuance of a license to practice construction activities to an individual is VND 150,000.
Regarding the tourism sector, the charges for international tour operator licenses or domestic travel service business licenses and charges for our guide’s cards will be reduced by half.
For international tour operator licenses or domestic travel service business licenses, the cost of a new licence will be reduced from VND 1,500,000 to 1,000,000 per license, and the cost to reissue will be VND 750,000.
For charges for grant of tour guide’s cards, for international and domestic tourist guides, VND 325,000 per card. For tour guides at the spot, VND 100,000 per card.
The fees for appraisals for the issuance of permits for water resource exploration, exploitation and use and discharging sewage into water sources and practice drilling of underground water launched by State agencies will be cut down 20%.
The fees for exploitation and use of hydro-meteorological information and data will be lessened by 30%.
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Resumed rice exports(...)Announced28/04/2020Policy details
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved a proposal of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to resume normal rice export from 1 May.
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Announced post pandemic stimulus plans for tourism industry(...)Announced27/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced plans for the tourism industry for when the pandemic ends in Vietnam.
The ministry will focus on stimulating the domestic tourism market and coordinating with airlines, transport and travel firms to exempt or reduce service fees, including air tickets, accommodation costs and visiting fees.
The ministry will also implement the "Safe Vietnam Tourism" programme and a domestic tourism stimulus programme called "Vietnam NOW - Safety and Smiling" with the cooperation of localities, transport and travel companies.
It has also proposed the Government to develop consumer stimulus packages for the tourism sector, including encouraging domestic consumers to use tourism services.
Meanwhile, the tourism industry will focus on the business travel segment. The industry will build a smart tourism operation centre to digitise the tourism industry during and after the pandemic.
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Asked credit institutions to reduce costs(...)Announced31/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Vietnam requested that credit institutions reduce operating costs, especially payment of wages and bonus, adjust business plans and financial plans before holding the general assembly of shareholders, and suspend paying dividends in cash to focus on reducing loan interest.
Financial markets and monetary policy
How governments are intervening to stabilise and stimulate the economy and financial markets
Australia
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Tightened foreign investment rules(...)Announced29/03/2020Policy details
The Australian Government changed foreign investment laws, so that the screening threshold for foreign investment is AUD$0. This effectively means that all foreign investment requires approval, regardless of the value or the nature of the foreign investor.
This is a temporary measure. An end date to this measure has not yet been announced.
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Reduced official cash rate to 0.25 percent(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Reserve Bank of Australia reduced the official cash rate from 0.5 percent to 0.25 percent.
The official cash rate is the interest rate set by the Reserve Bank for overnight lending to banks, and influences market interest rates generally. The reduction in the official cash rate is intended to keep market interest rates down and allow people and businesses to borrow money more cheaply.
Exchange settlement balances at the Reserve Bank will be remunerated at 10 basis points, rather than zero as would have been the case under the previous arrangements.
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Began purchase of government bonds by the central bank(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Reserve Bank began a large scale asset purchase programme, commonly known as quantitative easing. The Reserve Bank set a target for the yield on 3-year Australian Government bonds of around 0.25 percent.
The programme is intended to reduce the cost of Government borrowing and inject money into the Australian economy.
Austria
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Provided liquidity to banks(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
No further details are recorded for this policy. Refer to the citations below for more information.
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Extended ban on short sales of certain financial instruments(...)Announced15/04/2020Policy details
The Austrian Financial Market Authority extended the ban on short sales in certain financial instruments listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
The ban was initially imposed on 18 March 2020, and has been extended until 18 May 2020. The ban now applies to all net short positions, and will take effect on 16 April 2020.
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Extended economic support package(...)Announced03/04/2020Policy details
Crisis bond expanded to 28 billion EUR. "Härtefallfonds" expanded to 2 bn. EUR.
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Banned short-selling on Vienna stock exchange(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Austrian Financial Market Authority banned short-selling on the Vienna stock exchange for a month to shield the equities market from volatility.
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Provided credit guarantees through the control bank(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Finance provided 2 billion euros in credit guarantees through the control bank.
Brazil
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Amended the prudential requirements for to financial institutions(...)Announced23/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil amended the prudential requirements applicable to financial institutions under the Emergency Employment Support Program in which the portion paid by the Union in credit operations contracted under the Emergency Employment Support Program (PESE) will not be counted as an exposure of the participating financial institution, for the purposes of calculating the capital requirement through a standardized approach (RWACPAD) and Leverage Ratio (RA).
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Extended period of settling export exchange contracts(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil extended the maximum period between contracting and settling the export exchange contract to 1,500 days.
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Changed prudential requirements for cooperative banks(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil adjusted the regulation of the Special Temporary Liquidity Line backed by Guaranteed Financial Bills (LTEL-LFG), the maximum limit on loans taken by cooperative banks will become 100% of the Adjusted Shareholders' Equity calculated based on the Combined Balance Sheets of the Cooperative Systems. This seeks to give the same treatment to cooperative banks as that accorded to prudential banking conglomerates.
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Delayed implementation of anti-money laundering rules(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil postponed the entry into force of the regulations on internal policies, procedures and controls to be adopted by the regulated institutions in preventing the use of the financial system for the practice of crimes of "laundering" or concealment of assets, rights and values and financing of terrorism (PLDFT). The new rules were due to take effect in July and, with the change, take effect on October 1.
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Delayed deadline for certain reports(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil increased the period for disclosing the “Pillar 3 Report”, referring to the base dates of March 31, 2020 and June 30, 2020, from 60 to 90 days.
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Allowed repurchased Letras Financeiras (LFs) to be deducted from reserve requirements on time deposits(...)Announced13/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil decided to allow repurchased Letras Financeiras (LFs) to be deducted from reserve requirements on time deposits.
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Authorized credit unions to issue mortgage bonds(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil authorized credit unions to issue Mortgage Bonds (LCI).
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Reduced risk-weighting factor for credit operations with small and medium sized businesses(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil reduced the Risk Weighting Factor (FPR) applicable to credit operations with small and medium-sized companies from 100% to 85% from March 16, 2020 to December 31, 2020.
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Allowed reclassification of risk on certain financial operations(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil allowed financial institutions to reclassify renegotiated operations from March 1 to September 30, 2020 to the risk level they were rated in February 2020, before the economic effects of measures to combat Covid-19 began.
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Extended deposit insurance(...)Announced06/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil increased the maximum amount of Time Deposits with Special Guarantee (DPGE) for each person against the same financial institution associated with the FGC, or against all associated institutions of the same financial conglomerate, to R $ 40 million from R $ 20 million.
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Temporarily prohibited financial institutions from distributing results and increasing remuneration of managers(...)Announced06/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil temporarily prohibited the distribution of results and the increase in the remuneration of managers of financial institutions and other institutions authorized to operate by the Central Bank.
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Established a special temporary liquidity line(...)Announced02/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brazil established a special Temporary Liquidity Line (LTEL), with the objective of offering the necessary liquidity so that the National Financial System can remain stable in the face of the increased demand observed in the credit market,result of the reflexes of the spread of COVID-19.
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Postponed changes in credit regulations(...)Announced02/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brazil postponed changes in the credit regulations which had been approved in November last year and were due to come into force in April and June this year.
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Exempted banks from making additional provisions for performing loans refinanced in next six months(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil exempted banks from making additional provisions for performing loans that are refinanced during the next six months.
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Reduced capital conservation buffer(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil reduced the rate of the Capital Conservation Buffer from 2.5% to 1.25% of RWA through March 2021.
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Reduced the reserve requirement ratio on certain assets(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil reduced the reserve requirement ratio on time deposits and increased the amount of reserve requirements that is considered as High Quality Liquid Assets (HQLA) in the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR).
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Expanded Direct Credit Society (SCD) and the Peer-to-Peer Loan Company (SEP) fundraising scope(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil further expanded Direct Credit Society (SCD) and the Peer-to-Peer Loan Company (SEP) fundraising scope.
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Relaxed ownership rules for credit fintech companies(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil changed rules so that credit fintechs' corporate control may now be conducted indirectly by "private equity funds", through a legal person resident in Brazil, whose specific corporate purpose is to hold financial institutions' shares.
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Reduced minimus reserve requirements for time deposits(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil reduced the minimum reserve requirement ratio on time deposits was reduced from 25% to 17%.
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Extended deposit guarantees(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil introduced a New Term Deposit with Special Guarantees (NDPGE) as an alternative fund-raising tool for all financial institutions associated with the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC).
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Adjusted regulation of Agribusiness Credit Bills (LCAs)(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil adjusted regulation of Agribusiness Credit Bills (LCAs) to increase credit supply.
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Began granting loans backed by debentures through the Temporary Liquidity Line in domestic currency(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil will grant loans backed by debentures to financial institutions through the Temporary Liquidity Line in domestic currency.
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Raised the upper limit of the repurchase of financial letters of their own issuance(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil raised the upper limit of the repurchase of Financial Letters of their own issuance— from 5% to 20%.
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Changed tax treatment for overhedge of equity investments held abroad(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil changed roles so that the tax effects arising from the overhedge of equity investments held abroad will not be deducted from equity temporarily.
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Began repurchase operations backed by federal government securities(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil will conduct repurchase operations — with up to one-year term — backed by federal government securities.
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Reduced the spread of liquidity leveling operations(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central Do Brasil reduced the spread of liquidity leveling operations from +65 bps to +10 bps.
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Established criteria for conducting repurchase operations in foreign currency(...)Announced20/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil established criteria for conducting repurchase operations in foreign currency, eligible bonds to be accepted as collateral are external federal public debt securities (Global Bonds) with a haircut of 10%.
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Established temporary US dollar liquidity arrangements (swap lines) with US Federal Reserve(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil established a temporary U.S. dollar liquidity arrangement (swap lines) with the Federal Reserve for a maximum of $60 billion.
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Lowered interest rates(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil lowered the Selic rate, the interbank loan rate, to 3.75%.
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Provided funds to public banks for working capital loans to small and medium sized businesses(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy released R $ 5 billion by the Income Generation Program (Proger), maintained with resources from the Workers' Support Fund (FAT). The amount will be passed on to public banks so that they grant loans aimed at working capital of micro and small companies.
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Undertook spot market operations(...)Announced09/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil sold $3 billion in the spot market to arrest the decline in exchange rates.
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Decreased reserve requirement ratio on time deposits(...)Announced20/02/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil decreased the reserve requirement ratio on time deposits from 31% to 25%.
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Lowered interest rates(...)Announced05/02/2020Policy details
The Banco Central do Brasil lowered the Selic rate, the interbank loan rate, to 4.25%.
Canada
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Reduced policy interest rate to 0.25 percent(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Bank of Canada reduced the policy interest from 0.75 to 0.25 percent.
The policy interest rate is the interest rate set by the Bank of Canada for overnight lending between banks, and influences market interest rates generally. The reduction was intended to counter an expected contraction of the Canadian economy as a result of COVID-19 and the decline in world oil prices.
The reduction in the policy interest rate is intended to keep market interest rates down to allow people and businesses to borrow money more cheaply.
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Launched a program to purchase Government of Canada securities in the secondary market(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Bank of Canada launched a program to purchase Government of Canada securities in the secondary market. This program is intended to address strains in the Government of Canada bond market and to enhance the effectiveness of other monetary policy actions taken so far.
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Introduced a Commercial Paper Purchase Program(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Bank of Canada introduced a CPPP to support the functioning of financial markets.
The Canadian commercial paper (CP) market is a key source of short-term financing to a wide range of firms and public authorities. The CPPP is intended to support the flow of credit to the economy by alleviating strains in Canada’s commercial paper markets.
The Bank of Canada will conduct primary and secondary market purchases of CP, including asset-backed CP, issued by Canadian firms, municipalities and provincial agencies with an outstanding CP program for the next 12 months.
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Launched an Insured Mortgage Purchase Program(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Canadian Government has launched a revised Insured Mortgage Purchase Program (IMPP).
Under this program, the government can purchase up to CA$150 billion of insured mortgage pools through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This action will provide stable funding to banks and mortgage lenders in order to ensure continued lending to Canadians.
At its initial launch the program on 16 March 2020, the program was designed to purchase CA$50 billion of insured mortgage pools. This was increased by CA$100 billion on 26 March 2020.
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Lowered the Domestic Stability Buffer(...)Announced13/03/2020Policy details
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OFSI) reduced the Domestic Stability Buffer (DSB) from 2.25 percent to 1 percent of risk-weighted assets. Reducing the DSB is intended to allow Canada’s large banks to offer an additional CA$300 billion of lending.
The OSFI expects all federally regulated financial institutions to halt dividend increases and share buybacks for the time being. This is to ensure that banks use additional lending capacity to support Canadian businesses and households rather than to increase distributions to shareholders or employees or undertake share buybacks.
China
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Increased local government debt limit(...)Announced11/02/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Finance issued a new local government debt limit of ¥1,848 billion.
The increase is intended to allow local governments to do a better job of issuing and using special bonds to stimulate the economy.
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Cut interest rates(...)Announced10/02/2020Policy details
The Chinese Central Bank began a reverse purchase of government bonds to cut the interest rate.
The Central Bank also implemented anti-repo up to four times and ¥2.7 billion to increase the liquidity of the money market.
These measures are intended to stimulate the economy.
Denmark
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Launched extraordinary lending facility for one-week loans(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Danmarks Nationalbank launched an extraordinary lending facility to allow banks to take one week loans against collateral with an interest rate of negative 0.35 percent.
The lending facility is intended to ensure banks can access liquidity at favorable terms.
The facility was first made available on 20 March 2020 at a rate of negative 0.5 percent, with the new 0.35 percent rate effective on 27 March 2020.
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Agreed a bilateral swap arrangement with the US Federal Reserve(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Danmarks Nationalbank agreed to temporarily establish a bilateral swap line with the Federal Reserve to address the increased need for short-term liquidity in the US Dollar.
The bilateral swap agreement between the Federal Reserve and Danmarks Nationalbank amounts to US$30 billion and will be in place for at least six months. The new swap line has been agreed to improve the liquidity conditions in the global financial markets.
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Launched extraordinary lending facility for three month loans(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Danmarks Nationalbank expanded the extraordinary lending facility with three-month variable interest rate loans against collateral.
The interest rate on the extraordinary lending facility will be negative 0.35 percent.
The expanded facility will temporarily increase the access of banks to longer-term funding, in addition to the one-week loan facility announced on 12 March 2020. The new three-month loan facility will be available for the first time 27 March 2020 and weekly thereafter.
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Increased 2020 domestic bond issuances(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The Danmarks Nationalbank increased the domestic government bond issuance target for 2020 from kr. 75 billion to kr.125 billion, and advanced the opening of a new 30-year nominal bond to 1 April 2020.
The increase is intended to keep interest rates low and inject money into the Danish economy.
Two new T-bills will be added to the bond purchase programme on 30 March 2020, and the Danmarks Nationalbank has signalled outstanding T-bill amounts are expected to increase to accommodate a temporary increase in liquidity requirements.
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Removed countercyclical capital buffer requirement for banks(...)Announced12/02/2020Policy details
The Danish government released banks from the requirement to hold a countercyclical capital buffer.
The requirement was established following the 2007 financial crisis. Removing the requirement will provide banks with an extra kr. 200 billion in liquidity for use in business lending or to withstand losses on existing loans.
Germany
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Relaxed regulations on investment funds(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The German Government announced that passive violations of limits of investment funds between 1 March 2020 and 30 April 2020 will not be considered a material breach of the laws regulating investment funds. The decision was made in light of the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
India
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Cut benchmark repo rate by 75 basis points(...)Announced27/03/2020Policy details
The Reserve Bank of India reduced its benchmark repo rate by 75 basis points from 5.15 percent to 4.40 percent on 27 March 2020.
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Reduced bank fees(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Government of India reduced or removed various bank fees.
Debit cardholders can withdraw cash for free from any other banks’ ATM for three months.
The minimum balance fee will be waived.
Bank charges for digital trade transactions for all trade finance consumers will be reduced.
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Established a COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Prime Minister announced the creation of a ‘COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force’ under the Union Finance Minister.
The Task Force will consult stakeholders to inform decision making, and ensure implementation of the decisions.
Ireland
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Reduced capital buffer for banks(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Central Bank reduced the Countercyclical Capital Buffer from 1 percent to 0 percent.
The buffer determines how much capital banks and investment first must hold. It varies over time, and is increased during cyclical upturns and decreased during downturns.
This decision is intended to free up bank capital that can be used to provide credit, and to restructure and extend the loans of bank customers, both individuals and small to medium enterprises.
The Central Bank estimates that reduction of the buffer will free up over €1 billion of bank capital, which has the potential to support approximately €13 billion lending.
Nepal
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Lowered cash reserve ratio and reduced interest rate on standing liquidity facility rate(...)Announced29/03/2020Policy details
The Nepal Rastra Bank has lowered its cash reserve ratio from 4 percent to 3 percent and reduced the interest rate on the standing liquidity facility rate from 6 percent to 5 percent.
This measure is intended to provide liquidity to the financial system.
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Relaxed regulatory requirements for banks and financial institutions(...)Announced29/03/2020Policy details
Banks and financial institutions will not be charged or penalised for non-compliance with regulatory and supervisory requirements until April 15.
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Imposed temporary ban on luxury goods imports(...)Announced29/03/2020Policy details
The Nepal Rastra Bank has imposed a temporary ban on luxury goods imports, including gold over ten kilograms and vehicles worth over USD$50,000.
This measure is intended to reduce non-essential bank transfers.
New Zealand
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Agreed to accept corporate securities as collateral for cash from central bank(...)Announced30/03/2020Policy details
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has begun accepting corporate and asset-backed securities from banks as collateral for cash. The policy is intended to provide additional liquidity to the corporate sector by encouraging banks to continue to purchase debt securities from their corporate clients.
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Began purchase of government bonds by the central bank(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has begun a large scale asset purchase programme, commonly known as quantitative easing. The Reserve Bank will purchase up to NZ$30 billion worth of New Zealand government bonds over 12 months.
The programme is intended to keep interest rates low and inject money into the New Zealand economy.
Though the Reserve Bank is independent of the government, the Minister of Finance has signed a memorandum of understanding and a letter of indemnity with the Reserve Bank to enable the programme. -
Reduced official cash rate to 0.25 percent(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand reduced the official cash rate from 1 percent to 0.25 percent. The official cash rate is the interest rate set by the Reserve Bank for overnight lending to banks, and influences market interest rates generally.
The reduction in the official cash rate is intended to keep market interest rates down and allow people and businesses to borrow money more cheaply.
Pakistan
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Further reduced key policy rate(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
The Monetary Policy Committee of the State Bank of Pakistan reduced the key policy rate by 200 points to nine percent.
The key policy rate is the interest rate at which banks can borrow when they fall short of their required reserves.
The measure reduces forward looking real interest rates (defined as the policy rate less expected inflation) to around zero, which is about the middle of the range across most emerging markets. The reduction is intended to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on on growth and employment, including by easing borrowing costs and the debt service burden of households and firms, while also maintaining financial stability.
The measure was taken in response to projections released by the International Monetary Fund.
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Increased pool of loanable funds for banks(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Pakistan reduced the Capital Conservation Buffer (CCB) from its existing level of 2.5 percent to 1.5 percent.
This measure is intended to support the banking sector to supply additional loans to businesses and households, and will enable banks to lend an additional amount of around Rs. 800 billion, an amount equivalent to about 10 percent of their current outstanding loans.
The reduced CCB level will remain applicable until further instructions by SBP.
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Increased limit on extension of credit for small to medium enterprises(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Pakistan increased the regulatory retail limit on the extension of credit for small to medium enterprises to Rs 180 million from Rs 125 million.
The measure is intended to incentivize banks to provide additional loans to retail small to medium enterprises.
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Increased borrowing limits for individuals(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Pakistan has relaxed the debt burden ratio for consumer loans from 50 percent to 60 precent.
The debt burden ratio refers to a person's capacity to bear the burden of debt, whcih limits their ability to borrow from banks.
This measure will allow about 2.3 million individuals to borrow more from banks.
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Deferred loan payments(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
Banks and DFIs will defer the payment of principal on loans and advances by one year.
To benefit from this relaxation, borrowers must submit a written request to the banks before 30 June 2020.
The deferment of principal will not affect a borrower's credit history and such facilities will also not be reported as restructured/rescheduled in the credit bureau's data.
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Relaxed regulatory criteria for restructuring loans(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Pakistan has relaxed the regulatory criteria for restructuring and rescheduling loans.
Loans re-scheduled or restructured within 180 days from the due date of payment will not be treated as defaults. Banks would also not be required to suspend the unrealized mark-up against such loans.
The timeline for classification of trade bills has also been extended from 180 days to 365 days.
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Reduced margin call requirements against bank financing(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Pakistan has reduced the margin call requirement of 30 percent vis-a-vis banks' financing against listed shares to 10 percent.
The measure was taken in response to the steep decline in share prices.
Banks have also been allowed to take exposure on borrowers against the shares of their group companies. Banks have currently extended loans in excess of Rs. 100 billion against listed shares.
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Cut key policy rate(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Pakistan cut the key policy rate by 150 basis points to 11 per cent.
The key policy rate is the interest rate at which banks can borrow when they fall short of their required reserves.
Peru
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Formalized the granting of the public treasury guarantee(...)Announced22/04/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Peru formalized the granting of the Public Treasury guarantee within the framework of the REACTIVA PERÚ program.
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Changed discount window rate(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central de Reserva del Peru Discount window rate change. For overnight deposits it is now 0.15% annually. For direct security/currency repo and rediscount operations, the rate is now 0.50% annually.
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Reduced interest rate(...)Announced09/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central de Reserva del Peru 100 bp reduction of the reference rate from 125bp to 25bp.
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Delayed implementation of law on parallel credit lines(...)Announced08/04/2020Policy details
The The Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Fund Administrators (SBS) Delay implementation of law on "parallel" credit lines until January 1, 2021.
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Expanded eligibility for repo facility(...)Announced04/04/2020Policy details
The Banco Central de Reserva del Peru expanded collateral and institutional eligibility for repo facility. The minimum risk rating for collateral has changed from A to B+. The minimum amount of loans that financial institutions can use as collateral in these operations was reduced from S / 500,000 to S / 300,000.
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Modified rules applicable to investment management in the insurance sector(...)Announced30/03/2020Policy details
The The Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Fund Administrators (SBS) made various changes to rules applicable to investment management in the insurance sector.
The SBS temporarily increased (up to 10 business days) the individual limit of investment per counterparty in the case of financial institutions. The proportion of the fund applied to eligible investments issued or backed by the financial institution was increased from 7% to 9.5%. If the institution is a financial institution that has a risk rating of “A”, the limit is increased from 10% to 12.5%. If the institution loses its A rating, it has to send a letter to the SBS with a recovery plan for approval.
There is also a temporary increase (up to 10 business days) in "the limit corresponding to the sum of the eligible investments in deposits in current accounts in the same financial institution, applied to the support of its technical obligations" from 5% to 10%.
There is also a temporary suspension of accounting rules for writing down the impairment of financial instruments and exception of restrictions for accounting reclassifications and sales of instruments classified as matured.
Finally, there is a temporary suspension of the accounting update of the valuation of investments in real estate valued under the discounted cash flow (CDF) methodology. Does not apply to investments in real estate that a company sells or transfers (in whole or in part) during the term of this measure.
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Reduced bank reserve requirements(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central de Reserva del Peru Soles reserve requirement reduced from 5% to 4%
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Decreased minimum current account requirement(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central de Reserva del Peru Decreased minimum current account requirement in soles from 1.0 to 0.75% of the institution's total obligations subject to reserve requirements
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Reduced reserve requirements for foreign currency instruments with terms of two or less years(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central de Reserva del Peru Reserve requirements for foreign currency instruments with terms of two or less years decreased from 50% to 9%
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Suspended additional reserve requirements on foreign currency denominated credits(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central de Reserva del Peru Additional reserve requirements on foreign currency denominated credits suspended for the rest of 2020.
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Sold S 400 million in two-year repos at an interest rate of 3.24%(...)Announced20/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central de Reserva del Peru Sale of S 400 million in two-year repos at an interest rate of 3.24%.
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Changed discount window rates(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central de Reserva del Peru Soles discount window facility interest rate changes. For overnight deposits, it is now 0.25% annually. For direct security/currency repo and rediscount operations, it is now 1.80% annually.
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Reduced interest rates(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central de Reserva del Peru 100 bp reduction of the reference rate from 225bp to 125bp
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Sold S 400 million in one-year repos at 3.10%(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central de Reserva del Peru Sale of S 400 million in one-year repos at 3.10%
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Sold S 500 million in 6-month repos at 2.80%(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central de Reserva del Peru Sale of S 500 million in 6-month repos at 2.80%.
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Changed rules applicable to foreign exchange forwards/swaps(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The Banco Central de Reserva del Peru increased the value of foreign exchange forwards/swaps that require additional reserve requirements and the limits on such forwards/swaps.
Saudi Arabia
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Cut interest rates(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority has decided to cut the REPO rate by 75 basis points from 1.75% to 1.00 % and the Reverse Repo rate by 75 basis points from 1.25% to 0.50%.
The reduction in repo rates is for preserving monetary stability given evolving global developments.
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Deferred payment of dues owed to banks by small to medium enterprises(...)Announced14/03/2020Policy details
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority deposited SAR 30 billion for banks and financing companies to delay the payment of dues to the financial sector from small to medium enterprises for six months as of its date.
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Cut interest rates(...)Announced03/03/2020Policy details
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority cut the REPO rate by 50 basis points from 2.25% to 1.75% and the reverse REPO rate by 50 basis points from 1.75% to 1.25%.
Singapore
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Reduced the appreciation rate of the policy band of the Singapore Dollar Nominal Effective Exchange Rate(...)Announced30/03/2020Policy details
The Monetary Authority of Singapore will adopt a zero percent per annum rate of appreciation of the Singapore Dollar Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (S$NEER). S$NEER is an unadjusted weighted average rate at which the Singapore dollar exchanges for a basket of currencies from Singapore’s major trading partners and competitors. This is a form of monetary policy and is intended to provide stability to the trade weighted exchange rate, and price stability in the medium term.
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Provided US dollar funding to Singapore banks(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Monetary Authority of Singapore will provide up to US$60 billion of funding to banks in Singapore through a new USD facility. Auctions for these funds will be conducted every Monday.
The facility is intended to stabilise USD funding conditions in Singapore, and facilitate USD lending to businesses in Singapore. The measure is funded by the USD liquidity swap arrangement between the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the US Federal Reserve.
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Deferred corporate income tax payments(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Singapore Government will grant an automatic three-month deferment of corporate income tax payments due in the months of April, May, and June 2020. Payments deferred from April, May, and June 2020 will instead be collected in July, August, and September 2020.
This measure was announced as part of the government’s Resilience Budget.
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Deferred personal income tax payments for self-employed people(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Singapore Government will defer personal income tax for all self-employed persons. Self-employed persons will be granted an automatic three-month deferment of their personal income tax payments due in the months of May, June, and July 2020. These payments will instead be collected in August, September, and October 2020.
This measure was announced as part of the government’s Resilience Budget.
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Increased property tax rebates for non-residential properties(...)Announced26/03/2020Policy details
The Singapore Government will grant a property tax rebate for qualifying non-residential properties for the period of 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2020. This measure is an enhancement of the property tax rebate announced at Budget 2020 on 18 February 2020. It extends the rebate to additional types of properties, and increases the amount of rebate for certain types of properties.
Owners of qualifying properties will be granted rebates of up to 100% on their property tax payable. Landlords are expected to fully pass on the rebate to their tenants by reducing rentals to directly ease the cash flow and cost pressures faced by tenants. For properties that are eligible for 100% property tax rebate, this is equivalent to more than one month’s rental.
All qualifying non-residential properties have been classified into types which will receive rebates of 30%, 60% or 100%.
This measure was announced as part of the government’s Resilience Budget.
South Africa
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Reduced interest rates by a further 100 basis points(...)Announced14/04/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa reduced interest rates by 100 basis points.
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Puchased additional government bonds in the secondary market(...)Announced14/04/2020Policy details
The South African Reserve Bank began proactively purchasing government bonds in the secondary market to ensure liquidity in the government bond market
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Eased lending requirements for banks(...)Announced14/04/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa eased regulatory requirements, including the capital and liquidity requirements, in order to release lending of up to R550 billion into the economy.
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Issued guidance to reduce dividends and bonuses(...)Announced14/04/2020Policy details
The Government of South Africa issued guidance to reduce dividends and bonuses to ensure that banks use capital wisely.
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Decreased the repo rate by 100 basis points(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The South African Reserve Bank decreased the repo rate by 100 basis points.
The measure is intended to increase the money supply in the country, make lending cheaper, reduce the strain on borrowers, and inject liquidity into the economy.
South Korea
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Introduced loan program for brokerages(...)Announced16/04/2020Policy details
The Bank of Korea announced it would offer loans directly to banks, brokerages, and insurers for up to six months, requiring AA- rated or above bonds as collateral.
The program is worth 10 trillion won (US $ 8 billion), and will run for three months, effective May 4.
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Purchased corporate bonds(...)Announced24/03/2020Policy details
The Korean government announced that it would purchase 20 trillion won (US$16 billion) in corporate bonds to prop up companies facing a credit crunch due to COVID-19.
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Announced currency swap with the United States(...)Announced19/03/2020Policy details
The Bank of Korea announced a currency swap with the United States Federal Reserve, injecting US$ 60 billion in U.S. banknotes into Korea’s foreign exchange markets.
The move is aimed to address dollar shortages following a devaluation of the Korean won in March.
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Banned stock short selling(...)Announced13/03/2020Policy details
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced a ban on stock short selling for six months to curb panic selling, though the duration of the ban is subject to future market conditions.
The ban affects all listed firms on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index.
In tandem with the ban on short selling, the FSC will temporarily raise the ceiling on local companies’ repurchasing of shares.
Spain
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Increased net debt limit(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Government of Spain increased the Official Credit Institute's (ICO) net debt limit by 10 billion euros to increase ICO lines for financing companies and the self-employed.
Sweden
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Increased purchases of securities by the central bank(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) decided to increase purchases of securities by up to SEK 300 billion in 2020.
Purchases can include municipal and mortgage bonds as well as non-financial corporate bonds and commercial papers.
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Provided lending from central bank to companies via private banks(...)Announced13/03/2020Policy details
The Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) has decided to lend up to SEK 500 billion to companies via banks, to avoid robust companies being knocked out as a result of the spread of the coronavirus.
Banks will be allowed to borrow an unlimited amount at three months’ maturity on a weekly basis against collateral at an interest rate of 20 basis points above the repo rate. Flexibility will be increased on collateral requirements for banks when they borrow money from the Riksbank.
Thailand
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Established liquidity fund to backstop corporate bond market(...)Announced07/04/2020Policy details
This measure was announced as part of the third phase of the Thai Government’s economic stimulus programme, totalling B1.9 trillion.
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Extended deposit protections for account holders(...)Announced07/04/2020Policy details
The President of the Deposit Protection Agency, Mr. Songpol Chevapanyaroj, confirmed Cabinet approved a one-year extension of deposit protection guarantees, up to B5 million per person, due to the economic impact of COVID-19 and to provide confidence in Thailand’s banking system.
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Extended low-interest loans to financial institutions(...)Announced10/03/2020Policy details
The Government Savings Bank extended low-interest loans to financial institutions.
This measure was announced as part of the first phase of the Thai Government’s B400 billion economic stimulus programme.
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Deferred interest and payments for clients of special financial institutions(...)Announced10/03/2020Policy details
This measure was announced as part of the first phase of the Thai Government’s B400 billion economic stimulus programme.
Turkey
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Reduced one-week repo auction rate(...)Announced22/04/2020Policy details
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey reduced the policy rate (one-week repo auction rate) from 9.75 percent to 8.75 percent.
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Revised facility offered to banks to sell government securities to central bank(...)Announced17/04/2020Policy details
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey revised the facility offered to primary dealer banks to sell Government Domestic Debt Securities (GDDS) to the central bank.
The limits offered to primary dealer banks for outright sales of GDDS to the CBRT will be applied independent of the repo transaction limits and bankswill be offered a GDDS selling limit that is equal to the repo transaction limits.
GDDS to be purchased and the amount of purchases will be determined by the CBRT. Purchases will be conducted via the quantity auction method.
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Allowed outright purchase operations to be carried out in front-loaded manner(...)Announced31/03/2020Policy details
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey permitted outright purchase operations under the Open Market Operations (OMO) portfolio to be carried out in a front-loaded manner.
These limits may be revised depending on the market conditions.
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Allowed banks to sell government securities bought under unemployment insurance fund to the central bank(...)Announced31/03/2020Policy details
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey allowed primary dealers to sell the Government Domestic Debt Securities (GDDS) that they have bought from the Unemployment Insurance Fund to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) under the terms and limits set by the CBRT, or will be able to increase at certain ratios the liquidity facility offered under OMO in the scope of the Primary Dealership system.
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Added asset- and mortgage-backed securities to collateral pool for central bank foreign exchange operations(...)Announced31/03/2020Policy details
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey changed the Turkish lira and foreign exchange operations conducted at the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) to include asset-backed securities and mortgage-backed securities in the collateral pool.
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Increased limits for liquidity facilities(...)Announced31/03/2020Policy details
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey increased limits for targeted additional liquidity facilities offered to secure uninterrupted credit flow to the corporate sector.
Additional Turkish lira currency swap auctions with a maturity of six months will also be held.
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Extended the Turkish lira-denominated rediscount credits for export and foreign exchange earning services(...)Announced31/03/2020Policy details
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey extended the Turkish lira-denominated rediscount credits for export and foreign exchange earning services
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Capped credit card interest rates(...)Announced28/03/2020Policy details
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey capped credit card interest rates.
1.25% for the Turkish lira. 1.00% for foreign exchange transactions.
Maximum interest rate for overdue balances on credit cards will be 1.55% for the Turkish lira. 1.30% for foreign exchange transactions.
The central bank will no longer announce maximum credit card interest rates quarterly. These rates will be in effect indefinitely.
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Allowed conventional swap auctions to be held against euros and gold(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey allowed for conventional (multi-price) swap auctions with maturities of one, three and six months, which are currently available against US dollars, to also be held against euros and gold.
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Reduced FX reserve requirement ratios(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey reduced FX reserve requirement ratios by 500 basis points in all liability types and all maturity brackets for banks that meet real credit growth conditions within the context of the reserve requirement practice.
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Provided liquidity via repo auctions(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey will provide Turkish lira liquidity via repo auctions with maturities up to 91 days with an interest rate 150 basis points lower than the one-week repo rate.
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Reduced one-week repo auction rate(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey reduced the policy rate (one-week repo auction rate) from 10.75 percent to 9.75 percent.
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Lowered remuneration rates for required lira reserves(...)Announced07/03/2020Policy details
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey lowered remuneration rates for required reserves in liras.
Decreased from 10% to 8% for banks with loan growth that meets regulatory changes from August 2019.
Decreased to zero for banks whose real credit did not grow according to regulatory changes from August 2019.
United Kingdom
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Began purchase of short term corporate debt by central bank(...)Announced17/03/2020Policy details
The Bank of England began buying short term debt from large companies, through a facility called the Covid Corporate Financing Facility. The bank will purchase debt from non-financial companies that make a material contribution to the UK economy and can demonstrate they were in sound financial health prior to the COVID-19 shock. The policy is intended to support liquidity among larger firms and bridge disruption to their cash flows caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
United States
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Began purchase of government bonds by the central bank(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The Federal Reserve began a large scale asset purchase program, commonly known as quantitative easing.
The Federal Reserve will purchase up to $1 trillion worth of Treasury securities and $400 billion of mortgage-backed securities. The measure is intended to foster maximum employment and price stability.
The first tranche of $500 billion of Treasury securities and $200 million of mortgage-backed securities was announced on 15 March 2020. A second tranche of $500 billion of Treasury securities and $200 million was announced on 23 March 2020.
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Established new credit and market liquidity facilities(...)Announced23/03/2020Policy details
The Federal Reserve established new credit facilities to support credit markets across the economy. To support large employers, the Federal Reserve established the Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility (PMCCF), for new bond and loan issuance, and the Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility (SMCCF), for liquidity for outstanding corporate bonds.
To support the flow of credit to households and businesses, the Federal Reserve established the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), for issuance of asset-backed securities (ABS) backed by student loans, auto loans, credit card loans, and other loans.
To support municipalities, the Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (MMLF) is being expanded to include a wider range of securities, and the Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF) is being expanded to include high-quality, tax-exempt commercial paper as eligible securities.
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Established US dollar swap lines with foreign central banks(...)Announced20/03/2020Policy details
The Federal Reserve established temporary swap lines with a number of central banks around the world. The Reserve Bank of Australia, Banco Central do Brasil, Bank of Korea, Banco de Mexico, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Sveriges Riksbank can access up to $60 billion each, and the Danmarks Nationalbank, Norges Bank, and Reserve Bank of New Zealand up to $30 billion each.
Swap lines provide increased short-term liquidity in the US dollar, and make it easier for US dollar-denominated credit to flow to banks, thereby improving the availability of credit for households and businesses.
The temporary swap lines will be in place for at least six months. The Federal Reserve’s existing swap lines with the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, and the Swiss National Bank will continue at a lower price and at longer maturities.
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Reduced target range for federal funds rate to between 0 and 0.25 percent(...)Announced15/03/2020Policy details
The Federal Reserve lowered the target range for the federal funds rate to between 0 and 0.25 percent on 15 March 2020.
The target range was previously between 1 and 1.25 percent, as of 3 March 2020. The federal funds rate is the interest rate set by the Federal Reserve for overnight lending to banks, and influences market interest rates generally.
The reduction in the federal funds rate is intended to keep market interest rates down and allow people and businesses to borrow money more cheaply.
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Reduced capital requirements for banks(...)Announced15/03/2020Policy details
The Federal Reserve reduced reserve requirements to 0 percent and lowered the primary credit rate to 0.25 percent. Reserve requirements refer to an amount of cash that banks must hold relative to their total assets. The primary credit rate, often called the discount rate, is the interest rate banks must pay the Federal Reserve for short term loans.
Ordinarily, banks are required to hold a certain amount of capital as a buffer against economic shocks. Both measures are intended to reduce banks’ capital holdings, thereby increasing the amount of capital that banks are able to use for lending to households and businesses.
Vietnam
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Considered further stimulus package(...)Announced06/05/2020Policy details
The Government is considering further relief aid to revive the local economy, following the introduction last month of the VND62-trillion financial support package to help poor people and businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment has completed a draft stipulating missions and solutions to bolster production and business activities, speed up public investment disbursement and secure social order. Besides this, the draft aims to improve the investment environment to attract more resources for the country.
According to the draft resolution, the ministry suggested a business registration fee exemption for business households affected by the disease and a 30% reduction of the land leasing fee for six months for companies that have ceased operations.
For the aviation sector, the ministry proposed guarantee-fee exemptions in 2020 for loans endorsed by the Government, together with a 50% reduction in takeoff and landing fees and the management fees of domestic flights.
The ministry also suggested deferring value added tax payments for virus-hit sectors such as apparel, footwear and beverages; cutting lending rates for small and medium-sized enterprises; and postponing personal income tax payments.
According to the draft, foreign experts, business leaders and skilled workers may be subject to a special entry procedure to maintain business operations in the country. The Government will also consider streamlining administrative procedures to attract investment and speed up project progress.
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Released guidelines for restarting economy while managing COVID-19(...)Announced24/04/2020Policy details
The Government of Vietnam issue Directive 19, setting guidelines on measures to keep the country clear of COVID-19 while its economy restarts after strict social distancing measures.
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Exempted and reduced certain securities market fees(...)Announced18/03/2020Policy details
The Ministry of Finance exempted and reduced certain fees in the securities market for five months from March to August.
The following fees are exempted: listing registration, securities registration, first-time online connection service, securities borrowing and lending via VSD system, membership registration of derivatives trading, and membership registration of clearing services.
Fees will be reduced for nine services.
There will be a reduction of 10 percent for trading services on the primary market, derivatives market, securities depository services, a reduction of 15 percent to 20 percent for position management and margin asset management services on the derivatives market, and a reduction of 30 percent to 50 percent for securities listing management of guaranteed warrants, rights exercise, securities transfer, auction, and competitive offering.
This measure may be extended if necessary.
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Cut interest rates(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Vietnam reduced the refinancing rate from 6 percent to 5 percent and reduced the rediscounting rate from 4 percent to 3.5 percent.
The overnight rate in the inter-bank electronic payments and the rate of loans to finance short balances in clearing transactions between the SBV and commercial banks is also lowered from 7 percent to 6 percent.
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Capped interest rates for bank deposits(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Vietnam imposed caps on interests on VND-denominated deposits at credit institutions and foreign bank branches.
For under one month, the rate is reduced from 0.8 percent to 0.5 percent per annum.
For one to six months, the rate is reduced from 5 percent to 4.75 percent per annum.
For one to six months, the rate is reduced from 5.5 percent to 5.25 percent per annum.
At People’s Credit Funds and micro finance institutions, for under six months, the rate can be decided by the credit institution based on the capital supply and the demand in the market.
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Capped short term lending rate(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Vietnam capped the VND short-term lending rate charged by the credit institutions and the foreign bank branches to borrowers.
The rate is reduced from 6.0 percent per annum to 5.5 percent per annum.
For People’s Credit Funds and micro finance institutions the rate is reduced from 7.0 percent per annum to 6.5 percent per annum.
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Set interest rates for reserve requirements for credit institutions(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Vietnam set interest rates applying to the reserve requirement deposits and excess reserves of the credit institutions at the SBV.
The required reserves in VND is 1.0 percent per annum.
The required reserves in foreign currencies is 0 percent per annum.
The excess reserves in VND is 0 percent per annum.
The excess reserves in foreign currencies is 0.05 percent per annum.
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Set interest rate for deposits at micro-finance institutions(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Vietnam imposed an interest rate of 1 percent per annum for deposits in VND at the Vietnam Development Bank, the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, the People’s Credit Funds and micro finance institutions.
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Set interest rates on deposits at the State Treasury and Deposits Insurance Vietnam(...)Announced16/03/2020Policy details
The Government of Vietnam set interest rates for deposits in VND of the State Treasury and Deposits Insurance Vietnam at 1 percent per annum, while the interest rate for deposits in foreign currencies of the State Treasury is 0.05 percent per annum.
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Rescheduled bank debt(...)Announced13/03/2020Policy details
The State Bank of Vietnam rescheduled debts arising from lending activities or financial leasing for customers who are unable to pay in time because of decreases in revenues caused by the impact of COVID-19.
The measure applies to debts where the obligation to repay the principal and/or interest arises between 23 January and the following day after three months from the date the Prime Minister announces the end of the epidemic.
Credit institutions and foreign bank branches are entitled to maintain classifications of debt groups the same as at 23 January 2020.
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