Soft Loan

What is a soft loan?

In addition to export financing at commercial rates, as a Plasser & Theurer customer who fulfils certain requirements you may be able to finance your next purchase under the terms of a soft loan. Soft loans are concessional loans with especially favourable terms. They are made available to public institutions for select projects (projects that are financially unsustainable with insufficient cash flow to finance them on commercial terms); they fund Austrian exports to developing and emerging markets, for example. Soft loans are characterised by low interest rates, grace periods, and long repayment periods.

Terms of financing

  • Volume: 100 % of the value of the supply contract in EUR
  • Usually the Ministry of Finance in the customer’s country is the borrower. If not, a state guarantee is required.
  • Always within the maximum loan limit
  • As of 2021, the following countries are eligible for soft loans:
    • Asia: Bangladesh (CAT 5, LDC), India (CAT 3), Indonesia (CAT 3), Mongolia (CAT 7), Myanmar (CAT 6, LDC), Philippines (CAT 3), Sri Lanka (CAT 6), Vietnam (CAT 4)
    • Central and South America: Bolivia (CAT 5), El Salvador (CAT 5), Honduras (CAT 5)
    • Sub-Saharan: Africa Angola (CAT 6, LDC), Ethiopia (CAT 7, LDC, WB), Cameroon (CAT 6, IMF/WB), Kenya (CAT 6, IMF), Lesotho (CAT 6, LDC), Rwanda (CAT 6, LDC, IMF/WB), Zambia (CAT 7, LDC), Senegal (CAT 5, LDC, IMF/WB), Tanzania (CAT 6, LDC, IMF/WB), Uganda (CAT 6, LDC, IMF/WB)
    • Middle East/North Africa/Other Countries in Africa: Egypt (CAT 5), Cabo Verde (CAT 6), Morocco (CAT 3), Tunisia (CAT 6)

Your benefits

  • A loan with very favourable conditions and a concessionality level between 35 % - 50 %
  • Very low interest rates
  • Long-term repayment periods with a grace period
  • Our seasoned specialists provide support and guidance during the entire financing process, acting as financial intermediaries when drawing up the terms of the loan