Myanmar provides US$22mil loans to pandemic-hit businesses

NAYPYIDAW (Xinhua): The Myanmar government has provided 31.8 billion kyats (US$22 million) loans to the most vulnerable business affected by Covid-19, an official from the Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry told a press briefing on Wednesday (June 24).

"Under the country's Covid-19 Economic Relief Plan, the loans had been given out as of June 18 to 832 vulnerable businesses in the garment manufacturing sector, hotels and tourism as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) at 1 percent interest rate with one-year period," said Maung Maung Win, deputy minister of Planning, Finance and Industry.

Meanwhile, the government will also provide 50,000 kyats (US$35.7) loans per acre as Covid-19 Special Relief loans to the local farmers at 5 per cent annual interest rate starting this month to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the agricultural sector, he said.

It was learnt that a total of 600 billion kyats (US$428 million) special relief loans will be given out for 12 million acres until September along with annual monsoon agricultural loans to the farmers.

Myanmar has reported 293 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with six deaths as of Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports. - Xinhua