Preferential loans make it easier for IT
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The Ministry of Digital Development proposes to simplify the possibility of obtaining preferential loans for digital transformation projects. The office of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko notes the high demand for the support program and believes that the changes will make it available to a larger number of accredited IT companies. At the same time, difficulties in accessing preferential loans arise due to the lack of collateral for organizations – this issue has not yet been resolved, while this is very important for medium and small IT companies.
The Ministry of Digital Development proposes to soften the requirements for IT companies to receive preferential loans for digital transformation projects based on Russian solutions. Let us clarify that the subsidized rate of such loans (up to 10 billion rubles) is only 1-5% per annum, and for accredited IT companies – no more than 3% per annum. Now, the condition on confirmation by the borrower of the right to tax benefits and the use of reduced insurance premiums can be excluded from the rules. In addition, it is planned for companies to lift the ban on placing their own funds on deposits at a rate higher than the preferential rate, remove the obligation to annually index wages and allow them to pay dividends at their own expense (soft loan funds cannot be used for this). The draft government decree is posted on the regulation.gov.ru portal.
“This will attract additional funding to the IT industry, and Russian developers will be able to ensure current activities and implement more new projects,” the ministry said in a statement. In turn, the office of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko told Kommersant that the concessional lending program shows high demand and amendments should make it more accessible to a larger number of accredited IT companies. As of August 1, the portfolio of such concessional loans was estimated at 52.2 billion rubles, 97 projects were supported, 23 banks participate in the program, indicate the Ministry of Digital Development.
At the same time, Maksut Shadayev, the head of the department, said earlier that the issuance of preferential loans is hindered by the lack of collateral for IT companies, and the question of the possibility of pledging intangible assets, as well as the idea of a guarantee fund for such loans, is only being worked out (see more details “Kommersant” from March 23). A solution has not yet been found. “Of course, the volume of lending to IT companies will increase manifold if banks are more active and at fair value accept intangible assets as collateral, primarily products included in the register of Russian software. The Ministry of Digital Development with the Central Bank and the regions is now actively working on possible mechanisms, ”Kommersant was told at the Ministry of Digital Development.
The press service of the Bank of Russia explained to Kommersant that intangible assets can be considered as collateral for a loan if they are liquid, but this requires an active market that will allow a reliable assessment of such assets to be formed. As for IT companies, for them, as a rule, the value of intangible assets is closely correlated with financial performance, and successful organizations can get loans from banks even without collateral in the form of intellectual property, the press service of the Central Bank noted.
The head of the Russoft Association, Valentin Makarov, believes that globally, the current initiative of the Ministry of Digital Development will not help domestic companies much. Medium and small IT companies, which are the majority in the Russian Federation, still do not have the material collateral required to obtain a loan, and intellectual rights to software products are still not considered by the Central Bank (and banks) as collateral. “Taking a loan secured by your own property is clearly not an option,” he says. Meanwhile, APKIT director Nikolay Komlev considers the initiative useful. In his opinion, the project is rather aimed at supporting implementations and user projects. Cancellation of wage indexation obligations is the right decision, salaries in the IT sector are already quite high, he notes. Banks also evaluate the idea of the Ministry of Digital Development in different ways: for example, in the Moscow Credit Bank they talk about high demand for the product, in Sovcombank – about moderate (see Kommersant-Online).
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