Brasília, March 11, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Today, in the Planalto Palace, the Minister of Development, Luiz Fernando Furlan, presented the Economic and Social Development Council and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with a series of measures that are part of a new industrial, technological, and foreign trade policy.
The measures are intended to encourage innovation, technological development, and the modernization of Brazil's industrial park. In addition, in the months to come the government intends to announce other measures to stimulate the sector, economic growth, and job creation.
One of the measures is the Modermaq, an industrial modernization program involving credit for the acquisition of machinery and equipment. The program is aimed chiefly at small and medium-sized firms. Annual interest rates will not exceed 14.95%, with fixed installments, a payment schedule up to 60 months, and a three-month grace period. The total amount of resources will reach R$ 2.5 billion. The program will begin to function in a month.
According to Minister Furlan, the program will finance up to 90% of the good to be acquired and will be administered by the BNDES (National Economic and Social Development Bank) and other financial agents. Furlan also announced the Industrial Export Extension Program, to take care of technical and management problems affecting micro, small, and medium-sized firms.
With this program, the government hopes to assist 100 thousand industrial companies by 2007, through agreements involving the federal government, state governments, Sebrae, universities, Senai, Sesc, Senac, and Technological Centers. The goal is to raise the number of companies capable of competing internationally, propagate the export culture, lower the mortality rate among the companies that receive help, and increase employment levels.
The total cost of the Industrial Export Extension Program over four years will be R$ 160 million, resources already included in the Pluriannual Plan (PPA). The Ministries of Development and Science and Technology, Sebrae, the Export Promotion Agency (Apex), and the BNDES will be in charge of the program.
Another new feature of the government's industrial policy is the Industrial Development Agency Company, which will implement and coordinate programs and strategies to support the development of the innovation process and encourage the competitiveness of the productive sector. The agency will also stimulate the acquisition of intellectual property and develop instruments to abet the emergence of new firms. (DAS)
