Kafalat guarantees down

Total value of loans reached $165 million, average per loan at $129,700

Loans extended to small and medium sized enterprises under the guarantee of Kafalat reached $165 million in 2011, down by 2.6 percent from 2010.
According to figures released by Kafalat Corporation, the number of loan guarantees fell by 9.4 percent year-on-year, only totalling 1,272 during 2011.
The average loan size was $129,720 throughout the year, up by a yearly 7.5 percent.
The number of guarantees extended to enterprises in Mount Lebanon represented around 41 percent of the total number extended throughout the year. The Bekaa area acquired around 18 percent of the total, followed by the North regions with 15.5 percent. The South regions acquired around ten percent, while the Nabatieh accounted for around nine percent. Beirut had the least number of loan guarantees with around six percent of the total.
The agricultural sector acquired 521 guarantees in 2011, down from 615 in 2010. The industrial sector got 486 loan guarantees, down from 599 in 2010. The tourism sector acquired 216 guarantees last year, down from 260 in 2010. Handicrafts enterprises got 29 loan guarantees last year (24 in 2010), while the specialized technologies sector got 21 loan guarantees (30 in 2010).