Lebanese Industry, agriculture, and tourism each got a shot in the arm Tuesday when Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s government agreed to increase the amount of individual subsidized loans to the productive sectors to $10 million from $3.3 million, The Daily Star reported Wednesday.
The decision to raise the ceiling on soft loans came after a meeting between Hariri, Finance Minister Fouad Siniora, Industry Minister George Frem, Agriculture Minister Ali Abdullah, Tourism Minister Karam Karam, and Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, the paper said.
Frem was quoted as saying that the decision would be in place as soon as possible to allow all productive sectors to benefit from these loans, noting that the Central Bank and the government have developed a plan to process the loan applications quickly -- Albawaba.com
