Small and medium-sized enterprise minister Lex Delles is pictured speaking on Friday at the Luxembourg chamber of commerce press conference Delano

Small and medium-sized enterprise minister Lex Delles is pictured speaking on Friday at the Luxembourg chamber of commerce press conference Delano

Announced during a press conference held by the chamber of commerce and House of Entrepreneurship on Friday, the measures include a bank guarantee for companies experiencing cash flow difficulties.

For companies requiring credit or loans, the chamber of commerce will establish a specific surety bond in the form of a guarantee through its mutual guarantee society (Mutualité de Cautionnement). The guarantee will be equivalent to 50% of the credit and up to a maximum of €250,000 per guarantee. A procedure to analyse requests within 48 hours has been put in place.

To benefit from this bank guarantee, companies must apply directly to their bank, which is free to decide whether or not to release the credit. The chamber of commerce has been in contact with banks to organise the roll-out of the service.

More information about the guarantee can be obtained by calling the House of Entrepreneurship hotline, on 42 39 39 - 445. The hotline will open on Monday 16 March, and will operate on working days from 9am to 12 noon, and from 2pm to 5pm.

It is there to respond to questions related to the impact of covid-19 on business matters. People can also email questions to [email protected].

The House of Entrepreneurship’s public information desk for questions related to startups, administrative procedures, VAT and social security matters, will only be accessible remotely, by calling 42 39 39 330 or emailing [email protected].

These measures complement existing aids, such as a draft law providing additional aid instruments for SMEs whose activities are impacted by events like a pandemic.

Middle classes and tourism minister Lex Delles (DP) said during the announcement that no decision had yet been made that would force a closure of cafés and bars in the country. He added that the government's emergency cell was analysing the situation daily.

Chamber of commerce president Luc Frieden, meanwhile, said that it was too soon to put a figure on the losses that would be incurred as a result of precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Nevertheless he warned that growth in 2020 would be considerably weakened.