KUWAIT CITY, April 25: In a step aimed at helping owners of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially those affected by the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Board of Directors of the National Fund for the Care and Development of Small and Medium Enterprises, headed by Minister of Commerce Fahd Al-Sharia’an, decided to postpone the collection of installments due from SMEs owners funded by the ministry for 6 months, from the date of the end of the third postponement last March, provided that the mechanism for paying the due installments to the initiators is approved according to 3 options, reports Al-Rai daily.

The first option, according to the decision, of which Al-Rai has obtained a copy of, includes the continuation of payment in accordance with the concluded contract and the approved deduction order, while the second option includes deferring the debt due for deferred installments for a period of 6 months as a final payment due at the end of the currently concluded contract. The third is to distribute the indebtedness due for installments deferred for 6 months equally over the remaining installments, or to increase the years of debt maturity or grace periods in a manner that does not exceed the maximum years of payment and grace periods stipulated in accordance with the National Fund Law.