Polish firms to get funds under 2nd financial shield on Jan. 18

Polish firms afflicted by Covid-related restrictions should get money under the government's liquidity aid on January 18, the deputy prime minister and development and labour minister said on Friday.

"First moneys from (the state development fund - PAP) PFR's Financial Shield 2.0 should be in the companies' bank accounts on Monday," Jarosław Gowin told a briefing.

On January 5, the government gave the green light to a second version of a Covid-19 financial shield for micro, small and medium-sized businesses and upgraded the first version of the shield. The Financial Shield 2.0 will provide support for 45 sectors damaged by the coronavirus crisis.

Financial aid under version 2.0 of the shield, amounting to PLN 13 billion (EUR 2.86 billion), will be forwarded until March 31.

Gowin noted that together with the write-off of subsidies from the Financial Shield 1.0, the PFR's support for the most severely affected sectors will reach as much as PLN 20 billion (EUR 4.4 billion).

According to the PFR, which oversees the shield programme, up to 70,000 companies may be eligible for aid under the scheme.

Gowin added that to date the financial shield has given around PLN 170 billion (EUR 37.4 billion) in aid to Polish firms affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He also said that the government will extend support for firms if pandemic-related restrictions have to be kept in the coming weeks or months.

Olga Semeniuk, a deputy development minister, said on Saturday that the second financial shield will be extended to help entrepreneurs running tourist accommodation facilities and short-term tourist rental accommodation.