General Information
SIMEST is the development finance institution dedicated to supporting and promoting the activities of Italian companies abroad. SIMEST was set up as a limited company in 1991. It is controlled by the Ministry for Productive Activities, and its private-sector shareholders include major Italian banks and industrial business organizations. Its purpose is to promote Italian investment abroad and to provide technical and financial support for projects. It promotes direct investment by Italian companies outside the European Union and administers various forms of public support for the internationalization of the Italian economy. For firms it is a one-stop shop for assistance on every aspect of the development of business abroad.

Instruments

Equity

As regards direct investment abroad:
• SIMEST can acquire up to 25% of the equity capital of foreign firms in countries outside the European Union, whether wholly-owned by Italian companies or set up as joint ventures with local partners;
• its participation also gives the Italian company making the investment access to interest rate support for loans granted to finance its equity interest in the foreign company.
SIMEST runs the venture capital funds of the Ministry for Productive Activities for the promotion of investments abroad by Italian companies in China, Russia and Ukraine, the Mediterranean, Africa, Iraq, the Balkans and the former Yugoslav Republics.

Other

As regards other activities abroad, SIMEST:
• supports export credits for investment goods produced in Italy;
• finances pre-feasibility and feasibility studies and technical assistance programmes;
• finances market penetration programmes;
• finances the cost of participating in international tenders.
SIMEST also provides Italian companies seeking to internationalize their businesses with technical assistance and advisory services. Its activities in this field include: scouting, matchmaking, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, and advice on financial, legal and corporate questions concerning investment projects abroad to which SIMEST may contribute equity capital.