Businesses will be offered better terms under the state-sponsored Mikrohitel credit program for small businesses, deputy-undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy and Transport Mrs. Marianna Csákvári Pongor announced on Tuesday. From December 20, the maximum amount available under the facility will be raised to €25,000 or about Ft 6.35 million. The maximum run of the loans will also be extended from 5 to 8 years. Businesses pay a rate of between 3% over or under the central bank base rate on the loans, and they may apply for the loans in a simplified procedure. The Mikrohitel program’s conditions were last changed in February 2005, when the maximum amount available under the facility was raised from Ft 3 million to Ft 5 million, and the maximum run was extended from 3 to 5 years. The ways businesses are allowed to use the loans was also expanded to include pre-financing and operating costs.