THE HAGUE - When determining the term and repayment schedule of the COVID-19 loans for Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten, the Netherlands appears to be flexible.
For example, Sint Maarten does not have to start repaying the first part until 15 years from now, and the repayment is spread over 30 years. This became clear during the technical briefing that the Dutch House of Representatives Committee received today from officials of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations in preparation for the debate tonight with State Secretary Van Huffelen.
The flexibility regarding the loan term and repayment schedules is due to Sint Maarten's limited financial capacity, ensuring that the country still has room in the budget for reforms and investments in the economy. Whether Curaçao and Aruba will also get more time to repay is not yet known; some calculations need to be done first.
Details regarding the interest to be paid will be clarified later: the deadline for the countries to agree to the conditions is September 30. If they do not agree, they will still be able to refinance at a market-conforming interest rate.