LISBON, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The Business Confederation of Portugal (CIP) said on Sunday that the volume of moratorium by Portuguese private companies has reached almost 30 billion euros (36 billion U.S. dollars), due to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
About "25 percent to 30 percent of that amount is at risk of not being paid" back to banks, CIP President Antonio Saraiva told Radio Antena 1.
The business leader called on the government to "help those companies that clearly will not be able to honor this commitment until Sept. 23," the deadline for resuming loan payments.
The Portuguese government made a decree in March 2020, allowing the Portuguese not to pay their debts with banks as a way to help families and companies hit by the economic crisis. Enditem