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LONDON - BRITAIN wants Europe to act now to help small businesses cope with the credit crunch, through a 12 billion pound (S$30.8 billion) fund from the European Investment Bank, British Prime Minister Brown said on Saturday.
'I'll be proposing a 12 billion pound small business fund so that small businesses in our country and in the rest of Europe can get money immediately,' Mr Brown told Sky television, ahead of a summit of leading European policymakers in Paris on how Europe should tackle the financial crisis.
The European Investment Bank has already announced a similar amount - 15 billion euros (S$29.16 billion) - over two years to help small companies, but Britain wants the funds to be made available immediately.
'What's important is for governments to act now to help small and medium business cope with the need for credit and that's why we're asking for the EIB to bring forward this 15 billion euros now,' a spokesman for Mr Brown said.
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