Supply@ME Capital PLC (LSE:SYME) (SYME), which provides an innovative fintech platform for use by manufacturing and trading companies to access Inventory Monetisation (IM) solutions, has welcomed new Italian legislation pegno non possessorio (PNP) regulation which has been published in the Official Journal of the Italian Republic.
The PNP Regulation will, for the first time in Italy, introduce the concept of 'security interest' - a concept widely adopted across Europe and the UK - into Italian law, and allow entrepreneurs to access financing of their inventory more easily, without having to sell, transform or otherwise dispose of their business assets.
In parallel to the PNP Regulation, the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) will operate a digital ledger for the registration and keeping of pledges. As a result, all the operations relating to such pledges can be carried out swiftly and electronically, including, but not limited to, registration, consultation by anyone, modification, renewal and cancellation.
In a statement, Alessandro Zamboni, CEO of SYME, said: "We are delighted to see the formal introduction of the PNP Regulation into Italian law and look forward to capitalising on the opportunities it will bring. We expect the legislation to make funding inventory-backed transactions more appealing and straightforward for banks and - more generally - the eco-system of our inventory funders, which in turn can be supported by our ready-to-go Platform."
The PNP Regulation is, notably, expected to allow operators in the Italian manufacturing and industrial sectors to attract investments aimed at divesting and/or financing their own inventory. While for banks and investors, the PNP Regulation will facilitate the effective exercise of the rights of secured creditors, aligning the effectiveness of the enforceability of the movable pledge with the best practices already adopted in other countries, SYME said.
As stated in the company's year-end business update of 20 January 2023, the PNP Regulation is expected to provide greater opportunities for Italian banks to adopt the SYME platform for use under white-label agreements and further enhance the security available to the inventory funders in traditional IM transactions.
Furthermore, it is expected that the PNP Regulation will create additional opportunities for traditional inventory funders to invest in IM transactions in light of the proposed improvements to the legal enforceability of guarantees over the inventory, through the arrangement of self-funding and/or white-label agreements, which leverage the SYME platform.