ATHENS — Greek Finance Minister Christos Staikouras on Thursday announced that the ministry was preparing a sixth round of state loans to enterprises and the self-employed in March, based on turnover and incomes of the January-March period.

Speaking to ERT1 state television, Staikouras said that around 400,000 enterprises and self-employed will be eligible for the fifth round of state loans currently underway. The FinMin said that some sectors reported improved revenue with the implementation of the click-away shopping method (accessories, cosmetics, etc) based on the comparison of data for the November-December period. He left the door open to a plan of subsidising loan payments for enterprises.