TOPLINE
Chinese government-backed electric vehicle firms and German audio equipment maker Sennheiser are among the companies that received $150,000 or more in loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), according to a list released by the U.S. Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration Monday, along with a pair of right-wing nonprofits that oppose government spending, the billionaire Kanye West’s apparel brand Yeezy and the Burning Man festival.
Chinese state-funded EV maker Byton was one of the recipients of the PPP loan.
KEY FACTS
Chinese electric vehicle startups Byton, Nio and Karma Automotive were among the companies that received PPP loans between $5 million and $10 million, the Verge reported first.
Byton — which is backed by the Chinese state-owned automaker First Auto Works — said in its application that the loan would help it retain 387 jobs, but last week the company laid off workers at its North American headquarters and halted operations for at least six months.
Nio, which in February, had received around $1 billion in bailout money from a municipal government body in China, got its PPP loan in April, saying the money would help protect 204 jobs at its North American headquarters.
The U.S. research and development center of Chinese state-owned carmaker Chang’an Automobile also received between $350,000 and $1 million.
German audio equipment maker Sennheiser, which received at least $2 million, said that the loan was intended to help it retain 128 jobs, less than 5% of its global workforce, the Verge reported separately.
Bird, an e-scooter company, was listed for receiving a loan worth between $5 million and $10 million from the program, but the company tweeted that it was “erroneously listed” and had not filed an application.
Similarly, Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Index Ventures which is also listed as receiving between $2 million and $5 million, also tweeted that it had been “erroneously listed” and its legal team is looking into the issue.
Online medical-care booking service ZocDoc, has been listed as receiving between $5 million to $10 million, but the company told the Wall Street Journal that the company decided to return the money after its business quickly recovered.
Others on the list included Kayne West’s apparel brand Yeezy, the Burning Man festival, and two small-government advocacy groups: the Ayn Rand Institute and Grover Norquist’s the Americans for Tax Reform Foundation.
According to the government, $7.3 billion of the loans went to religious organizations, along with about $6.2 billion to other types of nonprofits, the Journal’s report added.
Key Background
The PPP disclosure lists more than 661,000 small businesses and nonprofits that received at least $150,000 in funding. The Washington Post notes that the list discloses less than 15% of the total number of loans issued under the program, however, it is the most detailed disclosure yet on the massive economic stimulus package which was launched by the federal government under the $2 trillion Cares Act. In the press release announcing the disclosure, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that the loans supported more than 51 million jobs and over 80% of all small business employees. According to data released by the SBA, the health care sector was the top recipient of the PPP loans, getting about 13%, followed by professional services, construction and manufacturing, each of which got more than 10% of the funds. Among states, California topped the list receiving $68 billion, Texas businesses received $41 billion, New York-based entities got $38 billion and Florida firms got $32 billion.
Disclosure: Forbes Media was approved to receive between $5 million and $10 million in PPP funds.
