******************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (HKMC) today (November 15) announced that its Board has approved the launch of the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme on January 1, 2011 as a market-oriented platform based on commercial principles to assist local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to obtain sustainable bank financing.
The Scheme aims to assist non-listed enterprises with business operation in Hong Kong to obtain loans from banks so as to provide general working capital for their business operations or to acquire equipment and assets in relation to their business.
Under the Scheme, the HKMC will provide guarantee coverage on 50% to 70% of the bank financing for eligible enterprises. The maximum loan amount for each enterprise or each group of enterprise under cover is HK$12 million. Both term loan and revolving credit facility are eligible. The maximum guarantee period for each loan facility is five years. The minimum annual guarantee fee is 0.5% p.a. of the loan facility. Details of the key features of the Scheme are set out at Annex.
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Deputy Chairman of the HKMC, Mr Norman Chan, said, "SMEs are a cornerstone of the Hong Kong economy. According to our experience in the past two years, assisting SMEs to obtain sustainable bank financing is one of the key factors that helped Hong Kong weather the global financial tsunami, which led to earlier recovery of the local economy and employment. With the expiry of the Government's Special Loan Guarantee Scheme, it is timely for the HKMC to launch this new guarantee scheme which will help SMEs obtain sustainable bank financing."
Ends/Monday, November 15, 2010
Issued at HKT 17:30
NNNN
