More than a dozen Hong Kong banks, including the city’s three currency issuers, have come together to offer flexible loans to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and help them weather the turbulent times ahead amid the tit-for-tat tariffs between the US and China.
HKMC Insurance, a unit of the government-owned Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation, is working with banks to process loan applications for SMEs and offer relief, including a moratorium on principal repayments and partial principal repayment arrangements, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
HSBC, the city’s biggest lender, also said that it fully supported the targeted measures for various industries announced by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), adding that it has been implementing a flexible and accommodating approach to evaluate the financing needs of SMEs.
“Since March last year, 13,000 of our SME customers have benefited from interest rebates, fee waivers, access to new facilities and loan extensions,” an HSBC spokeswoman said in reply to a query from the Post. “We will also continue to provide SMEs with insights on ways to navigate complex market challenges through our platform and ongoing customer engagement activities.”
The HKMA held a meeting with 18 lenders on Tuesday when it was agreed they would undertake a flexible approach to loan approvals for different sectors.
“The 18 lenders have agreed to extend trade finance repayment terms beyond the typical 90 days where needed, due to liquidity pressures caused by shipment or order delays in the manufacturing and export sectors,” Arthur Yuen Kwok-hang, deputy chief executive of the city’s de facto central bank, said at an event organised by Standard Chartered Bank.
