HKMA Enhances Loan Guarantee Scheme, Grants New Banking License
HKMA granted a banking license to the Bank of Dongguan Co. Ltd, which is incorporated in the People’s Republic of China. With this, the number of licensed banks in Hong Kong is 162. In another development, HKMA announced that enhancements to the Special 100% Loan Guarantee of the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme will take effect from March 29, 2021, with an extension of the application period till December 31, 2021. HKMA had announced certain enhancements to the Loan Guarantee scheme in February 2021 as a result of the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
To benefit from the enhancements to this Guarantee Scheme, eligible enterprises should have been operating for at least three months as at June 30, 2020 and should have suffered at least a 30% decline in sales turnover in any month since February 2020 compared with the monthly average of any quarter from early 2019 to mid-2020. The maximum amount of loan per enterprise will be raised from the total amount of employee wages and rents for 12 months to that for 18 months, or HKD 6 million (originally HKD 5 million), whichever is lower. Meanwhile, the maximum repayment period of the guaranteed loans will be increased from 5 years to 8 years and the principal moratorium arrangement will be extended from up to 12 months to up to 18 months.
Keywords: Asia Pacific, Hong Kong, Banking, Loan Guarantee, Credit Risk, Payment Deferrals, COVID-19, Bank of Dongguan, Bank Licenses, HKMA
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