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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, at a media session on the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme of the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation today (November 15):
Financial Secretary: I am pleased to announce that in response to market suggestions, the HK Mortgage Corporation (HKMC) Board of Directors has just approved a proposal for the HKMC to launch an SME Financing Guarantee Scheme from January 1 next year. The scheme will assist SMEs to obtain loans from participating authorised institutions in order for them to meet their business needs, enhance their productivity and competitiveness. There are over 280 000 SMEs in HK with over 1.2 million employees. They comprise an important segment of our local economy. The SME Financing Guarantee Scheme is a market oriented scheme. It will provide a sustainable and flexible financing platform for the SMEs to meet their financing needs, especially in the midst of a challenging business environment. This will help strengthen the partnership between banks and SMEs. By supporting banks to lend to SMEs, the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme will further enhance the stability of the banking system and complement the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme of the Trade and Industry Department, producing even greater benefits for Hong Kong as a whole. The HKMC management will shortly brief you on the scheme in greater detail at a press conference. Thank you.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Monday, November 15, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:11
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