Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Bank has launched a HK$33 billion ($4.2 billion) fund to aid the city’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through loan offerings, the company announced on Tuesday.
Hang Seng serves nearly a quarter of Hong Kong’s SMEs, and more than 60% of its new customers are startups, according to its statement.
The post-pandemic era has posed a number of challenges for such businesses, ranging from inadequate cash flow, hard-to-regain business momentum, and escalating operational expenses, among others.
Hang Seng Bank will review applications from SMEs for loans on a case-by-case basis and has set no cap for these new loans.
Through the fund, dubbed the SME Power Up Fund, companies can avail Hang Seng’s loan products such as Innobooster loan, SME Financing Guarantee Scheme, SME Business Loan, trade finance, revolving loan, as well as green financing options, including SME green loan and social loan.
“The HK$33 billion SME Power Up Fund is our tangible commitment to SMEs, structured to complement the government’s supportive measures highlighted in the recent budget,” said Regina Lee, Head of Commercial Banking at Hang Seng Bank.
The government announced support measures for the city’s SMEs as economic recovery continued to lag. It extended applications on a financial loan scheme for SMEs and further upped commitments by $10 billion.