China News Service, April 17, according to Hong Kong Wenhui.com, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued a notice on the 17th that in order to reduce the burden on SMEs, after consultation with the "Banking SME Loan Coordination Mechanism", a "pre-approval repayment" will be formulated "No interest repayment" plan. From May to October 2020, eligible customers will automatically postpone the principal repayment of all loans. Among them, the principal repayment of general loans is delayed for 6 months, and the principal repayment of trade financing loans is delayed for 3 months.
The HKMA estimates that the plan will cover more than 80% of corporate customers of Hong Kong banks. Corporate customers whose annual turnover does not exceed 800 million Hong Kong dollars and who do not currently have overdue loans of more than 30 days are in compliance with the relevant arrangements. Eligible companies do not need to submit an application, they only need to contact the bank within 14 days of receiving the notice to confirm the loan extension details.
The HKMA stated that 11 major banks in the banking industry ’s small and medium enterprise loan coordination mechanism have confirmed their participation in the plan, which together account for more than half of the total bank loans in Hong Kong. Relevant institutions should start to notify pre-approved customers who meet the plan before the end of April, and give priority to customers whose loan principals expire after May 1.