China News Service, July 19. According to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Gazette, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the "Banking Industry SME Loan Coordination Mechanism" announced on the 19th that trade financing under the "pre-approved interest repayment without principal repayment" program will be extended again. The loan repayment period is 90 days.
The HKMA pointed out that since the beginning of this year, the unstable geopolitical situation has exacerbated the tension in the global supply chain.
Global inflation has further heated up, and major central banks have accelerated monetary policy tightening and raised interest rates, increasing the financial burden on companies.
Considering that Hong Kong's economy has just started to stabilize after the fifth wave of the epidemic, and there are still great uncertainties in the prospects of import and export trade, the coordination mechanism has decided to extend the repayment period of trade financing loans under the plan by 90 days to the end of October this year, which is in line with the overall situation. Scheduled synchronization expires.
The HKMA and the Coordination Mechanism will then comprehensively review the follow-up arrangements for the scheme.
The HKMA said corporate customers participating in the extension of trade finance loans under the scheme can extend the repayment period for a further 90 days for loans due between August and the end of October this year.
New trade finance loans drawn by eligible corporate customers between May 2022 and the end of July 2022 can also be extended for 90 days.
In the case of a self-paying loan, the bank may require the customer to repay the loan when the relevant payment is received.
If the loan for the same trade transaction has been extended for 270 consecutive days or more from the original loan date, the bank may adopt flexible arrangements and, under the principle of prudent risk management, consider other more suitable arrangements to assist the customer with regard to the loan according to the customer's situation. overcome obstacles.
For some customers who have recovered their repayment ability and wish to have more definite repayment arrangements, the Coordination Mechanism encourages them to voluntarily choose to start partial principal repayment in accordance with the guidelines issued by the HKMA on 23 February 2022.
For trade finance loans, banks can negotiate with customers on a case-by-case basis, allowing customers to repay the relevant loan in instalments within two years.