Budget | HSBC and Hang Seng welcome government's measures to support SMEs

HSBC welcomes the various additional relief measures mentioned by the Financial Secretary in the 2022-23 Budget and related initiatives to strengthen Hong Kong as an international financial centre.

Lin Huihong, chief executive of HSBC Hong Kong, said that even though Hong Kong's economy has been hit hard by the epidemic, the fundamental factors are still strong, and it is believed that there will be a strong rebound after the epidemic.

The measures just announced in the Budget are expected to help businesses and communities get out of the haze of the epidemic.

I am especially pleased to see the support for SMEs, which are not only an important pillar of Hong Kong's economy, but also the most affected group in the past two years.

Since the launch of the "100% Guaranteed Personal Loan Scheme", "SME Financing Guarantee Scheme - 100% Guaranteed Concessional Loan", and "Pre-approved Interest Repayment Non-Principal Repayment Scheme", remarkable results have been achieved.

Of course, the government's measures alone are not enough, and the help of the banking industry must also be combined.

Since February 2020, HSBC has relieved the financial pressure of commercial customers through various measures, providing liquidity of over HK$315 billion.

Lin Huihong pointed out that in response to the development of the capital market, it is believed that measures such as further expanding the interconnected asset classes, promoting the development of green finance, issuing longer-term government bonds to establish a yield curve, and strengthening the status of the offshore RMB center will not only enrich capital. product variety in the market and attract more issuers, institutional and retail investors, thereby strengthening Hong Kong's position as an international financial centre.

She said: "We welcome the establishment of the 'Greater Bay Area Investment Fund' by the authorities to invest in projects of strategic development significance in the region. In fact, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has developed into one of the largest economies in the world, and it is imperative to strengthen the Connect and seize more development opportunities. We are committed to working with customers to find more business opportunities in the Greater Bay Area.”

Hang Seng: Working side by side with customers to overcome difficulties

Hang Seng Bank welcomes the series of measures announced by the Financial Secretary in the Budget to support small and medium enterprises, stimulate the economy and relieve people's hardships, and will make every effort to support the measures of the relevant banking industry.

Hang Seng has been working side by side with customers. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, it has provided a series of relief measures for commercial and retail banking customers, and actively participated in various government financial services relief programs, including the "100% Guaranteed Personal Loan". , "100% Guaranteed Concessional Loan" and "Pre-Approved Interest and No Principal" plans.

Among them, the "100% Guaranteed Preferential Loan", which relieves the capital turnover pressure of SMEs, has been approved by Hang Seng since its launch to the end of last year, and more than 8.6 billion yuan of related loans have been approved.

In order to assist SMEs in their efforts to fight the epidemic and improve the efficiency of loan application, Hang Seng has also taken the lead in launching an online application and uploading document platform, together with the remote account opening service, so that customers, especially SMEs, can complete the process from account opening to applying for related loans. The whole process is processed through online banking.

Regarding the optimization measures of the relevant plans in the Budget, the team of Hang Seng Commercial Bank has also started to proactively contact various SME customers to understand their needs, so as to provide assistance to customers affected by the epidemic as soon as possible.

Hang Seng regards Hong Kong as its home, and understands the pressures faced by all sectors of society under the epidemic. It launched the "Anti-epidemic Together" plan earlier, looking forward to fighting the epidemic together with the Hong Kong community. At the same time, Hang Seng will continue to walk side by side with customers. Overcoming difficulties together.