HSBC has announced three new measures that aim to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Hong Kong tackle challenges resulting from trade and retail sales slowdown amid current economic uncertainties.

The measures include interest rebate and subsidy extension for the Hong Kong SAR Government’s SME loan schemes, and PayMe for Business transaction fee reduction. 

Terence Chiu, head of Commercial Banking, Hong Kong, HSBC, said: “SMEs are the heartbeat of our economy: they account for over 98% of local enterprises and around 45% of total employment. We have spent time listening to our customers and have heard their voices at this difficult time. That is why we are launching three measures to support them. We will always stand with our customers in Hong Kong and are committed to helping them thrive in all economic conditions.” 

Interest rebate on loans under SFGS or SGS 

As the first bank to provide interest rebate to the government’s SME loans this year, HSBC is offering a six-month interest rebate (March to August 2019) on loans approved under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme (SFGS) or SME Loan Guarantee Scheme (SGS). No application is required. Interest will be rebated to HSBC Commercial Banking customers (only applicable to active borrowing customers as at 31 August 2019) as early as end of September 2019. The interest rebate is capped at HK$20,000 per customer and is available to customers across all industries. 

Extend fee subsidy for new application of SFGS 

Full subsidy for the first year and 50% subsidy for second year on the guarantee fee for new applications of SFGS have been extended to 30 June 2022. The subsidy is capped at HK$50,000 for each borrower. 

Transaction Fee Reduction on PayMe for Business 

PayMe for Business customers will get a 50% reduction of transaction fee from 1.5% to 0.75% per transaction from 2 September to 31 December 2019. The offer is applicable to all PayMe for Business merchants (excluding merchants under any pre-approved preferential pricing programme offered by the bank).