Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that face persistent hurdles when applying for loans at Hong Kong banks should contact the Monetary Authority as part of its role is to ensure government policy is carried out, the city’s leader has said.
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Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Thursday the government had heard the cries for help from SMEs as the city’s economy underwent changes and measures in the policy address were aimed at meeting their needs.
A listener to a radio programme on which Lee was speaking called in to tell the city leader she had heard from multiple friends that their loan applications at HSBC, the biggest of Hong Kong’s three currency-issuing banks, had been “turned down for no reason”.
“If HSBC doesn’t follow the government’s instructions, no matter how good the policy is, the government will be burdened by the banks,” said the woman, who only gave her surname, Chan.
“How do you ensure that the banks and the government are on the same page?”
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In response, Lee said he had told the Monetary Authority, the city’s de facto central bank, to form a task force with banks to help with individual cases.
“If your friends have issues, they can contact the task force’s hotline,” Lee said.