MULTAN: Prime Minister Imran Khan has met our outstanding demand by introducing a financing scheme for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), enabling them to get loans without security and collateral and we are grateful to premier for easing “doing business” for SMEs and ending joblessness
Exchanging views with senior journalists here, former President of Multan Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Sitting President of DGCCI, Ex-Punjab caretaker Minister for Industries, Chairman of PESSI Health management committee, member of board of director of BOI & high level agriculture Committee, Member Board of Governors of Nishtar Medical University, Khawaja Jalaluddin Roomi said that he had suggested to Prime Minister, Federal Finance Minister and Governor State Bank during his meeting to introduce a financing scheme for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), enabling them to get loans without security and collateral.
Roomi said that he would call on Prime Minister Imran Khan and Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and he would convince them to allocate at least 30 % quota of this scheme for south Punjab so that it could run the wheel of economy swiftly. He assured that a help and awareness desk would be established at Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan Chamber for guidance of youths and SMEs
He said the scheme would improve the SMEs’ access to finances in collaboration with the government aimed at enabling the businesses that cannot offer security or collateral to access bank finance and Govt would provide risk coverage of 40-60pc to selected banks against losses
“This initiative has been brand named, ‘SME Asaan Finance’ or SAAF to emphasize the SME facilitation feature of this scheme to provide clean lending i.e. lending without collateral to SMEs,” he said. Roomi said that this scheme would help in alleviating the pressure of unemployment in the country.
Under the scheme, the SBP will provide refinance for three years to the selected banks. After three years, the refinance will be repaid by banks in 10 equal yearly instalments.
“Selected banks will get refinance from the SBP at 1 percent per annum and extend financing to SMEs at end user rate of up to 9pc p.a. which is very attractive compared to informal finance costs,” Roomi said.
Under SAAF, all SMEs that are new borrowers of a bank will be eligible to avail financing of up to Rs10 million. The collateral-free (clean) financing will be available to SMEs for long-term fixed capital investment and working capital finance requirements.
Jalaluddin Roomi further said that Shariah-compliant Islamic as well as conventional modes of finance will be offered. The scheme will be available to SME borrowers towards the end of September 2021.An attractive feature of the scheme is that the government will provide risk coverage of 40 to 60pc to the selected banks against losses depending on the size of loans.
