Peter Pang: The SME sector - an important pillar of many economies
Statement by Mr Peter Pang, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary and Head
of Delegation, at the 44th Asian Development Bank Annual Meeting, Hanoi, 5 May 2011.
* * *
I would like to thank the Government and the people of Viet Nam for their warm hospitality in
hosting this year's Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank. I would also like to take
this opportunity to express my deepest condolences to the people of Japan affected by the
recent tragic events.
The global recovery has gained traction, with emerging Asia in particular rebounding strongly
from the global financial crisis. Compared with the last Asian financial crisis, the damage to
the real economy of the region was much more contained this time. This is in large part
attributable to the reforms taken by regional economies over the years to strengthen
economic fundamentals and improve the resilience of their banking and financial systems. In
addition, a number of regional economies have also promptly taken temporary extraordinary
measures to support their economies and cushion the impact on employment. A number of
these supportive measures were targeted at assisting the small and medium-sized enterprise
(SME) sector, which is an important pillar of many economies.
SMEs play a crucial role in the economic growth and job creation of both developing and
advanced economies. In Hong Kong, China, for instance, SMEs account for 98% of business
establishments and employ nearly half of the total workforce. They provide a broad range of
employment opportunities and play an important role in reducing urban poverty. It is no
exaggeration to say that when SMEs thrive, the economy prospers. This is also true vice
versa.
SMEs are particularly vulnerable to economic downturns, as banks often reduce their lending
to the SME sector due to credit concerns. The exceptional severity of the credit crunch
during the global financial crisis has therefore posed great challenges to the SMEs. In
response, the Government of Hong Kong, China swiftly rolled out a temporary HK$100 bn
Special Loan Guarantee Scheme (SLGS) in December 2008 to alleviate the difficulty of
SMEs in obtaining bank finance and the potential surge in unemployment due to the closing
down of SMEs. Together with other short-term government stimulus measures, the SLGS
has been successful in supporting the SMEs to sail through this once-in-a-century crisis and
limit the potential knock-on impact on the economy. Unemployment rate increased by a
modest 2.3 percentage point to peak at 5.5% in September 2009. This compares with the
4.3 percentage-point increase during the Asian financial crisis when no such temporary SME
support measures were available. The economy contracted briefly by 2.7% in 2009 and
rebounded strongly the following year to achieve 6.8% growth.
As economic conditions improved and market liquidity normalised, the Government exited
from this emergency measure and ceased to receive new applications of SLGS after
end2010. In the meantime, the success of the SLGS has garnered a consensus to develop a
sustainable, market-oriented platform to cater for the ongoing SME financing needs upon the
phasing out of SLGS. Taking this opportunity, the Government-owned Hong Kong Mortgage
Corporation launched a new SME Financing Guarantee Scheme (SFGS) on 1 January 2011
to facilitate a smooth transition from the temporary SLGS to a sustainable market-based
mechanism.
Operating based on prudent commercial principles, the SFGS does not require government
subsidy and the scheme size can be flexibly adjusted to respond to changes in market
demand. The SFGS also provides a broad range of options on the product features such as
tenor, facility type, loan amount and guarantee coverage to fit the different needs of banks
and SMEs. Initial market response to the SFGS has been positive, with a good participation
rate from banks and an encouraging number of applications received from a broad variety of
SMEs. It is expected that the SFGS will over time play an important role in helping SMEs
obtain stable and sustainable financing while assisting banks in managing their risks, in
particular when market conditions become volatile and uncertain.
I am happy to share this experience of Hong Kong, China of how the "exit" of an
extraordinary government measure has facilitated the "entry" of a long-term market-based
solution for sustainable SME financing. I am also pleased to see that, among other priorities,
ADB has put more emphasis to private sector development including promoting the SME
sector in recent years. A vibrant SME sector will create jobs, improve productivity and
expand opportunities for the poor in developed and developing economies alike. We hope to
see the Bank continue with its efforts on this front, along with its other equally important
priorities in promoting the development of the region.