Exim Bank beefs up new target

PARIS: The Export-Import Bank of Thailand (Exim Thailand) has upgraded its target for new loans this year to 145 billion baht from 138 billion, even with the economy suffering from the pandemic. President Rak Vorrakitpokatorn said he is confident the bank can achieve the new target.

Exim Thailand plans to design loan packages to fit the specific demand of segments of small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs). It also wants to relax loan conditions to help clients more easily access loans, he said.

One current condition for eligible SMEs is posting positive financial performance and profit for three consecutive years from the date of the application. The bank wants to change this condition, requiring SMEs to not have negative owners' equity for the past three years from the date of the application, and the business must be operating and generating revenue.

Moreover, applicants' production and utilisation cannot be lower than 50% of total capacity. The bank launched two relief schemes in response to the additional financial measures rolled out by the Bank of Thailand to assist entrepreneurs affected by the pandemic.

The first is the credit rehabilitation scheme, offering a revolving credit facility with a maximum tenure of five years and an average interest rate of 4.2% per year, with an interest rate the first two years of 2% per year.

The other is the asset warehousing scheme. Exim Thailand will accept the transfer of collateral assets from its existing debtors affected by the pandemic for debt payment to the bank. The goal is to reduce operators' financial costs. Operators have the option to buy back the assets within 3-5 years from the asset transfer date. Asset warehousing allows operators to suspend debt repayment and transfer property assets, as loan collateral, to their creditors temporarily within a specific time frame.