Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Gordon Chen (陳樹) said his agency would instruct local banks to increase loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that have complained about the credit crunch.
Chen made the statement at a meeting with Cabinet officials led by Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and 60 SME representatives in Taipei.
Roscher Lin (林秉彬), chairman of the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (中小企業協會), said before the meeting that SMEs employed 77 percent, or 7.95 million, of the nation’s 10.3 million workers, but secured only 18 percent of business loans.
BIASED LENDERS
Lin said bank institutes tended to favor large-scale companies over SMEs, ignoring the fact that they contribute 30 percent of the nation’s gross output.
He said the FSC, seeking to reverse the unfair treatment, had asked domestic banks to grant at least NT$200 billion (US$6.28) in loans to SMEs each year, but that the policy had expired in June.
Chen said his agency last week decided to extend the policy for another three years and increase the loan volume to NT$300 billion (US$9.43 billion) before the end of next year.
“The policy proved helpful over the last three years, so we decided to extend it and increase its amount,” Chen told reporters after the two-hour meeting in a five-star hotel.
FAST MOVES
Chen said the government would speed up deregulation for Taiwanese companies based in China or other countries to return or list here.
Lin and other SME representatives also urged the government to help mediate settlement terms with large-scale companies that used to pay upon delivery but have delayed payments.
Lin said the delay would make it more difficult for SMEs to cope with rising fuel and raw material costs.
No Cabinet officials addressed the complaint.
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