Policy Address

Support Small and Medium Enterprises to Embrace Challenges

69. The Government will promote the continuous development of SMEs and support them to rise to challenges, including:

  1. tap into electronic commerce (e-commerce) – In view of the rapid growth of e-commerce business worldwide, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) will establish the inter-departmental E-commerce Development Task Force to implement policies assisting Hong Kong's SMEs in developing e-commerce business on the Mainland, including organising Hong Kong Shopping Festivals on e-commerce platforms to promote awareness of Hong Kong brands for developing the nation-wide domestic consumption market; launching "E-commerce Easy" under the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales to enable enterprises to make use of $1 million for the implementation of e-commerce projects within the cumulative funding ceiling of $7 million; and expediting the rollout of the Single E-lock Scheme and the Trade Single Window, etc. to enhance efficiency in customs clearance and e-commerce delivery;

  2. strengthen export credit insurance – We will raise the statutory cap on the contingent liability of the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation from $55 billion to $80 billion to enhance its underwriting capacity. The corporation will upgrade its free credit check services for policyholders regarding buyers from the 10 ASEAN member states, giving exporters more confidence in accepting overseas orders;

  3. address the financing needs of SMEs – The application period of the principal moratorium arrangement under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme ended in September, and some SMEs have already resumed normal repayment, with the principal moratorium arrangement of the remaining loans expiring gradually by the end of next year. Having regard to the cash flow situations of different enterprises, the Government will provide more flexible repayment options so that enterprises may choose to repay only 10%, 20% or 50% of the original principal amount payable each month during the specified period, enabling them to have more time to gradually switch to normal repayment;

  4. utilise data to provide more efficient financing services for SMEs – The Commercial Data Interchange of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority provides enterprises (especially SMEs) and banks with an exchange platform covering various commercial data for credit underwriting. By the end of this year, the Commercial Data Interchange will be connected to the Government's Consented Data Exchange Gateway. This will enable financial institutions to obtain more useful data for accelerating credit underwriting; and

  5. support digital transformation of SMEs – Cyberport will launch the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme by the end of this year to subsidise SMEs in the retail and food and beverage sectors in applying for electronic payment and other digital packages.