Questions

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) what is the success rate of applications for the Temporary Bridging Loans; (b) what are common reasons for the loans to be rejected; and (c) given that the Government bears 70% of the risk share in the Temporary Bridging Loan programme, whether the success rate for loan applications can be improved further 

Written Answer by Minister for Trade & Industry Mr Chan Chun Sing

1.            TBL applications are subject to PFIs’ credit approval to ensure the prudent use of public funds. The success rate for Temporary Bridging Loan applications is high, over 90%, with more than 20,000 loan applications approved by Participating Financial Institutions (‘PFIs’).

2.            Common reasons for rejection cited by the PFIs include:

a.           The company was loss-making or had weak cashflow pre-COVID;

b.            The company and/or its owner had prior records of loan default; or

c.            The company was over-leveraged, or in receivership.