Korea Eximbank Provides Total 20 Trillion Won Emergency Financial Support for COVID-19 Affected Companies

Rapid Support for Existing Loan and Guarantee Programs Worth 16 Trillion Won
4 Trillion Won Supplied Through New Emergency Management Funds to Overcome COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] The Export-Import Bank of Korea announced on the 25th that it will implement an emergency financial support plan worth a total of 20 trillion won to assist export-import and overseas expansion companies struggling due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The emergency plan announced by the bank on this day is a significant increase of 16.3 trillion won compared to the first support plan of 3.7 trillion won announced by the bank on the 7th of last month. It includes 11.3 trillion won for extending the maturity of existing loans, and 8.7 trillion won for new loans (6.2 trillion won) and guarantees (2.5 trillion won).

Looking into the specific new loan and guarantee programs, 2 trillion won of emergency operating funds will be provided to companies that are having difficulty maintaining their export-import and overseas business bases due to COVID-19 damage.

Also, considering the rapidly deteriorating export conditions, the target will be expanded to include not only COVID-19 affected companies but also large enterprises in innovative growth and the materials, parts, and equipment industry sectors, providing 2 trillion won. Through this, the bank plans to support COVID-19 affected companies in overcoming management crises and actively provide proactive funding to innovative growth and the materials, parts, and equipment industries that require continuous investment.

In addition to extending the maturity of existing loans, 2 trillion won of new operating fund loans will be additionally provided to support exports through liquidity supply, and guarantees of 2.5 trillion won will be supported at low guarantee fee rates. When issuing new loans, the loan limit will be preferentially increased by up to 10 percentage points compared to existing limits, and for guarantees, the guarantee fee rate will be preferentially reduced by up to 0.25 percentage points.

A special financial support program of 200 billion won will be provided for small and medium export companies without credit ratings. In particular, during the credit evaluation of these SMEs, qualitative evaluation will be omitted and rapid screening will be conducted based solely on financial statements, with preferential interest rates supported up to 0.90 percentage points.

An official from the bank said, "Since early February, we have established an emergency response system for COVID-19 and prepared two support measures to quickly assist affected companies," adding, "Affected companies can receive consultation and financial support through nearby bank branches and the damage reporting center."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.