Kibo and Industrial Bank Join Hands to Resolve Management Difficulties for SMEs and Small Business Owners

The Korea Technology Finance Corporation (Chairman Kim Jong-ho, hereinafter Kibo) announced on the 28th that it has signed a "Long-term and Low-interest Financial Support Agreement to Alleviate the Financial Burden of SMEs and Small Business Owners Engaged in Future Innovation Industries" and a "Financial Support Agreement to Revitalize Facility Investment" with the Industrial Bank of Korea (President Kim Sung-tae, hereinafter IBK).

This agreement is the first project promoted under the policy finance revitalization consultative body established by both institutions. It was prepared to contribute to expanding financial support for SMEs and small business owners engaged in future innovation industries and to revitalizing facility investment.

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Through the agreement, Kibo will preferentially support a special contribution agreement guarantee worth a total of 350 billion KRW, funded by IBK's special contribution fund of 17.5 billion KRW. Kibo will provide benefits such as ▲increasing the guarantee ratio (from 85% to 90% or more) ▲reducing guarantee fees (by 0.2 percentage points for 3 years), and IBK will offer preferential interest rates to reduce financial costs for SMEs and drive innovative growth.

The target companies for support are technology-innovative SMEs and small business owners related to government national tasks in ▲fostering future innovation industries ▲creating startup ecosystems ▲strengthening SME competitiveness ▲sustainable growth (ESG) fields. To revitalize facility investment, Kibo will support a guarantee fee support agreement guarantee worth a total of 200 billion KRW, funded by IBK's guarantee fee support fund of 6 billion KRW, and IBK will support guarantee fees of 1 percentage point for 3 years on facility fund handling. Through special contributions and guarantee fee support, a total of 550 billion KRW in agreement guarantees will be supplied.

Kim Jong-ho, Chairman of Kibo, said, "This agreement is the first case of proactively identifying key issues in policy finance, and both institutions will work together to ensure that the target funds are promptly supported in the right place." He added, "Kibo will expand support for SMEs and small business owners experiencing a complex economic crisis and for revitalizing facility investment, and will do its best to successfully implement the government's national tasks."

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