FUNDING ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

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FUNDING ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES: 12.

Mr Arthur Fong asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how many small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) had applied for funding assistance in the years 2001, 2002 and 2003 to date; (b) how many of those which applied were approved and what were the total amounts approved for each of the years from 2001 to 2003 (to date); (c) how much of the approved amounts were disbursed for each of the years from 2001 to 2003 (to date); and (d) for those cases

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that were approved, how long did it take for the funds to be disbursed.

The Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat) (for the Minister for Trade and Industry): Mr Speaker, Sir, there are three main financing schemes for SMEs offered by SPRING Singapore. They are the Local Enterprise Finance Scheme (LEFS), the Micro Loan Programme (MLP), and the Loan Insurance Scheme (LIS). These are loan schemes that help SMEs obtain loans from bank and financial institutions.

For FY 2001, there were 2,200 applications for these schemes, of which 2,000 were approved. The amount approved was $420 million. For FY 2002, there were nearly 4,800 applications for the schemes, of which 4,000 were approved. The amount approved was $590 million. For FY 2003 to-date, there have been about 2,200 applications, of which 1,900 were approved. The amount approved is $330 million.

For these financing schemes, the credit assessments and loan disbursements are done by the Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs). The PFIs will disburse the loans to the SME once the loan is approved. Disbursement can take place as quickly as one day after the loan is approved, although this depends on the nature of the loan. The time taken is no different from that of a normal commercial loan.