BOT acts to help hard-up companies

BOT acts to help hard-up companies

The Bank of Thailand (BOT)'s latest steps to help ease the strain on business operators hit by the Covid-19 pandemic are scheduled to come into force this week.

The central bank will implement two measures: 250 billion baht worth of soft loans and debt restructuring through an asset warehousing programme costing 100 billion baht. They are going ahead in accordance with the state of emergency announced in the Royal Gazette on April 10, said the BoT's deputy governor for financial institutions stability, Ronadol Numnonda.

Institutions keen to take advantage of the assistance must apply by next Monday and in the meantime can inform their creditors.

The soft loan scheme aims to address the limitations of previous measures by expanding loan terms from two to five years. The central bank will charge a reduced interest rate on the loans at just 0.01% per year and loans will be supported by a credit guarantee scheme through the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation.

The asset warehousing scheme allows business operators to freeze assets they have used to collateralise their debts. This enables the setting up of a debt restructuring programme for badly hit borrowers who required favourable conditions to repay their loans.

Given the surge in Covid-19 infections, the BoT is keen to introduce measures to help both business operators and retailers, Mr Ronadol said.

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