Assembly passes legislation on lending to SMEs

The Legislative Assembly has passed a bill to increase the maximum a small and medium enterprise is allowed to borrow interest-free to MOP900,000 (US$112,689) from MOP500,000. The bill would also allow the government to guarantee the full amount of a bank loan of up to MOP1 million to an SME. At present, the government is allowed to guarantee 70 percent of a five-year interest-free loan to an SME.