Kina Bank to support SMEs

KINA Bank is looking to drawdown its own funds of up to K100 million to support small medium enterprises (SMEs) that lack capital to grow, says chief executive officer Greg Pawson.
Responding to questions from The National, Pawson said this would be independent from the Government’s K200 million SME loan facility partnering with Bank South Pacific (BSP) and the National Development Bank (NDB).
He said, however, the bank would need government support to grow the SME sector.
“We are looking at developing a SME capital fund of K50 to K100 million set aside for equity investments to SMEs that are growing but lack the capital to expand,” Pawson said.
“This would be administered through Kina Funds Management. This is of course independent of the Government’s SME funding programme of K200 million with BSP and NBD.
“It is also important to note that we will not require Government support and our commitment to growth of this key sector of the market for PNG.
“We are also looking at developing a SME incubator programme as part of this fund.”
Prime Minister James Marape acknowledged Kina Bank for putting its hand up to partner with the government to provide soft SME loans.
“I have also had words with Kina Bank and it has also given us indication that even without government guarantee parked with them, Kina Bank has given indication that they are willing to go into that space for SME because it just benefits all partners all around,” Marape said.
“It benefits the economy, individual person participating in business or group, the banks and the government so it pays to make investment in the business space.”