President Union of Small & Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) Zulfikar Thaver said the Ministry of Commerce should rejuvenate Pakistan Export Finance Guarantee Agency (PEFGA) and broaden its scope to meet the requirements of 3.8 million small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as guarantee lending by SMEs to make banks comfortable. He said while inaugurating 2nd camp office of PEFGA located at Korangi here on Wednesday at local hotel.
He appealed to the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz not to dissolve PEFGA but instead increase its capital and portfolio to provide all types of indemnities to banks on behalf of SMEs at affordable premium.
He complained that even PEFGA's partner banks were not accepting their guarantees and insisted on collaterals from SMEs. Zulfikar Thaver requested PEFGA to redesign the products and issue guarantees on the basis of firm contracts and positive cash flows as opposed to insisting on 50% collaterals.
