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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has earmarked $25 million for loans for the Philippines’ small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). Merly Cruz, regional director of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Southern Mindanao, said “The ADB is studying how it can participate in trying to address the financing gap of the SMEs in the country,” she said. The financial assistance is for “non-bankable, but viable projects.
“So, between the lines, you can read that they are not requiring collateral, relying heavily on the feasibility and viability of the project,” she said.
05/08/2003
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State-owned Bank of China’s international factoring transactions increased by more than eight times year-on year while domestic factoring transactions rose 53% on year, the bank said, without providing figures.
The bank recorded a 40% year-on-year rise in intermediate business revenue to 7.6 billion yuan in the first six months of 2003.
05/08/2003
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When it comes to funding the growth of their business, nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of British businesses turn to their overdraft, according to a survey conducted by business and financial advisers, Grant Thornton.
04/08/2003
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“SMEs (small- and medium-size enterprises) are struggling with what they call their worst financial problems since the 1997 crisis, due to the economic slowdown and strengthening loan reviews” said Industrial Bank of Korea.
04/08/2003
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The World Bank approved a US$58.4 million loan to help increase competitiveness and growth of micro and small businesses in low-income urban areas of Mexico, by supporting their efforts to integrate e-business into their operations.
04/08/2003
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The Slovak arm of the Czech bank CSOB showed a profit of SKK122 million in the first six months of 2003, down from SKK131 million in the same period a year earlier, according to figures released by the firm.
The CSOB Slovakia group also includes OB Heller Factoring, which posted a net profit of SKK8.9 million, CSOB Leasing, which netted SKK102.6 million, the building society CSOB Stavebna sporitelna, which posted a gross profit of SKK20.17 million, and the insurer Ergo Poistovn, which netted SKK10.5 million.
Source: Interfax
04/08/2003
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An article by Graeme Forbes, head of corporate finance at Grant Thornton
The business outlook for small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in the UK "continues to paint a relatively gloomy picture" according to the latest quarterly report by the Bank of England (BoE). The report states that among small manufacturing firms "uncertainty about demand persists and investment intentions remain weak", while a survey from banking giant Barclays reported "worsening performance in 2003 Q2".
04/08/2003
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The US Export-Import Bank's (Ex-Im Bank’s) acting chief operating officer (COO) said that his bank is finalising a credit insurance programme aimed at reviving commerce in Iraq's post-war economy, Reuters reported.
The COO added that the size of the programme is still being finalised, indicating that it would be of the size required to notify Congress. Under Ex-Im Bank rules, Congress must be notified of any program over US$100 million.
04/08/2003
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Mediofactoring, Italy’s largest factoring company, has changed its name to Intesa Mediofactoring spa. The new style will bring more uniformity into the group and, according to the strategy of Intesa Bank, the company will maintain the name Mediofactoring as it is already well known in the market.
Intesa Mediofactoring has more that 3,700 clients, 100,000 debtors and an estimated Ђ30 billion factoring turnover.
Source: Agenzia Giornalistica Italia
04/08/2003
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A joint meeting between commercial bankers and top representatives of the private sector has suggested wide-ranging amendments to the draft of prudential regulations for small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
04/08/2003
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Spurned by major banks, many of Japan's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have to depend on credit unions for financing. Perhaps unique to this country, it is common to see employees of credit unions going around on their bicycles, visiting clients to accept their deposits.
In the process, these officers become very familiar with their clients' businesses and develop a good feel for whether they are doing well or otherwise. But the merger of credit unions in recent years has dealt another blow to SMEs.
01/08/2003
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Statistics showing insolvencies in the second quarter 2003 are published today (1 August) by the Department of Trade and Industry.
There were 3,843 company insolvencies in England and Wales in the second quarter of 2003 on a seasonally adjusted basis. This was an increase of 4.7% on the previous quarter and a decrease of 6.9% on the same period a year ago.
1.0% of active companies became insolvent in the twelve months ended Q2 2003, a decrease on the previous quarter and the corresponding quarter in 2002.
01/08/2003
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The state-initiated SMEs Venture Capital Fund, managed by One Asset Management Co, is concerned about growing competition from banks as a source of funds for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Many of the fund's potential clients have instead sought financing from banks due to current record-low lending rates.
01/08/2003
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Lloyds TSB Group’s Wholesale Markets sector, which includes Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance and Alex Lawrie Factors, has reported a pre-tax profit of Ј368m for the six months to 30 June 2003,an increase of 3.95% from Ј357m for the same period 2002. Pre-tax profit for the six months to 31 December 2002 was Ј296m.
01/08/2003
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The small- and medium-size enterprise (SME) sector has been regarded as typically `high risk and high delinquency' in banking circles. Public sector banks that have been involved for a long time in funding this sector have a quagmire of bad loans in their books.
Private sector banks hope to learn from past bad experiences and are betting on superior credit screens, strict adherence to stronger systems and processes, picking customers carefully, and stringent monitoring of accounts to save themselves from the inherent perils of this market.
01/08/2003
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