Hang Seng continues to back Hong Kong’s business community with new funding initiatives
Bank offers city’s small and medium-sized enterprises finance, innovation and sustainability to help them seize cross-boundary opportunities
Despite a steady improvement in the Hong Kong economy, challenges remain for the city’s businesses, including shifting local consumer and tourist spending patterns, and rising operational costs such as the ban on single-use plastics.
“These are examples of the types of challenges businesses have to face,” Regina Lee, head of commercial banking at Hang Seng Bank, says. “They need to transition and explore new ways to grow. All these efforts require funding and cash flow, and that’s where we can help.”
Hong Kong’s SMEs account for 98 per cent of all firms in the city. They are a driving force in an era of change and innovation, fostering entrepreneurial ideas and adapting to consumer trends and new technology.
Hang Seng Bank recognises the importance of SMEs and the role they play in contributing to the economy of Hong Kong.
“Nearly a quarter of Hong Kong’s SMEs are our customers, and more than half of them have been banking with us for more than 10 years,” Lee says. “Over 60 per cent of the new company accounts we set up last year were with start-ups. We continue to engage with them to understand and assist with any challenges they face.”
In March this year, Hang Seng Bank launched a HK$33 billion (US$4.2 billion) SME Power Up Fund to provide diversified loans tailored to meet the financing needs of individual SMEs more efficiently, with focuses on four main pillars: business financing, innovation, Southern China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA) connectivity, and sustainability.
