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Development Bank Launches a National Guarantee Program of QAR 3.0
Billion to Aid Impacted Private Sector’s Businesses
05 April 2020
In
implementation of the directives of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad
Al-Thani, to extend financial and economic stimulus of QAR 75.0 billion
to the private sector, and upon the directives of HE the Prime Minister
and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz
Al-Thani to allocate guarantees worth QAR 3.0 billion to stimulate the
impacted businesses, Qatar Development Bank ‘QDB’ has launched its
‘National Guarantee Program’ aiming at extending the needed guarantees
to the local banks to further start granting loans, free of interest or
charges, to the impacted private sector businesses within the State. The
Guarantee Program will be executed in association with the Ministry of
Finance, Qatar Central Bank and the banks operating in the State as a
response to the repercussions of the spread of coronavirus COVID19.
The National Guarantee Program targets to
enable the companies of the private sector pay the salaries of their
employees’ and the rents of their premises. Qatar Development Bank will
be in charge of the management of the scheme and issuing the guidelines
concerning the program, while the local banks will handle extending the
loans process under the QDB extended guarantees.
Qatar Development Bank indicated that the companies willing to
benefit from the program must be fully owned by the private sector and
registered under the ‘wages protection system’ applicable in the State
of Qatar.
In regards to the application mechanism by
beneficiaries, QDB noted that the companies willing to benefit from the
program, or their representatives will need to communicate with their
respective local banks and further apply to benefit exclusively from the
program.
The mechanism also includes a 100% coverage
of the bank guarantee with no interest or charge applicable during the
grace period either to the banks or to the companies benefiting from the
financing. The loans under the program has also to be fully settled
within a maximum period of three years including one year grace period
as indicated by QDB.
Mr. Abdulazia bin Nasser Al Khalifa, CEO of
QDB said that the launch of this program in confrontation the spillovers
of COVID19, in collaboration with Ministry of Finance, Qatar Central
Bank and the banking sector in Qatar is considered a continuation of the
government’s efforts aiming at extending all kind of support to the
small and medium enterprises ‘SME’ as well as to all components within
the private sector under these prevailing conditions.
Mr. Al Khalifa added that the program will
provide the private sector with great abilities to overcome the economic
spillovers connected to the fallouts of the epidemic as well as ensuring
business continuity together with smooth functioning of the commercial
operations. This will eventually result in greater sustainability upon
the end of obstacles related to the current circumstance and having
matters turned to normal.