Korea Asset Management Corp. (Kamco) has been doing its best to help SMEs in the midst of a liquidity problem with its sale and leaseback program that the company launched in May.
Since the program’s launch, the company has provided some 33.3 billion won to the cash-starved SMEs and Kamco plans to spend at least 100 billion won more through the program to help the SMEs going through liquidity problems throughout the year, the company said.
Under the program, SMEs can sell their assets such as plants and buildings to Kamco and lease them back from Kamco under the condition that those SMEs can buy them back when their financial situations are improved in the future. They can also get loans for operating funds from banks and loans from the Small and Medium Business Corp. after debt rescheduling.
Kamco officials said currently that three SMEs are in the process of selling their assets to Kamco and leasing them after the sales and they expect some 100 billion won worth of SME assets will be bought by Kamco and leased back to SMEs by the end of this year.
In order to make the program more effective in helping the SMEs in trouble, Kamco signed an MOU with the Seoul Central District Court to help them go through court managed restructuring effectively.
What Kamco has been doing is to buy the assets of those SMEs going through court-managed restructuring and leasing them back to them so that they can normalize their operations again.
Kamco officials said those SMEs who asked for court-managed restructuring of their operations have had problems selling their assets at a fair market price, but now their problems have been solved with Kamco stepping in to solve that problem so that they can continue to stay afloat financially.
Launched in March, Kamco Shipping Operation has been helping shipping firms suffering liquidity troubles. The company signed an MOU with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in May to help strengthen the operations of Korean shipping firms.
Kamco recently bought two cargo ships owned by SW Shipping for $59 million as part of Kamco’s plan to purchase 100 billion won worth of ships from shipping firms in trouble and lease them back them this year. It will continue along that road for the next five years, Kamco officials said.
On April 29th, 2015, Kamco's Chairman & CEO, Hong Young-Man, led a delegation to Budapest, Hungary to visit the Hungarian National Asset Management Inc. (MNV). During the meeting, both Kamco and MNV gained a deeper understanding of each other's organization by listening to each other's company presentation and engaging in a productive discussion. The meeting concluded with an official MOU signing ceremony between Kamco's Chairman & CEO, Hong Young-man, and MNV CEO, Dr. Nobert Szivek. This MOU serves as an effort to promote cooperation and coordination by exchanging experiences and knowhow in a bid to further promote economic and financial soundness in both countries.
KAMCO was established by the Act of Effective Resolution of Financial Institution NPLs and Establishment of KAMCO in 1962. Since its establishment, KAMCO has purchased and resolved financial institutions NPLs, restructured corporations, assisted in the restoration of credit-worthiness of the financially-underprivileged, managed state-owned properties, and collected overdue taxes as a quasi governmental entity. As the perpetual restructuring institution, KAMCO serves the development of the nation's economy and financial institution, maximizes government revenue by effectively managing government commissioned state-owned properties and in times of crisis, KAMCO stands in the front lines to support households, corporations, financial institutions and even the government as the nation's economic safety net.
_캠코 MOU.jpg)
