The Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) said it has successfully set up a fund of 100 billion won for investments in SMEs to support their early stages of growth. Called, “IBK-KIP Stepping Stone Growth Fund,” SMEs with excellent technologies and great potential for growth will be entitled to the fund, the bank said.
“As a policy bank that specializes in SME lending, we contributed to upholding the government’s finance policy to help lift the nation’s economy out of its current quagmire and to stimulate Korea’s creative economy by rolling out various new products aimed specifically for financing SMEs, especially start-ups and SOHOs, in 2015,” the bank said.
In 2015, the IBK Successful Startup Loan financed startups that had been in business for seven years or less in securing new growth engines and commercializing their advanced technologies to enhance their competitiveness. To support SOHO borrowers, the IBK SOHO Loan for Hope helps SOHO borrowers facing financial distress, while the i-ONE SOHO Loan provides working capital financing and is in fact the Bank’s first corporate loan product directed exclusively to non-face-to-face channels.
IBK also places significant importance on product development and the timely funding of competitive corporate clients with advanced technologies so that they can successfully market these technologies.
The Intellectual Property 1+1 Contract- Guaranteed Loan is today the only product of its kind available on the market. Under exclusive agreement with the Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KIBO), this loan is offered as a package (an intellectual property-guaranteed loan plus a guaranteed loan) solely by IBK to promote technology financing businesses. The Guaranteed Loan for Technology-Escrowed Companies is a guaranteed loan product that funds companies which agree to technology escrow in the form of special benefits, such as additional exemptions under a business alliance with Korea’s Win-Win Partnership Foundation. The IBK FinTech Dream Corporate Loan is earmarked for borrowers with FinTech know-how and those in related businesses, funding their technology R&D and working capital. In addition, IBK offers additional financial assistance to those companies with advanced technologies to maximize the effects of the investment and financing.
SME Support
IBK’s Hidden Champion Exporters/ Technologies Program provides comprehensive business consulting services as well as preferential loans after fair evaluations regarding competitiveness and the technological and business operations prospects of SME applicants.
“In 2015 alone, we selected 141 new beneficiaries. In 2016, we will add 150 new hidden champion technologies to be supported in each company’s journey to become world-class business entities,” the company said.
“As a proponent of the government-led creative economy initiative, we operate special loan products and support services to technology-driven SMEs with high growth potential through the IBK Creative Company Program. The program added 32 new SMEs as beneficiaries in 2015 and will select 40 more recipients in 2016 for the Bank’s continued support of SMEs with outstanding R&D achievements and growth potential.”
_김도진.jpg)
