Report | Many small businesses have no interest in interest-free loans

A recent survey showed that many of the city’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have no plans to apply for the government’s interest-free loans designed to shore up their business.

The survey was conducted by the Collective Wisdom Policy Center and the General Union of Neighborhood Associations of Macau at the beginning of March.

In total, the association collected 1,238 valid questionnaires from local retailers. More than 70% of respondents have been established for more than six years. Over 90% reported business losses during the epidemic period, with half of these claiming to have seen their business diminish by 50% or more. 

Amid the tough economic period, the local government has advertised a subsidy plan for local SMEs involving interest-free loans of up to 600,000 patacas with a maximum repayment period of eight years. As the Times previously reported, the measure is not new, with the first iteration of the scheme launched back in 2003.

According to the survey, over 40% of respondents have no plans to ask for special financial help. Most of these “independent” shops said that they have sufficient cash flow to support them in not applying for the scheme.

Besides subsidies for SMEs, the local government has also implemented a water and electricity bill exemption scheme as well as an e-voucher worth 3,000 patacas to be distributed to every Macau resident. More than one-third of respondents believe that these are more effective measures to shore up the economy.