SCB extends debt suspension for SMEs, hotels
Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) said it has extended its debt moratorium for hotel operators and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) until March next year, after the first phase expired on October 22 this year.
SCB president Apiphan Charoenanusorn said that as of October, the bank was assisting 220 SMEs and 350 hotel operators, adding that the number of debtors has decreased since the first phase.
She said some debtors needed another three to six months of debt suspension because they were unable to generate revenue, especially tourism-dependent hotel operators, while some needed to restructure their debt to support business operations.
"After the second phase of debt moratorium expires in March next year, the bank will evaluate hotel operators' ability to repay debts again before launching other measures to assist them," she said.
She said SCB non-performing loans (NPLs) have increased only slightly after the bank launched measures to reduce NPLs.
"The bank's tier 1 capital adequacy ratio is currently at 18 per cent, so we do not plan to increase funds at this time," she said.
She said SCB would have to continue assisting debtors next year amid various crises, especially SMEs.
"Meanwhile, we expect large businesses to borrow more next year in line with the many investment projects launched by the government and private sectors," she said.
She added that the bank and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) are organising the “SCB IEP Bootcamp: Hospitality Survival” to help hotel operators nationwide survive the economic crisis with four strategies. The four strategies are to join hands with digital partners to increase booking channels, use content marketing and influencers to attract Thai tourists, promote work-from-hotel trends, and monitor the tourism situation in the post-Covid-19 era.
