South Korea’s Moon announces $ 29.5 billion in additional cheap loans for exporters – world
Cynthia Kim (Reuters)
Seoul, South Korea ●
Wed 8 April 2020
South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday said the government would provide an additional 36 trillion won ($ 29.5 billion) in cheap loans to exporters affected by the coronavirus.
Speaking at a political meeting with economic leaders, Moon said businesses and domestic demand devastated by the coronavirus pandemic deserve additional support that the government plans to provide through political banks, benefit tax and other measures.
Loan guarantees will be extended for exporters, while debt will be renewed for small businesses. New measures worth 17.7 trillion won will be deployed to stimulate consumption and support domestic demand, he added, without giving details.
Wednesday’s announcement comes on top of a planned 100,000 billion won ($ 80 billion) economic bailout in late March, designed to help businesses and put a floor on collapsing stock and bond markets.
South Korea, which has been praised for its swift and effective response to the pandemic, recorded a total of 10,384 coronavirus cases as of midnight Tuesday, with 200 deaths.