21
Wednesday, March 1, 1972
The committee has defined small firms as those employing less than
200 workers and having not more than $600,000 in proprietors' funds.
The Financial Secretary said that firms of this size accounted for more
than 95 per cent of all factories registered with the Labour Department.
He told Council: "As the loans envisaged are not of the kind which
the banking system has traditionally undertaken, except for a few customers
well known to them, the scheme provides for some degree of government guarantee
of such loans, to be given after a thorough appraisal by the Productivity
Centre of the technical feasibility of each project.
"I am happy to say that the Government has now agreed to a pilot
scheme providing for loans ranging between 250,000 and $250,000 and totalling
up to 30 million.
"This scheme will be put into operation as soon as the necessary
arrangements can be finalised by the Director of Commerce and Industry provided, of course, Finance Committee accepts the contingent liability involved and
approves funds for administrative overheads."
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