Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Limited), in collaboration with Lotus's who is Krungsri' s partner and corporate customer, has prepared to grant credit facilities of more than 6,000 million baht to SME operators who are Lotus's partners through Krungsri Digital Supply Chain Solution to help increase financial liquidity to businesses affected by the COVID-19 and to facilitate the economic recovery post-COVID-19 situation.
Ms. Duangkamol Limpuangthip, Krungsri Head of SME Banking Group, revealed that "Krungsri has prepared the facility budget of 6,000 million baht, being ready to grant credit facilities for SME operators who are Lotus's partners. The impact on SMEs during the COVID-19 crisis has caused SMEs to urgently increase their credit facility demands for additional working capital. Having acknowledged this significant demand, the Bank has been accelerating the grant of credit facilities via Krungsri Digital Supply Chain Solution, which duly responds to both sufficient credit amount and convenient procedures. The granted credit facility is the special lower interest rate overdraft (OD) without any collateral, provided that the credit limit would be subjected to the size of transactions. Moreover, the facility granting process is easy for Lotus's business partners and the draw-down process can be done in real-time through Krungsri Digital Supply Chain Platform. Krungsri believes that this credit facility program will duly become an efficient assistant to businesses, both by enhancing financial liquidity during the COVID-19 situation and securing business opportunities when the consumer purchasing power recovers. The Bank is also ready to assist SME operators, who are Lotus's partners with other measures such as soft loan according to the Emergency Decree and apart from that, Krungsri also arranges business matching activities between our own customers and Lotus's."
Mr. Prakob Phiencharoen, Krungsri Head of Corporate and Investment Banking Group, said, "Our cooperation with Lotus's, who is our key corporate customer and business partner, in assisting SMEs during the COVID-19 crisis, is a joint action between two organizations emphasizing the principle of sustainable business. This cooperation with Lotus's has responded to the social aspect according to Krungsri's ESG and aligned with the strategy of enhancing the potential of the business chain (Value Chain / Supply Chain) by synergizing benefits of business customers groups."
Ms. Salinla Seehapun, Chief HR and Sustainability Officer of Lotus's, said, "Lotus's has been continuously supporting SME operators by purchasing their products and selling them through our channels both at our branches and online. Lotus's also develops the potential of SME operators for sustainable growth. In the past, during the spread of COVID-19 which particularly affected SME operators, Lotus's implemented several measures to assist SMEs, such as in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce, providing free-of-charge space within our branches to small-sized entrepreneurs to sell their products and in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, giving operational tools, funding and knowledge to small operators and single mothers and purchasing their over-supplied products, as well as conducting monthly business matching with the SME operators in order to bring their qualified products to sell at Lotus's channels. The cooperation with Krungsri for the grant of credit facilities to our partner SME operators is a financial support measure that will assist small business operators to get through the COVID-19 crisis and enable them to grow and sustain their business in the future."