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SCMP Reporter

Loan scheme to help city's SMEs expand market
I refer to Jake van der Kamp's column ('Throwing money at SMEs won't improve their fitness for business', February 6)  which raised questions on the loan guarantee schemes and the Small and Medium Enterprises Committee. 
According to the latest survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department,  there are around 300,000 business units in Hong Kong and 98 per cent of them are  small and medium-sized enterprises. These SMEs provide job opportunities to more than 1.2 million people, about 48 per cent of total employment in the private sector. With such a considerable share of our workforce, SMEs are indeed the pillar of Hong Kong's economy. 
 The Hong Kong government is committed to providing appropriate support measures to enhance the competitiveness of our SMEs. These support measures, such as schemes that help SMEs in market expansion, research and development, and design and innovation, may help them  capitalise on new business opportunities. 
Referring to van der Kamp's comments about the Special Loan Guarantee Scheme  (SpGS),  I wish to reiterate that the government's role in  these schemes is as a guarantor of loans. The actual loans are  granted by the participating lending institutions (PLI), which have the expertise in credit assessment and monitoring clients' repayment abilities. Government expenditure will only be incurred if there is a loan default. 
Before becoming a PLI, a financial institution would need to sign a deed with the government which sets out its rights and obligations. The PLIs are required to exercise due diligence and professional judgment in considering loan applications, and to ensure that the loan approval procedures and standards are consistent with their prevailing lending policy. The government will vet each and every default claim before payment is made. If a PLI violates any terms and conditions of the deed,  the government has the right to terminate the guarantee or refuse to make compensation to the PLI in case of default. 
However, it is too early to say what the default rate would be at this stage. As the market has resumed its normal operation, the SpGS has stopped receiving applications since the end of 2010.
Lastly, about appointments to the SME Committee, I  wish to point out that members of the SME Committee are highly respected persons from various sectors, including business, professional service, academic, banking as well as industrial organisations. They possess excellent credentials in their own right. The SME Committee is an important  advisory body, providing useful and practical advice in helping the government formulate policies that are conducive to the development of SMEs in Hong Kong. Contributions from these members should be duly respected and recognised.
Belinda Kwan, assistant  director general of the Trade  and Industry Department
Green concern on lai see waste
I am concerned about the tremendous waste of red lai see packets in Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year.
So many people would have received these packets from relatives and most of us probably just threw them in the bin. This is very wasteful and it is certainly not eco-friendly.  
According to figures from the environmental group Greeners Action,  Hong Kong people use 180 million  of these packets annually and this requires  more than 9,000  trees to be cut down. I find this figure astonishing. It shows that Hong Kong people are not taking the initiative  and trying to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.
We need to take the decision to throw these packets  into recycling bins or into the collection bins, which can be found in some shopping centres. 
Belinda Chau Hiu-yan, Tsuen Wan 
City thrives  on mixed use The  Planning Department's   proposal to rezone large chunks of Causeway Bay and Wan Chai from mixed usage to commercial has triggered a number of comments ('Rezoning plans threaten to mute street colour', February 7).  
I am  surprised to see no mention of the real purpose of this rezoning  - plot ratio.   Rezoning large swathes of old buildings from mixed-use to commercial boosts the maximum gross floor area  by one-third, allowing for those massive wall buildings that the administration is determined will line every street in the target districts. 
It is telling that even the Real Estate Developers Association   is against this blanket rezoning.   
A higher plot ratio gives an immediate boost to profit margins but our canny developers are not only into real estate, they also own retail outlets, restaurant chains and other services that benefit from a local clientele. 
Transactions in core business districts are restricted to office hours. 
In mixed zoned districts, there is commercial activity from early morning to late evening, providing opportunities that generate far greater takings. 
Residents of inner city districts live there by choice. Those who want sterile towers moved out years ago. 
 The time is ripe for a judicial review into a town planning process that has  left residents of ageing inner city buildings  in fear  that at any time they can be forced out of their homes with no guarantee that there will be alternative accommodation in their neighbourhood.  
Mary Melville, Tsim Sha Tsui 
Budget can ease inflation burden The Lunar New Year should be the most  joyful festival on the Chinese  calendar, but for many  there can be conflict due to the increased expenditure required. Inflation makes the difficulties more acute.  
There is undoubtedly room in the budget to tackle problems from inflation. 
Offering one-off payments is fine but in the long run, permanent expenditure on social welfare, such as public transport, should be a priority.
Fung Kin-keung, Siu Sai Wan 
Home helpers deserve a law
Today marks National Domestic Workers Day in Indonesia.  
There are around 2.6 million domestic workers in Indonesia, and, as in Hong Kong, these workers play a vital role in the household and overall economy. Yet Amnesty International has received many reports of domestic workers in Indonesia being subjected to physical and psychological abuse, as well as economic exploitation. 
 Domestic workers are isolated, work out of the public eye, and have low social status.  And, they do not receive the same legal protection as other workers under Indonesia's Manpower Act,  such as a reasonable limitation on working hours,  and  holidays. 
The drafting of a domestic workers protection bill  was scheduled for  last year, but has been repeatedly postponed. Such legislation is urgently needed to protect a particularly vulnerable group of workers.   
Indonesia's continued postponement  of national legislation to protect domestic workers is out of step with the global trend. 
Better legal protection for Indonesia's under-valued and exploited domestic workers at home will also have the effect of promoting the rights of overseas-bound domestic workers. 
Sarah Carmichael, Amnesty International Hong Kong 
True democracy takes hard work
Congratulations to the Egyptians for their long struggle against and triumph over their dictator. As someone who experienced the very first Asian people power movement, may I urge a word of caution? 
All the high expectations will come to naught if not matched by the truly hard work of building a true democracy. And watch out for power-hungry troublemakers who are the real stumbling block in sustaining your newfound freedom.
Finally, good luck in trying to recover your former ruler's stash abroad. We were never successful there and even stupidly voted their relatives back into office.
Renata Lopez, Wan Chai 
Find source of harbour E coli
Escherichia coli bacteria  is an elegant description for the massive increases in the excrement now floating in our waters ('Dirtier harbour defies logic with treatment in place, expert says', February 12).  
It is simply not acceptable that those charged with ensuring the quality of water in our harbour are 'frustrated'. 
Somewhere tonnes of untreated excrement is pouring into our harbour and endangering us all.
Stop theorising about what may have gone wrong and find the source of this problem before our beaches become dunes of  excrement and our harbour truly fragrant. 
Mark Peaker, The Peak 
Guiding guides 
The complaints and clashes about forced shopping in Hong Kong  seem to be becoming more serious  so a statutory body should be set up to oversee the tourism industry ('Calls for a new body to monitor tour firms', February 9).
As tourism is one of the four key industries of the Hong Kong economy, these cases may affect the impression people have of Hong Kong. A statutory body could monitor the behaviour of guides  so visitors could enjoy the tours.
But we also have to raise the basic salary of the guides. A statutory body will only cure the symptoms, not the source of the disease.  
 When the guides can focus more on introducing different scenic spots to the visitors, the visitors will have a good impression of Hong Kong.
Chan Pak-hei, Ma On Shan



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