Doha: In the implementation of the directives of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al -Thani, to support and provide financial and economic incentives amounting to QR 75 billion to the private sector, and directives of HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al -Thani, to allocate guarantees for local banks at an amount of QR 3 billion, Qatar Development Bank (QDB) launched the National Guarantee Program to provide guarantees for local banks to grant interest-free loans to affected companies, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and Qatar Central Bank (QCB) and all banks operating in the country, in response to the implications of the spread of the Covid-19.
The National Guarantee Program aims to support salaries and rents of companies in the private sector. The QDB will manage and issue the guide for this program, while banks operating in the country will grant financing with a guarantee from the QDB.
The QDB stated that companies wishing to benefit from the program are required to be fully owned by the private sector, and to be registered in the wage protection system in force in the State of Qatar.
Regarding the application mechanism to benefit from the program, the QDB indicated that companies wishing to benefit or their official representatives should communicate only with the commercial and Islamic banks in which their accounts are registered for the wages protection system, and submit requests for benefit exclusively through commercial and Islamic banks operating in the country.
The programs mechanism of work includes providing a 100% coverage guarantee by the QDB to the commercial and Islamic banks granting the financing without any fees or commissions being charged to the guarantee granted, whether by the commercial or Islamic banks or the beneficiary companies for the grace period, provided that the financing is paid by the beneficiary company to the commercial and Islamic donor banks within a maximum of three years, including a one-year grace period.
The Chief Executive Officer of the QDB Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al-Khalifa said that the launch of the National Guarantee Program to respond to the consequences of Covid-19 in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and the Qatar Central Bank and all commercial and Islamic banks in Qatar is a continuation of the efforts of the State to provide all types of support for SMEs and various components of the private sector in Qatar during the current circumstances.
He added that the program will give private companies a great ability to face the economic effects associated with the repercussions of the pandemic, and will ensure that they continue to work in a manner that does not affect the general course of their commercial operations, which will give them a greater ability to continue after the difficulties associated with the current circumstance and the return of matters to normal.
