QNA
Doha
In implementation of the directives of the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani to support and provide financial and economic incentives amounting to QR75 billion to the private sector, and directives of Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al Thani to allocate guarantees for local banks at an amount of QR3 billion, Qatar Development Bank (QDB) launched the National Guarantee Programme 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 coronavirus (COVID-19).
The National Guarantee Programme aims to support salaries and rents of companies in the private sector. Qatar Development Bank (QDB) will manage and issue the guide for this programme, while banks operating in the country will grant financing with a guarantee from Qatar Development Bank.
Qatar Development Bank (QDB) stated that companies wishing to benefit from the programme are required to be fully owned by the private sector, and to be registered in the wage protection system in force in the country.
Regarding the application mechanism to benefit from the programme, 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 programme's mechanism of work includes providing a 100 percent coverage guarantee by the Qatar Development Bank (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 (CEO) of Qatar Development Bank Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Khalifa said the launch of the National Guarantee Programme 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 programme 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.
