Categories: Business

Alibaba offers $2.86b in loans to firms hit by coronavirus outbreak

Monitoring Desk

SHANGHAI: Alibaba Group Holdings said on Monday its affiliate Ant Financial’s MYBank unit would offer 20 billion yuan ($2.86 billion) in loans to companies in China in light of the coronavirus outbreak, with preferential terms for Hubei firms. Alibaba made the announcement in a statement posted on its official Weibo account.

It said 10 billion yuan will be made available for firms in Hubei, the central Chinese province that is the epicentre of the outbreak. They will be offered one-year loans on a zero interest rate basis for the first three months and a 20% discount on rates for the remaining nine months. Firms across China can also get access to another 10 billion yuan of one-year loans, on which interest rates will be discounted by 20%, it added.

Other moves it announced included waiving platform fees for merchants on its Tmall marketplace for the first half of 2020 and the setting up of two 1 billion yuan funds to support restaurants, logistics and supply chain firms. Workers were returning to offices and factories around China on Monday as the government eased some restrictions on working during a coronavirus epidemic that has killed more than 900 people, most of them on the mainland. (Reuters)

The Frontier Post

Recent Posts

Columbia University threatens to expel students occupying building

NEW YORK (Reuters): Columbia University officials on Tuesday threatened academic expulsion of students who seized…

7 hours ago

Gas blast kills eight at Beirut restaurant: minister

BEIRUT (AFP) : A fire caused by a gas canister explosion killed at least eight…

7 hours ago

UN Palestinian agency chief seeks probe into treatment of Gaza staff by Israel

GENEVA (Reuters) : The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, called on…

7 hours ago

Canada opposition leader calls Trudeau a ‘wacko,’ is ejected from chamber

OTTAWA (Reuters): The leader of Canada's main opposition party was ejected from the House of…

7 hours ago

Blinken says he will press Netanyahu on Gaza aid measures during Israel trip

AMMAN (AP) : US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday he would discuss…

7 hours ago

ICJ rejects emergency measures over German arms exports to Israel

THE HAGUE: The International Court of Justice has ruled against issuing emergency measures over German…

7 hours ago

This website uses cookies.