The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will create an online credit market as early as in 2004 to give small and midsize firms more ways to procure funds, METI officials said Thursday.
The ministry plans to conduct double-blind mediation between financial institutions and small firms to improve the flow of cash as banks are typically reluctant to lend money to such companies, the officials said.
Under the plan, small and midsize firms seeking financing will anonymously post specific financial information on the online market, to be operated by a METI affiliate.
The affiliate will assess credit risks of the firms and suggest an interest rate to be a base for loan negotiations between the firms and banks, they said.
If borrowers' and lenders' initial conditions are met, they will be introduced to start individual loan negotiations, the officials added.
The plan is expected to be included in a report that a subgroup of METI's Industrial Structural Council will compile Friday.