As we had initially put in place a soft loan facility which is directed to SMEs, we found overtime that the facility was not being tapped as well as it should. To put it as an analogy, the pipes were getting clogged. Thus, we responded flexibly and pragmatically by issuing a new Emergency Decree to put in place a new SME credit guarantee facility with accompanying credit facility for banks to try to lend to these SMEs. We have initially set a target of hundred billion baht loans extended through this facility in six months and we are well on our way to achieving that target. The latest figure stands at around 89 billion baht after about four  Page 4 of 9  months. This is an example of the pragmatic approach and the implementation that we, at the Bank of Thailand, have been willing to do. Another example of our flexible and pragmatic approach, and an indication of our willingness to step outside of our comfort zone as a central bank, is by introducing this other scheme, in addition to the SME credit guarantee facility, an asset warehousing scheme. We recognized that certain sectors require a targeted response in terms of the approach of debt restructuring. Certain sectors that are hard hit by the tourism slowdown are not in a position to engage in usual debt restructuring because with no tourists, several businesses in these sectors do not have any cash flow.
Therefore, a more appropriate solution would be for them to be able to transfer the ownership of their assets in exchange for debt repayment with the option to repurchase those assets back at a later date. As such, this scheme will remove debt burdens that would incur otherwise if they still have to hold onto the assets and loans. These examples provide some concrete illustrations of how we, at the Bank of Thailand, have tried to respond flexibly and pragmatically to the changing circumstances of the COVID-19 crisis. Part 3: Future Plans Let me now turn to the third part of my remarks today, which is what is next? One thing that we would like to do is a move from short-term and blanket measures such as a debt moratorium to longer-term and more targeted solutions such as debt restructuring. Moratoria are good responses to something that is short, severe and broad. However, as we have seen in discussing the economic outlook, this crisis is likely to be long. The recovery is likely to be very uneven, thereby requiring a longer-term and more targeted approach. Hence, we would like to encourage a move from a solution of having debt moratoria in response to waves of infections that are causing a lockdown to more lasting solutions such as debt restructuring. On this light, we have recently announced a series of initiatives and regulatory incentives to encourage banks to undertake debt restructuring, which is important as a lasting solution to the problems that we are facing.