Standard Chartered on Monday announced that it will commit $1 billion for companies providing goods and services to help in the fight against Covid-19 and those planning to switch to making products that are in high demand to counter the global pandemic.

Companies that may benefit include manufacturers and distributors in the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare providers as well as non-medical companies that have volunteered to ramp up the production of ventilators, face masks, protective equipment, sanitisers and other consumables.

Simon Cooper, CEO of corporate, commercial and institutional banking at Standard Chartered, said: “Clearly, there’s a cost for companies to switch to these hugely in-demand items, so it’s an area where we can help them get going more quickly. At the same time, we want to make sure that existing manufacturers and service providers get the support they need.”

The bank intends to provide, at preferential rates, at least $1 billion of financing to those companies in the form of loans, import/export finance or working capital facilities that they use for day-to-day business operations to help existing manufacturers get their products to the market.

StanChart is also trying to identify companies that may wish to switch to or add anti-virus products to their portfolio.

“Our industry teams are looking across our client base and, given our understanding of clients’ current manufacturing processes, we’re assessing which companies might want to consider adding these items to their production line,” Simon added.

All financing will be subject to companies having received regulatory approvals to manufacture the goods.

The bank will continue to serve all its clients during what is a challenging period for all companies, from small businesses to large multinationals.