Financial authorities are drafting a set of measures to prevent a cash crunch among low-credit companies amid growing economic uncertainties abroad, including expanding its capacity to purchase corporate bonds(CB) and commercial paper(CP) by two trillion won. 

The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service met on Wednesday to check up on the financial market and discussed the impact of the Bank of Korea’s “big step” rate hike of a half percentage point to three percent earlier in the day.

The watchdogs said the government’s capacity to purchase corporate bonds and commercial papers will be augmented from six trillion won to eight trillion won to prepare for a possible increase in the number of marginal businesses. 

In related efforts, the existing bond stabilization fund worth around one-point-six trillion won will be injected swiftly in buying commercial papers and corporate bonds. 

Amid the triple whammy of high inflation, high exchange rate and high interest rates, they also plan to take steps to ease burdens on socially vulnerable groups through new and existing measures to stabilize public livelihood.