Malaysia approves RM1.259 billion of financing for SME support
- Claire Lee
- Topics: Compensation and Benefits, Home Page - News, Malaysia, News
The Malaysian government has approved 6,731 applications involving an allocation of RM$1.259 billion (US$310.8 million) under the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) financing scheme as at February 12, said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
The Penjana SME financing scheme, with a total allocation of RM2 billion (US$493.8 million), prioritises SMEs that have not received financing from banks previously.
The government has also allocated RM1 billion (US$246.9 million) for small businesses in the tourism sector.
“There were 579 applications for this financing and out of this, some 282 applications have been approved with financing totalling RM57.1 million,” the minister said at the 42nd Economic Stimulus Implementation and Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (LAKSANA) report.
Meanwhile, the Penjana Micro Credit Financing under Bank Simpanan Nasional has disbursed RM363.4 million (US$89.7 million) to 10,774 micro SMEs, which includes those in the retail and services industry.
READ: Malaysia aims to create 500,000 jobs in the digital economy by 2025
Under the Bumiputera Relief Financing, 572 SMEs have received funding of RM161.7 million (US$39.9 million) as at Feb 12, an increase from 548 SMEs which received funding of RM153.0 million (US$37.8 million) in the week prior.
