Malaysia approves RM$1.3 billion in wage subsidies
- Claire Lee
The Malaysian government has approved wage subsidy applications valued at RM$1.3 billion (US$0.3 billion) under its Wage Subsidy Programme 2.0 as of June 18.
The funds have been channelled to 75,262 employers, allowing them to maintain employment of 659,066 workers, said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
“Among the major industries and sectors that employ workers are manufacturing, as well as wholesale and retail trade,” he noted in a report.
A total of 137,659 workers have also obtained jobs through the government’s recruitment incentive and training assistance programme.
The SME soft loan fund run by the central bank has also seen a total of RM$12.14 billion (US$2.9 billion) approved by local banks, benefiting some 25,711 SMEs, he noted.
READ: Malaysia’s central bank allocates additional RM$4 billion loan facility
“This amount includes those of the Special Relief Facility (SRF), Automation and Digitalisation Facility (ADF), All Economic Sector Facility (AES) and Agrofood Facility (AF) funds,” said the minister.
“Even though the SRF fund has been fully utilised, SMEs can still apply for financing schemes that are available through the BNM Fund such as the ADF, AES and AF.”
