New Straits Times
9 December 2021
Bank Muamalat, SJPP inks partnership to provide financing to SMEs, MSCs under Pemulih package
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd (Bank Muamalat) and Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Bhd (SJPP) sign an agreement to enable domestic small and medium enterprises (SME) and mid-sized companies (MSC) to access financing under the Pemulih Assistance Package.
KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd (Bank Muamalat) and Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Bhd (SJPP) signed an agreement to enable domestic small and medium enterprises (SME) and mid-sized companies (MSC) to access financing under the Pemulih Assistance Package.
Under the agreement, Bank Muamalat business customers can apply for the Pemulih government guarantee scheme (PGGS).
The scheme provides financing assistance via new financing and restructuring of current financing facilities and further funding of working capital to help entrepreneurs revitalise their businesses.
Bank Muamalat president and chief executive officer Khairul Kamarudin said the agreement affirms the bank's commitment to accelerate efforts to assist SMEs and MSCs to regain their footing and focus on increasing their resilience in the next phase of the Covid-19 crisis.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has driven radical shifts in demand, buying patterns and disrupted businesses.
"PGGS will provide SMEs and MSCs the necessary resources to sustain operations in the short term and prosper in the long term.
"Bank Muamalat will continue to assist businesses to secure much-needed capital which will be essential for recovery and growth," Khairul said in a recent statement.
He said apart from PGGS, Bank Muamalat also has existing financing programmes aimed at assisting selected SMEs and MSCs, namely Teraju Bumiputera Healthcare Supply Chain Financing Programme (BSC Healthcare) and MARii Automotive Vendor Financing Programme.
Eligible SMEs and MSCs can apply up to RM10 million for each of the financing programmes.
Both of these programmes are also packaged together with the PGGS.
SJPP principal officer Chen Yin Heng said the government is committed to providing continuous support to SMEs and MSCs through various initiatives, including PGGS, with an allocation of RM20 billion.
"This will assist eligible SMEs and MSCs to obtain much needed additional financing, restructuring of existing loans and additional working capital to support them in their business recovery and to reduce their financial burden," said Chen.
In addition to that, a further allocation of RM10 billion, including RM2 billion for Bumiputera, was announced with enhancement to the PGGS terms in the Budget 2022 announcement.
"Our guarantee fee of between 0.75 per cent to 1.0 per cent per annum, coupled with the underlying government guarantee, would offer the companies competitive rates of financing by the financial institutions of up to RM20 million," he added.
Government guarantee schemes that were established by the government and managed by SJPP has been vastly utilised by many SMEs in all industries such as in manufacturing, services, retail and trade.
To date, more than RM47.0 billion guarantees have been provided to over 45,000 SMEs, and this has helped them in sustaining their business, especially during the Covid-19 lockdown periods, as well as provide' 'hem with some financial reserves for their working capital needs to move forward during this economic recovery phase.
"SJPP believes in developing vibrant and healthy SMEs and MSCs that are integral to our country's economic transformation process thus, we are working closely with the financial institutions to support the government's initiatives via various guarantee schemes under SJPP," said Chen.
(Web source: https://www.nst.com.my/business/2021/12/752678/bank-muamalat-sjpp-inks-partnership-provide-financing-smes-mscs-under)