CGC sees higher guaranteed loans this year

PETALING JAYA: Credit Guarantee Corp Malaysia Bhd (CGC) expects its loan guarantee cover to hit RM3.5 billion this year, which is higher than its official target of RM3.0 billion.
"We project we should be able to hit RM3.5 billion this year," CGC senior vice president of marketing and sales Wong Keet Loong told reporters after the launch of the Chinese and Tamil version of the CGC website.
For the first half of 2015, a total of RM2.2 billion worth of loans were approved, along with RM250 million in direct financing.
Last year, loans guaranteed by CGC under all schemes were at RM3.2 billion, which comprised 6,839 loan accounts.
Despite the country's economy expected to moderate going forward, Wong believes non-performing loan (NPL) rate will continue at a manageable level.
"In terms of the evaluation, they (banks) do have certain standards, they set certain criteria and we would guarantee those loans. We see the quality of loans is good.
"Even though times may not look very rosy, but we want to let the SMEs know that we're here to support them, that is our role here. In times when the economy looks challenging, this is actually an opportunistic time for us. We see more needs by the SMEs," he said.
Wong noted that SMEs are faced with challenges that include lack of track record and difficulty in providing collateral to the banks.
"CGC comes in to bridge the gap between SMEs and the banks," he added.
On the new language options on the CGC website, he said it enables the company to better forge business relationships with its existing and new customers on its products and services.
"This is part of CGC's initiative in strengthening its position as the premier financial institution in assisting the nation's SMEs," he noted.
He added that one of the features of the website that can benefit the SMEs is the scheme-recommender wizard tool, which provides a brief introduction and key summary information about the scheme choices offered by CGC.