JOHOR BARU: The Entrepreneur Development Ministry (MED) today clarified that the non-performing loans (NPLs) related to small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) as reported in several media outlets yesterday referred to the NPLs of Development Financial Institutions (DFIs).
In a statement here today, the ministry said the NPL ratio of the DFIs currently stands at 15% according to official figures from Bank Negara Malaysia.
“DFIs currently provide only 5% of total SME financing whereas banks (Financial Institutions) provide the balance of 92%.
“Hence, when aggregated, the NPL for Malaysia is only 3.5% which is lower than most countries in the world,“ the ministry said.
The statement clarified yesterday’s news reports which had quoted the minister as saying that Malaysia’s NPL ratio among small and medium enterprise (SME) entrepreneurs is among the world’s highest at between 15% to 20%. – Bernama
