PETALING JAYA: Financial institutions have approved about 1,300 financing applications totalling RM682 million as under the three facilities of Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Fund for SMEs, as at April 2.
“This is in addition to the other financing provided to SMEs by the banks under their own financing schemes where for the first two months of the year, banks have disbursed RM42 billion of financing to SMEs,“ the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) said in a statement.
ABM assured SMEs that financing from ABM member banks is readily available to eligible borrowers.
“As the nation is battling to contain the spread of Covid-19, our member banks are playing a vital role to provide access to financing especially to viable businesses that have been adversely affected by the outbreak.”
BNM announced on March 27 that it would be increasing the allocation to BNM’s Fund for SMEs by RM4 billion, bringing the total allocation to RM13.1 billion.
This fund, aimed at providing assistance to more SMEs in sustaining business operations and preserving jobs as well as to support economic growth, will be made available to the SME segment via participating financial institutions.
“In light of the current movement control order (MCO), our member banks are still processing loan applications, though remotely, and accordingly there may be longer processing times for loan applications,” ABM said.
SMEs can get in touch with Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd via their imSME.com.my portal to explore the various financing initiatives for SMEs. SMEs whose loan applications are not approved are advised to seek guidance and assistance from Khidmat Nasihat Pembiayaan (MyKNP).
Such SMEs are also advised to consider alternative sources of funding, for example the Malaysia Co-Investment Fund scheme (MyCIF) which is administered by the Securities Commission. MyCIF offers funding via equity crowd funding and/or peer-to-peer financing.
