Govt approves RM1.25 bil under Penjana SME financing scheme

KUALA LUMPUR – The government has approved a total of 6,613 applications involving RM1.245 billion under the National Economic Recovery Plan’s (Penjana) small and medium enterprise (SME) financing scheme as of February 5, said Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.

The Penjana SME financing scheme, which has a RM2 billion allocation, prioritises SMEs that have never received any bank financing previously.

For Penjana’s tourism sector financing for SMEs and micro-SMEs still affected by Covid-19, which has an allocation of RM1 billion, he said that 579 applications have been made as of February 5, 282 applications of which have been approved with a total financing of RM57.1 million.

“For Penjana Micro Credit Financing under Bank Simpanan Nasional, a total of RM363.4 million has been channelled to benefit 10,774 micro-SMEs, including those in retail and services.

“The Bumiputera Relief Financing special assistance, amounting to RM200 million by Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Bhd, is for Bumiputera SMEs affected by Covid-19, with financing of between RM100,000 and RM1 million. This fund has been channelled to 548 SMEs involving a total of RM153 million,” he said in the 41st Economic Stimulus Implementation and Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (Laksana) report today.

Tengku Zafrul said that for Penjana’s third objective of economic stimulation, food security was an emphasis in its plan and in Budget 2021.

He said the government had allocated RM400 million in support of the agricultural and food industry for farmers and fishermen, RM350 million of which has been allocated under the Agrobank Microcredit Financing Scheme.

“As of February 5, a total of RM85.6 million had been channelled under this scheme to benefit 7,723 agricultural micro SMEs, compared with 7,012 agricultural micro SMEs with a total of RM74.5 million in the previous week,” he said.

As announced, the government has also agreed to extend the sales tax relief for passenger vehicles until June 30 as a measure to boost the automotive sector and the country’s economic activities.

“The sales tax incentive includes 100% exemption for locally assembled cars and a 50% reduction for fully imported models. As at February 5, the value of sales tax relief utilised stood at RM232.96 million compared with RM201.51 million in the previous week,” he added. – Bernama, February 18, 2021