Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Credit Guarantee Corporation (CGC) Malaysia, a subsidiary of Bank Negara Malaysia, and banking institution Standard Chartered Malaysia have announced the availability of RM70M in capital to aid small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia.
Under a Portfolio Guarantee (PG) agreement, the financing facility is expected to help ease the burdens of SMEs and sustain their business as they recover from the effects of the pandemic. The agreement brings the total amount of tranches jointly launched by both parties to RM1.71B.
The launch of this tranche is timely as it will provide SMEs with the opportunity to revitalize their businesses. Furthermore, The Portfolio Guarantee comes on the back of several financing initiatives announced by the government tailored specifically for SMEs.
“I am pleased to share that this Standard Chartered-CGC RM70 million PG aims to provide working capital for SMEs with viable business but lack collaterals to obtain the required credit facility, more now during this phase of revitalizing and reforming Malaysia’s economy,” said Datuk Mohd Zamree Mohd Ishak, president, and CEO at CGC.
Meanwhile, Abrar A. Anwar, managing director and CEO at Standard Chartered Malaysia, commented that SMEs have shown great resilience despite being one of the hardest-hit sectors during the pandemic, and that their agility is key to their resilience, allowing them to quickly transform their businesses to adapt to new ways of doing business.
He also stated that as more and more businesses leverage on technology, the financing facility will be timely in financing their digital transformation and penetration of new markets, accelerated during the course of the pandemic, and is used not just as a means to thrive in the new normal but also to keep up with evolving customer demands.
“We understand that our clients have unique needs and we want to ensure they have access to the assistance they need ranging from payment deferrals to interest-only repayments and debt restructuring which will not be reflected in their record. Our focus is on ensuring they are informed of the options available to them and that we are operationally prepared to provide much needed financing,” Anwar added.
