Left to right: Wan Mastura Mohd Zain, Assistant Manager, Entrepreneur NCER and SME Development Unit, Human Capital Department of NCIA; Datin Shahdee Ahmad, Director of Human Capital/Secretariat, CEO’s Office of NCIA; Jaya Balan Kathiravalu, Head, SME Banking of CIMB; and Mohd Rizal Khir, Director, Islamic Banking of CIMB at a recent SME Community Outreach programme
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Bank Bhd and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd are offering the NCIA-CIMB Entrepreneur Scheme (NCES) to eligible micro-small and medium entrepreneurs (MSME) in the northern states that make up the Northern Corridor Economic Region.
In a statement, the group said the scheme provides up to RM5mil in rebates on interest and profit from CIMB’s SME loans and financing which is intended to further stimulate the growth of local businesses and support the development as well as recovery of the economy.
It said the partnership aims to revitalise the
development of close to 1,500 MSMEs, in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan, via the reduction of
financing costs through interest/profit subsidies.
Under the scheme, eligible SMEs will be provided with a 50% rebate on the total interest/profit of their CIMB SME Quick Biz Financing.
This includes financing under the Targeted Relief and Recovery Facility (TRRF), a financing facility established by Bank Negara Malaysia to provide relief and support the recovery of SMEs affected by the pandemic.
SMEs eligible for the TRRF include those in wholesale and retail trade and business services subsectors, as well as other sectors including food and beverage services, human health and social work, arts, entertainment and recreation.
The TRRF covers working capital financing with a tenure of up to seven years and financing of up to RM500,000 for each business.
Under the NCES, CIMB is the financier of the facility, whilst NCIA’s role is to assist eligible customers to reduce their cost of financing through subsidies.
Meanwhile, Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Berhad (CGC) operates as the sole agency that provides guarantee cover of up to 70 percent on the financing provided to the SMEs.
"As a newly on-boarded bank, the scheme gives us the opportunity to provide much-needed assistance in the form of rebates on financing packages for SMEs in the northern region whilst also promoting the spirit of entrepreneurship at the same time.
"We look forward to playing a continued role as a catalyst for growth and we hope our efforts continue to have a positive impact on the communities, MSMEs, and the economy as a whole,” said CIMB Group
commercial banking CEO Victor Lee Meng Teck.
The NCES is open for applications until Sept 30, 2022.
