The loans, with minimal interest rates of 3% to 5%, are meant to help businesses stay afloat and invest in automation, digitalisation and high-tech processes as global conditions tighten, said Steven Sim.
The Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister said the loans were part of his ministry’s “PowerUp 10K” campaign, which aims to mobilise RM15bil this year, up from RM10bil in 2025.
This will scale up 10,000 businesses, while providing training for 100,000 entrepreneurs.
The financing would be channelled through banks, financial institutions and development financial institutions, including Bank Rakyat and SME Bank.
“The government is aware of the challenges SMEs face in the current economic climate.
“The world is facing a two-in-one global conflict that’s akin to having the Gulf War and Cold War together.
“We’re dealing with both fiscal and structural challenges. To deal with that, we need money and reconfiguration,” he said.
Sim announced the funding during his speech at the launch of the Heritage Brands of Penang book, where he emphasised the resilience of local businesses.
“We want the SME sector’s value to exceed RM750bil and hope to see at least 100 local companies achieve RM100mil in annual revenue,” Sim said.
As of February 2026, about RM2bil had been disbursed.
Sim later joined Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow to launch the book authored by Datuk Tony Yeoh and published by the Penang Institute.
It features 59 brands with legacies spanning at least 50 years, alongside 21 emerging names, and examines how they endured economic shifts and changing consumer demands.
One of the brands is The Star newspaper. It started off as a northern region paper in Penang with the first copy hitting newsstands on Sept 9, 1971.
It grew into a national daily by 1976 and went on to become Malaysia’s most widely read English-language newspaper.
Beyond traditional print, Star Media Group (SMG) has expanded into digital platforms to reach wider audiences, ensuring its continued relevance in a rapidly-shifting media environment.
Yeoh said many founders arrived with little and built enduring businesses.
“My hope is that this book inspires a shift from ‘Made in Malaysia’ to ‘Made by Malaysia’,” he said.
Chow said the book comes as Penang is positioning itself in a changing regional economy.
“There is a need to understand what shaped us and what continues to define us.
“The brands in this book are part of that story,” he said.
