KUALA LUMPUR: The government is taking steps to ease the burden on businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), by focusing on reducing ground-level costs and improving access to financing amid rising global challenges, says Steven Sim.
The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister said while global-level costs such as energy prices cannot be controlled as they are global commodities, efforts are being made to manage costs at the ground level.
“In the framework of ABCD strategy by the ministry, specifically Accelerating productivity, Bureaucracy reduction, Capital accessibility and Developing market access.
“B is reducing bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is a ground cost. How do we reduce the processes, lead times, the cost of fees, permits and others?
“We are trying to help as much as possible, not only through subsidy,” he told a press conference in conjunction with the announcement of Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Bhd dividend yesterday, Bernama reported.
Sim said they had also engaged with key supporting industries, including financial institutions, to further support businesses.
“Last week, we spoke to the financial institutions, banks and commercial banks.
“I met with the top management of 16 banks and all of them agreed.
“We are going to push out more SME products in the next few months and banks have also agreed to allow more flexibility for companies that are facing distress,” he said.
Sim also said companies can approach banks on a case-by-case basis to explore options such as restructuring, refinancing or moratorium.
In addition, he said the ministry has also engaged with Tenaga Nasional to look at ways to reduce energy-related costs for the business sector, particularly SMEs.
He noted that while the situation remains challenging globally, efforts are ongoing to implement the strategies that have been outlined while encouraging businesses to also explore opportunities arising from the geopolitical economy.
