CIMB Bank Bhd and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd have announced their continued commitment to support and spur the recovery of the SME businesses through RM30 billion in financing by 2024.
The commitment was announced at a signing ceremony to mark the collaboration between CIMB, Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Bhd (SJPP) and Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd (CGC).
This is to mobilise financing, as well as guarantee schemes, that will accelerate the SME growth as businesses continue to take advantage of the opportunities post-pandemic, in tandem with the economic recovery momentum.
The RM30 billion commitment also includes SME financing which will be guaranteed by both SJPP and CGC, such as:
- CIMB-CGC Financing Programme
- Low Carbon Transition Facility (LCTF)
- PEMULIH Government Guarantee Scheme (PGGS)
Signing on behalf of CIMB was Victor Lee Meng Teck, CEO of Group Commercial Banking, CIMB Group, while Azlan Mohd Agel, senior general manager of SJPP, and Leong Weng Choong, chief business officer of CGC represented their organisations respectively.
The ceremony was witnessed by Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Minister of Finance; Dato’ Abdul Rahman Ahmad, Group CEO of CIMB Group; Dato’ Mohammed Hussein, Chairman of CGC; and Chen Yin Heng, Principal Officer of SJPP.
YB Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul said, “The government will continue to provide provisions for the guaranteed schemes targeted at MSMEs to help them gain easy access to financing facilities. The support from the Government is implemented through strategic collaborations with agencies such as CGC and SJPP, as well as local banks.
“This has enabled all MSMEs, including those with inadequate collateral and no financial track record to obtain holistic financial support at competitive rates. This ensures the resilience of the MSMEs and contribution to the national recovery efforts, which has recorded a GDP growth of 8.9% for the second quarter of 2022. The joint initiative will be continued throughout Budget 2023 in empowering the MSMEs to remain resilient and continue to grow.”
The commitment marks another step forward in CIMB’s ongoing efforts at being a committed partner for SMEs throughout their growth journey. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, CIMB had successfully achieved its target of disbursing RM15 billion in financing to support SMEs between 2019-2020.
Dato’ Abdul Rahman Ahmad, Group Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Group said, “We continue enhancing support to all of our customers including SMEs and the newly committed RM30 billion in SME financing over the next two years, reinforces our efforts for this important economic group.
“We are committed to playing a role as a partner to our SME customers and charting their next phase of growth post-pandemic. As a purpose-driven organisation, we are pleased to collaborate with SJPP and CGC in aiding the acceleration of economic activity with a set of guaranteed schemes offered to businesses in order to continue to innovate and grow further.”
Chen Yin Heng said, “SJPP continues the Government’s mission to foster the growth of SMEs through enabling their ability to gain access to financing, and today’s signing with CIMB marks another milestone in our efforts at strengthening the health of these businesses which provide the key building blocks for the Malaysian economy to continue recovering and thriving. We are pleased to be able to partner with CIMB in ensuring the long-term sustainability of the SME business community.”
Dato’ Mohammed Hussein said, “SMEs must continue to be viable and keep evolving to remain relevant and sustain the nation’s economic recovery. In support of this, CGC, whilst remaining focused on our key objective of supporting SMEs and driving Malaysia’s financial inclusion agenda, will commit ourselves to enhance our own organisational readiness to fulfil that role. We are therefore pleased to collaborate with CIMB in the CIMB-CGC Financing Programme, enabling SMEs, through our guarantee programmes, to realise their respective business goals across a wide range of sectors in business and commerce.”
