Government to engage with startups on IP financing
KUALA LUMPUR: The government aims to engage with start-up companies, universities and research organisations to promote the Intellectual Property Guarantee Scheme (IPGS).
Treasury Secretary-General Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah said the IPGS was aimed at addressing financing difficulties faced by start-up companies, universities and research organisations in developing intellectual properties.
“By introducing this guarantee scheme for intellectual properties, there will be more cash for them to borrow. That is why we (the government) are giving an 80 per cent guarantee for this and we hope the banks will be open to this financing scheme.
“We need to do a lot of promotion, and we are engaging with the banks to promote this product,” he told reporters after the launch of the Government Guarantee Schemes by Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Bhd yesterday.
Under the 2018 Budget, more than RM9 billion worth of government guarantee was allocated for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) under SJPP, including RM1.5 billion for the IPGS and RM1 billion for the Automation Process Guarantee Scheme.
SJPP has started accepting applications from financial institutions to provide the government guarantee schemes to SMEs.
Mohd Irwan, who is also SJPP chairman, said the government is committed to supporting SMEs and has been providing continuous support in developing the sector through various initiatives, products and services such as the government guarantee schemes managed by SJPP.
“I hope these schemes will go a long way towards achieving the policy target of SMEs contributing 21 per cent to exports and 41 per cent towards the economy by 2020 as stated in the SME Masterplan,” he added.
SJPP, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Minister of Finance Incorporated, has made available about RM30 billion worth of financing extended by financial institutions through various schemes since its inception in 2009.
To date, 11,339 SMEs have benefitted from the various schemes as SJPP has been able to manage these guarantess at the low guarantee fee rates of between 0.5 per cent and 1.0 per cent. — Bernama