UOB Malaysia signs deal with SJPP to offer loans to SMEs
PETALING JAYA: United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd has signed an agreement with Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Bhd (SJPP) to offer government-guaranteed financing to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)
In a statement yesterday, UOB Malaysia said that under the agreement, SMEs can obtain collateral-free loans of up to RM1mil through the SJPP-UOB BizMoney financial solution.
The amount, it said, was twice the amount available to customers under the existing UOB BizMoney package.
Under the agreement, SJPP, which is an administrator and manager of credit guarantee schemes under the Finance Ministry, will guarantee up to 70% of the loan through its Working Capital Guarantee Scheme and Services Sector Guarantee Scheme.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said that SJPP has made available about RM30bil worth of financing extended by financial institutions through various schemes.
Out of the RM30bil, he said, RM12.9bil has been disbursed and that about RM9.4bil are guaranteed by SJPP.
“This is a cheap method for the govt to help SMEs and support the economic growth. Since 2009, the Federal Government has spent only RM290mil to support the SJPP guarantees, which means non-performing loan for the RM12.9bil of total disbursement stood about 2.3%,” he said in a speech to witness the signing ceremony between SJPP and UOB Malaysia.
He said about 13,000 SMEs have benefited from the schemes.
SJPP manages govt guarantee extended to finance institutions, which in turn give financing facilities to SMEs.
UOB Malaysia chief executive officer Wong Kim Choong said that the partnership with SJPP will help SMEs gain access to additional financing to capitalise on more business opportunities and to meet their working capital needs.
“UOB Malaysia’s six decades of experience in serving Malaysian SMEs gives us a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges they face. According to our research, more than half of Malaysian SMEs expect to grow their revenue in 2018,” he said, adding that many SMEs plan to invest in technology infrastructure to drive business performance.
“To help businesses capitalise on these opportunities and to help them grow, UOB Malaysia is collaborating with SJPP to provide SMEs the flexibility of obtaining additional working capital without the need for more collateral,” Wong said.
The SJPP-UOB BizMoney financial solution provides flexible repayment tenures of 18, 24, 36, 48 or 60 months, with interest rates starting from 0.54% per month.
Meanwhile SJPP principle officer Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi said the government was committed to providing continuous support to SMEs through various initiatives, products and services.
“This includes the various government-guaranteed schemes managed by SJPP that have benefited more than 13,000 enterprises. We are pleased to work together with financial institutions such as UOB Malaysia to assist and to reach out to as many SMEs as possible,” he said.