DPM proposes setting up Asean bank for women
HANOI: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has proposed that an Asean bank for women be set up to help empower women entrepreneurs.
She said the matter was one of several issues brought up at the third Asean Ministerial Meeting on Women (AMMW) held here on Thursday.
“If there is space and opportunity for women entrepreneurs to be empowered, then there should be an Asean bank for women.”
As an example, she said, women entrepreneurs in Malaysia received aid via initiatives, such as Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) and MySMELady, which offer loans of up to RM1 million.
She said statistics showed that 99.9 per cent of women who took AIM loans serviced their loans, compared with 86 per cent of men.
She said the proposals brought up and views expressed during AMMW would be discussed by senior officials of Asean member nations.
Earlier, Dr Wan Azizah held a bilateral discussion with her Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh. In the 45-minute meeting, she said they agreed to protect peace and freedom of trade in the South China Sea.
Vietnam is an important trading partner to Malaysia, with total trade amounting to US$11.7 billion last year, up 13.9 per cent compared with 2016.