52 Sabah firms given RM139 mln fund
KOTA KINABALU: The Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (Teraju) has approved RM139 million of Facilitation Fund to 52 bumiputera companies in Sabah up to this year since its inception in 2011.
This year, Teraju has allocated RM45 million of Facilitation Fund to assist bumiputera companies in Sabah for business activities or expansion.
For the last six years, Teraju's Entrepreneur and Business Development senior director, Megat Mohd Yatim, said the Facilitation Fund has been awarded to 55 projects, valued at RM1.04 billion in total, that were carried out by the 52 companies
The Facilitation Fund is disbursed as reimbursement up to 15 per cent of the project cost.
Of the RM139 million, Megat said, Teraju has allocated RM45 million to bumiputera companies in the construction sector, RM36 million to oil and gas, RM24 million to agriculture , RM 21 million to business services, RM4.5 million to wholesale and retail, RM2 million to tourism, RM2.7 million to food manufacturing , RM1 million to automotive and RM0.7 million to healthcare.
“Our target is to attain RM45 million grant approvals for bumiputera companies in Sabah this year, for those who wish to carry out business activities or expansion,” he said at a press conference during a site visit to Kotamas Oil Sdn Bhd, a recipient of the Facilitation Fund, at Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) here yesterday.
Megat explained that the Facilitation Fund was presented in the form of reimbursement of up to 15 per cent of the project cost upon completion.
Companies that wish to apply for the fund must have at least 51 per cent bumiputera shareholding in the organization. On top of that, the top management of the company, such as the position of chief executive officer, chief financial officer or chief operating officer, must be a bumiputera. The projects which the companies can apply for Facilitation Fund must be able to create business opportunities, employment and benefits to the local community.
Another criteria for the application of Facilitation Fund is that the cost of assets or equipment procurement should be worth RM500,000 and above while the minimum threshold for property or infrastructure development is RM2.5 million.
On another note, Megat said, Teraju has allocated RM168.83 million in total for Sabah under five programmes and initiatives, which included besides the Facilitation Fund, High Performing Bumiputera Companies (Teras) programme, Bumiputera Entrepreneurs Startup Scheme (Superb), Sabah Bumiputera Entrepreneur Development Fund and Bumiputera Entrepreneur Development Fund with non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Apart from the Facilitation Fund, Megat said, Teraju has provided 45 Sabahan companies with working capital loan amounting to RM9.91 million under the Teras programme to expand their businesses.
“We have identified 1,014 companies nationwide for the Teras programme, which we provide financial assistance in the form of working capital loan in collaboration with three financial institutions, namely, RHB Bank, SME Bank and Maybank Islamic.”
He said Teraju has also selected seven Sabahans out of the 125 winners nationwide for the Superb programme. These winners, chosen for their innovative and creative ideas, are given a RM500,000 grant to commercialize their products.
Megat said, the Sabahan winners come from Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Ranau and Penampang, who have come up with food truck technology, eco-farming, Tongkat Ali farming, seaweed salt and high quality handicrafts.
He said, Teraju, in collaboration with Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA), has also allocated RM15 million for the Sabah Bumiputera Entrepreneur Development Fund to enhance bumiputera micro-entrepreneurship participation in Sabah. To date, a total of RM3.5 million has been approved for the benefit of 40 entrepreneurs.
He added that Teraju also worked with NGOs, under the Bumiputera Entrepreneur Development Fund for NGO, for capacity building programme worth RM1 million.
At the event yesterday, Megat said, Teraju has approved RM1.16 million Facilitation Fund to Kotamas Oil in August 2015 for the purpose of purchasing 18 lorry tankers for the transportation of oil and gas services as required under contract signed with Petronas.
The cost of acquiring the lorry tankers is RM7.74 million in total and thus the 15 per cent reimbursement approved by Teraju amounted to RM1.16 million.
Kotamas Oil, formerly known as Perdana Transport, was registered as a sole proprietorship in 1992 and was incorporated as a Sdn Bhd in 2015, with 103 employees ranging from administration, lorry driver, mechanics and supporting staff. The company's principal activity is to provide transportation services for the supply of petroleum oil to Petronas petrol stations in Sabah.
Kotamas Oil was registered under the Petronas Bumiputera Vendor Programme (VDP) in 2005 and awarded the transport service of petroleum product contract in 2012. To date, Kotamas Oil is the only oil and gas company in Sabah to be awarded through the VDP despite a strict restructuring requirement from Petronas in 2012.
With assistance from the Facilitation Fund, the company has fully acquired all the 18 lorry tankers as required in October last year and Petronas has subsequently extended the company's contract till 2019. Kotamas Oil recently expanded its list of services and delivery beyond Sabah to cover Limbang, Sarawak.
Kotamas Oil Operations Division director, Bahar bin Rustan, said the company now has 74 lorry tankers in its fleet with the additional 18 units. He said, the new lorry tankers would be installed with vehicle monitoring system which could detect its driving speed, coupled with the global positioning system (GPS) and on-board camera.
“With Teraju's assistance, we have not only acquired new lorry tankers, but also increased the number of drivers from two to three persons for each vehicle,” Bahar added.
Also present were Kotamas Oil managing director, Rusman Jamalus, and director, Dato Rays bin Rustan.