KUALA LUMPUR: The government has approved 6,973 applications involving loans worth RM1.315 billion under the National Economic Recovery Plan’s (Penjana) SME financing scheme as at February 26 compared with RM1.26 billion last week.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the total allocation of RM2 billion under the scheme prioritised SMEs which had not received loans from banks previously.
For the Penjana Micro Credit Financing, Tengku Zafrul said a total of RM391.9 million had been channelled as at February 26, benefitting some 11,708 micro SMEs.
“This is an increase of RM28.5 million (over the last week), while micro SMEs which have benefitted from the scheme grew to 934,” Tengku Zafrul said in the 44th Implementation and Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (Laksana) report today.
Tengku Zafrul said for the Bumiputera Relief Financing (BRF) amounting to RM200 million by Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Bhd (PUNB), as of February 26, the fund had been channelled to 641 SMEs involving a total of RM182.8 million compared to 606 SMEs with a total of RM173.0 million in the previous week.
“This special fund is specifically for Bumiputera SMEs affected by Covid-19, with funding of between RM100,000 and RM1 million for the SMEs involved,” he said.
He said the Penjana Tourism Financing, which had an allocation of RM1 billion for SMEs in the sector affected by Covid-19, had received 579 applications. Of this, 282 applications had been approved with a total financing of RM57.1 million.
On the Tekun Business Recovery Scheme (TBRS), the RM100 million fund had achieved its objective by benefitting 14,946 Micro SMEs, he said.
On the Wage Subsidy Program (PSU) 1.0, Tengku Zafrul said as of February 26, a total of 322,177 employers and 2.64 million employees had received PSU benefits under Prihatin and Penjana.
The approved wage subsidy applications reached a value of RM12.77 billion.
“The increase is not much compared to last week, but we also need to remember that many sectors of the economy have already reopened, with strict and disciplined SOP compliance,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul said under PSU 2.0, a total of RM808.31 million had been channeled to 66,591 employers to enable them to continue operating and maintain jobs for 554,876 employees.
A total of 131,568 workers have secured employment through the Recruitment Incentive Programme and Training Assistance, compared to 130,328 last week.
“The creation of 1,240 jobs in a week may not sound a lot, but we are looking at cumulative numbers over time. Among the major industries and sectors that recruited employees include those in the manufacturing sector, as well as wholesale and retail trades,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul said under the Skills and Skills Upgrading Programme, a total of 136,927 participants had been approved compared to 136,918 in the previous week to participate in the programmes provided.
“The list of courses in demand can be viewed through the MoF link. In addition, applicants can also visit the websites of government agencies listed in the table below to obtain information on the courses offered. For those who are looking for jobs, especially from among the youths, you are all invited to participate in these courses,” he added.- NST