RM50m soft loan fund for Chinese SMEs to be launched next month

KUALA LUMPUR: Minister in the Prime Minister Department Datuk Wee Ka Siong revealed that the RM50 million soft loans for the Chinese small and medium enterprise (SME) businesses as announced in the Budget 2014 will be launched next month.

Managed by MCA’s Kojadi, Wee said this revolving fund is aimed at helping the Chinese SMEs with their business expansion.

“Through the yet-to-be-launched soft loan, borrowers can expect loans of between RM50,000 to RM250,000 with an interest rate of 4% charged on the loan amount borrowed and the maximum repayment period for the loan is five years,” he told reporters after the launch of one-stop integrated business support services center PrintPackShip in Axiata Tower today.

“However, prior to approving or handing out any loan to any applicants, we will have a team of experts to conduct a stringent assessment to determine their business strength,” he said.

With a relatively low interest rate compared to commercial banks, Wee added that there have been countless enquries from local businesses about the loan even though the application for it is yet to open.

Wee said the SMEs are still the engine of economic growth for the country and thus they must first come with a can-do attitude, a sound business plan and the smartness to fulfill the changing needs of the Malaysian marketplace.

“With these factors, they should be able to compete well locally and cooperate with the international competition to further their reach.

“Simultaneously, SME business owners must also seek to innovate and to stay competitive, focusing on its core competency and to be cost effective and efficient because under such a business environment, outsourcing non-core resources is the way forward,” he said.