Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announces RM5 billion in special Bank Negara facilities for MSMEs, complementing a separate RM5 billion guarantee scheme to ease crisis pressures.
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has announced special facilities totalling RM5 billion to assist micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) impacted by the West Asia crisis.
He stated that details of the special facilities under Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) would be announced soon.
This new facility complements an additional RM5 billion guarantee under Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan (SJPP) announced specifically for affected MSMEs.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, made the announcement after a roundtable session with 20 financial institution representatives.
The session was also attended by BNM governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour and Treasury secretary general Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican.
The separate RM5 billion SJPP guarantee allocation was announced to ease pressure on MSMEs from the global energy crisis and West Asia conflict.
It supports affected MSMEs in sectors like construction, agriculture, logistics and tourism with improved terms.
Financing coverage under the scheme increases to 80% from 70% with a guarantee period extending to 10 years from seven.
The SJPP scheme remains a key government instrument for supporting MSME survival.
More than 50,000 MSMEs have been assisted through financing guarantees exceeding RM50 billion from 2023 to 2025.
The government has also implemented e-invoice relaxation with an additional 12-month transition period.
Businesses with annual sales between RM1 million and RM5 million now have until Dec 31, 2027 to implement Phase 4 e-Invoice.
They are also permitted to issue consolidated e-invoices without penalty during that period.
An interim exemption of import duty and sales tax on the re-importation of certain Malaysian-made goods is also being considered.
This measure would apply to goods unable to complete export due to conflict disruptions until Dec 31.
