KUALA LUMPUR (June 26): CIMB Bank Bhd and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd are extending their Covid-19 relief programmes to include financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and larger businesses in support of the government’s efforts to help businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement today, CIMB said it is working with Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Bhd (SJPP) and Danajamin Nasional Bhd (Danajamin) to roll out the SJPP Government Scheme Covid-19 (GGS Prihatin) and Danajamin Prihatin Guarantee scheme (DPGS) respectively.

“The two additional programmes complement the assistance provided by CIMB to mid-sized SMEs through Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Special Relief Facility (SRF) in the early stages of the pandemic,” it said.

CIMB Group's chief executive officer of group commercial banking Victor Lee Meng Teck said: “CIMB is happy to extend unwavering support to businesses, especially in these tough times. As announced by SJPP and Danajamin, a total of RM56 billion has been allocated for SMEs and larger businesses to help with liquidity, in order to sustain them during this period and hopefully promote growth while operating in the new normal.”

“With our strong network across the country, we hope to be able to reach out to a larger pool of businesses affected by the pandemic. After a successful rollout of the SRF earlier on, we are optimistic that this additional help will ease the financial burden of these companies and reignite their business in the face of challenges associated with restarting the economy and their recovery,” he added.

The GGS Prihatin is open to SMEs requiring working capital and capital expenditure financing starting from RM75,000 up to RM20 million.

Meanwhile, SJPP provides an 80% guarantee coverage of up to ten years.

Applications are open until Dec 31, 2020 or until the scheme limit of RM6 billion is fully utilised.

Malaysian SMEs in all sectors are eligible for this scheme, CIMB added.

Meanwhile, CIMB said large businesses incorporated and based in Malaysia which have been adversely impacted by Covid-19 could opt for DPGS instead.

CIMB said a minimum financing facility of RM20 million is to be offered by a bank, with the DPGS providing a guarantee coverage of up to 80% under this facility.

The tenure of guarantee coverage is up to five years and applications are open until Dec 31, 2020 or until the RM50 billion scheme is fully utilised.

The bank notes conventional or Islamic financing is available for both schemes.

At 11.18am, CIMB shed 1 sen or 0.28% to RM3.56 with a market capitalisation of RM35.43 billion. The stock saw some 2.07 million shares traded.