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PETALING JAYA: Affin Bank Bhd has extended its partnership with Credit Guarantee Corp Malaysia Bhd (CGC) with the launching of the third BizDana-i start-up financing scheme.

The breakdown of the tranche will see RM30mil earmarked for an Islamic tranche and another RM20mil set aside for a conventional tranche.

The response to the financing scheme, which had its soft launched last month, has been nothing short of overwhelming, with over RM9mil in loan disbursements awarded to 34 successful applicants.

At the press conference yesterday, after the launch of the SME Sustainable Conference, Affin Bank president and group chief executive officer Datuk Wan Razly Wan Abdullah said that this financing scheme provides a guarantee coverage of 70%, which could be utilised as working capital for Malaysian start-ups to grow and expand their operations without any collateral.

The financial scheme provides initial working capital for businesses with operations between six months and 36 months, providing a minimum loan of RM100,000 and a repayment tenure of up to seven years.Wan Razly said normally, for banking facilities, it requires an SME to be established for at least four years to apply for financial assistance.

“So now we are giving an opportunity for start-ups at an early stage to get banking facilities, along with the support of CGC,” he said. Commenting on the risks associated with providing loans to young businesses, Wan Razly said the bank will need to scrutinise applicants’ documentation and business plans before providing loans.

“We also guide them along the journey, making sure they are financially savvy and understand the accounting of the business, as well as giving them other assistance,” he added.

The portfolio guarantees are an extension of the partnership between Affin Bank and CGC, which started with the first BizDana-i tranche valued at RM15mil in October 2020, followed by a second tranche of RM20mil in June 2021.

During the conference yesterday, the bank also officially launched Affin Aspira, a platform that offers all-in-one solutions for a number of transactions, financing, protection and advisory.

Separately, in a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Affin Bank reported its results for the second quarter of its financial year 2022 (2Q22).

The bank posted a net profit of RM146.91mil, which was close to 25% year-on-year growth.

This translates to an earnings per share (EPS) of 6.92 sen for 2Q22, compared with 5.62 sen in the same quarter a year ago.

Revenue for the 2Q22 came in at RM579.19mil, compared with RM578.9mil in the previous comparative quarter.

“Given the challenging macro and geopolitical environment, we remain cautious,” said Wan Razly.

“We are continuously ensuring our liquidity, credit quality and capital reserve levels remain sufficient to weather these uncertain times.”

Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2022/08/25/affin-bank-cgc-launch-third-tranche-for-start-ups