KUALA LUMPUR (April 29): RHB Banking Group has approved more than RM500 million Special Relief Facility (SRF) applications to more than 700 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to help ease the short-term cash flow difficulties faced by SMEs arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement, RHB said the SRF is part of Bank Negara Malaysia’s fund for SMEs with an allocation of RM5 billion, which has been made available under the RHB SME’s Financial Relief Assistance Programme to assist SMEs adversely affected by Covid-19 to sustain business operations, safeguard jobs, as well as support economic growth.
RHB group managing director Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said the highest number of approvals granted are from the wholesale and retail trade sectors, at 31% with a total facility amount of RM155 million.
“This is followed by 16% from the manufacturing sector at RM79 million, while the rest are mainly for SMEs from the various services sectors,” he said.
Khairussaleh said eligible SMEs can obtain working capital financing of up to RM1 million at a financing rate of 3.5% per annum, inclusive of any guarantee fee, with a maximum tenure of up to 5.5 years, including the six-month moratorium period.
He said the facility is available under term financing and has up to 80% guarantee coverage by Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd or Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaaan Perniagaan Bhd.
Khairussaleh said throughout the movement control order (MCO) period, business owners can submit applications for the SRF through the RHB SME Online financing platform, which is accessible to both new and existing customers.
He said that currently, almost half of the SRF approvals are those with new financing relationships with RHB.
“We currently see an encouraging 36% of SRF applications being submitted through the online platform and we strongly encourage SMEs to make use of our digital platform particularly during this MCO period.
“The RHB SME Online Financing platform allows simple, fast and seamless application experience with a user-friendly interface where all data inputs and consent procedures can be done digitally.
“In the days and weeks ahead, we will also be proactively engaging our SME customers through Webinars or Zoom to conduct talks on SRF applications as well as provide advice on financial management during this most challenging period,” he said.
He added that the SME Online financing platform forms part of the holistic RHB SME Ecosystem, an end-to-end digital platform providing business owners with the ease and convenience of transacting and fulfilling their financial obligations from the comfort of their own homes.
Khairussaleh said that in addition to the SRF, RHB also supports SMEs affected by the Covid-19 pandemic by restructuring or rescheduling financing instalment payments, and by offering moratorium on loans and financing, to allow business owners better management of their cash flow during this period.
Through RHB Insurance, SME policyholders are offered instalment payment through the Premium Instalment Scheme and premium discount through the Premium Relief Scheme, he said.
Source : https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/rhb-approves-rm500m-special-relief-facilities-smes