KUALA LUMPUR: The National Supply Chain Finance Platform (JanaNiaga) fund size is expected to reach RM1.2 billion with additional allocation from financial institutions.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said with an average invoice period of 90 days, JanaNiaga digital payment platform would contribute RM4.8 billion a year to SMEs' cash liquidity.
"As announced in the 2021 Budget, JanaNiaga platform will be spearheaded by Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhd (Exim Bank), with the involvement of several financial institutions in Malaysia.
"To ensure that assistance to SMEs can be provided as soon as possible, an allocation of RM300 million has been provided by Exim Bank to mobilise JanaNiaga," Tengku Zafrul said at the launch of JanaNiaga today.
For a start, JanaNiaga will be implemented by Exim Bank with the help of Petroliam Nasional Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd.
Tengku Zafrul said JanaNiaga would provide huge benefits to the country's digital payment ecosystem, adding that such platform had been widely adopted by foreign economic sectors.
He said the use of the platform would support long -term economic recovery and was in line with the government's strategy in prioritising automation and digitisation as well as the use of new technologies to accelerate the transformation towards a high-income economy.
"JanaNiaga platform is leading the financing of invoices from government-linked companies (GLC) through digital portals. With the support of GLCs, these SME providers will enjoy financing rates as low as 3.5 per cent per annum for a financing margin of 100 per cent, much lower than the regular rates.
"Funding applications are also made online, allowing each application to be approved within 24 hours only," he said.
Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul said SME cash liquidity was important especially during the critical time of the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure business viability.
Therefore, he said the government had provided various initiatives such as micro credit financing, with a fund of RM2.9 billion to assist SMEs and micro SMEs through financial institutions and government agencies.
"In addition, Bank Negara Malaysia is committed to increasing the allocation of the BNM Fund for SME financing (from RM8.6 billion), after an additional RM2 billion under the Supplementary Empowerment package and RM2 billion under the rehabilitation package," he said.
More than RM12 billion has been approved for 26,000 SMEs through the SME Soft Loan Fund operated by Bank Negara as of June 2021.
This included Special Relief Facility, Automation & Digitalisation Facility, All-Economic Sector Facility and Agrofood Facility.