KUAI.A LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) I).is increased its allocation for UNM's Iunci for SMEs (small and medium enterprises) by an additional RM4 billion lo KM 1 (.1 billion as an enhancemenl meas lire lo liirlhci support SMEs a n d individu als who are affected by (lie Covid i<i outbreak "The en I ia in c i n e n l s under the fund en tail an increase in the allocation of the Spe cial Keliel facility (SRF) to KM1, billion f r om KM:-, billion lo provide rebel a'ssis tan.ee lo more SMEs who are affected by the(iovitl i<)outbreak. "The maximum liiiani ing rale is now(il

lowered to 3.50 per cenl pei annum (p.a) from ;{.75 percent p.a. I lie enh.inced SKI is available until Dec ; 1«. ,'<>.><>,'' iln i r n t i a l bank said in a statement 11 Iday Apart from that, ItNM Mid (In- fund en hauccments also entailed .mi in* lease in the allocation of the All It OIIOIIIK Sectors AI .S) Facility to RM6.8 billion from KMs.8 billion lo enhance a n ess lo lin.iiu ing for SMEs a n d to support growth The maximum linant ing iale is also reduced to7 per cenl p.a from H pei < enl p.a, said. In a d d i t i o n to the above, the central bank said SMEs can also avail themselves

lo three other facilities under the fund, namely t h e Automation and I Jigitallsation facility (ADF), Agrolood facility (At) and Micro Enterprises Facility (Ml I'). According to BNM, the SRI? Al and ADF were announced as part ol the first economic stimulus package on Feb 27,2020.Since these facilities were made available 011 March (>,2020, participating financial institutions have approved a total of KM119 million of financing to 196 SMEs, with an approval rate of 84 per cent, il added.Meanwhile, to further facilitate access lo f u n d i n g a n d help build entrepreneurship

capability among the b o t t om 40 (B40) micro-entrepreneurs, BNM said a social finance programme (iTEKAD) will be introduced by participating Islamic banks in collaboration with some State Islamic Religious Councils and implementation partners. As a start, il said Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd (BIMB) will be the first participating Islamic bank to pilot the iTEKAD programme beginning May 2020."The initial programme optimises zakat and microfmancing arrangement, and will include cash waqf at the later stage," it said.

It added that the i m p l e m e n t a t i o n of the programme involves on-boarding and educating recipients as well as monitoring their success, which will be u n d e r t a k e n in collaboration witli Federal Territories Religious Affairs Council (MAIWP) a n d SME Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp). "BIMB will be providing further details on the programme, in particular t h e mechanics and features as well as applicat ion process in d u e course."After t h e pilot, the bank plans to rollout t h e iTEKAD programme to more financial institutions a n d in more states," it said. -Bernama