AmBank, CGC announce additional RM400mil under the SME Portfolio Guarantee Scheme

KUALA LUMPUR: AmBank Group has announced an additional RM400mil financing under the SME Portfolio Guarantee Scheme with guarantee from Credit Guarantee Corp Malaysia Bhd (CGC).

The bank, in a statement, said a total of close to RM5bil have been allocated and has benefitted more than 6,000 SMEs since its launch in January 2015.

“SMEs are not only an important customer segment to us, but they also embody the backbone of the Malaysian economy. We are committed to support the SME ecosystem, leveraging on the opportunity to tap into the segment’s market potential while contributing to the nation’s economic development,” AmBank group chief executive officer Jamie Ling said.

“We are delighted to continue serving SME where close to RM5bil worth of the financing is in collaboration with CGC, supporting over 6,000 SMEs. This is reflective of our efforts to providing accessible financing by addressing collateral challenges faced by SMEs,” he added.

Meanwhile, CGC president & CEO Datuk Mohd Zamree Mohd Ishak said the strategic partnership between CGC and AmBank fulfilled its mandate to assist the unserved and underserved MSMEs leveraging e-commerce platforms.

“According to MDEC, which serves as the National E-Commerce Strategic Roadmap 2.0 (NESR 2.0) Project Management Office, the cumulative number of MSMEs adopting e-commerce from 2016 to 2022 has reached over 1.12 million, surpassing the initial 2025 target of 875,000. In alignment with NESR 2.0, this partnership further promotes the growth and development of MSMEs adopting e-commerce.”

With the new tranche, AmBank will continue to provide financing of up to RM1mil as working capital to SMEs. Additionally, the new tranche offers AmBank’s Pay-As-You-Grow Term Loan (PayG) product for financing of RM20,000 up to RM500,000.

AmBank said PAYG is the first and one of its kind loan that is bundled with merchant facility. It is financing based on the merchant’s past months’ sales performance in determining the amount of loan to be granted.

It said merchants will have the flexibility to make the loan repayment through the deduction of the daily incoming sales before settlement into deposit account.