Penjana tourism financing for small, micro businesses open for application

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Application for Penjana Tourism Financing (PTF) to aid tourism sector can now be submitted to participating banks, the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM), Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) and Association of Development Finance Institutions of Malaysia (ADFIM) said.

The 12 participating members banks are Affin Bank Bhd, Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd, AmBank (M) Bhd, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, Bank Simpanan Nasional, CIMB Bank Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Maybank Islamic Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd and SME Bank Malaysia Bhd.

In a joint statement today, they said the maximum financing amount is RM300,000 for eligible small and medium companies, and RM75,000 for eligible micro enterprises.

This was to ensure the PTF benefit more micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs), they added.

The PTF will only be accessible to MSMEs that did not benefit from the Special Relief Facility (SRF) and/or the Penjana SME Financing (PSF). 

Under the PTF, the financing rate will be up to 3.5 per cent per annum for up to seven years. 

The PTF will also include at least six months' repayment deferment to ease the cash flow of SMEs.

The PTF is aimed at supporting Malaysian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the tourism sector by preserving their capacity and assisting them to adjust and remain viable post Covid-19.

It can be utilised for working capital and capital expenditure to enhance their business models and deploy new practices.

They said Malaysian MSMEs in the core tourism sector and tourism-related sectors which are either MSMEs as defined by SME Corp Malaysia, or MSMEs licenced by or registered with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, were eligible to apply for the PTF. 

The eligible sectors in core tourism are tourism accommodation premises (budget hotels, registered homestays, chalets and resorts), travel agencies and tour operators, and transportation for tourists (bus, boat and car rental operators). 

Other eligible tourism related sectors includes medical tourism, Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Exhibition (MICE) ecosystem, money changing operators who mainly serve inbound and outbound tourists as well as tourism related retail, recreation and wellness businesses with significant reliance on tourists.

-nst online.