PETALING JAYA: The National Supply Chain Finance Platform or JanaNiaga is expected to contribute up to RM4.8bil a year to improve the cash liquidity of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
This will be on the back of a RM1.2bil allocation through Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhd (EXIM Bank), coupled with additional allocation from participating financial institutions in phases, with an average invoice period of 90 days.
Speaking during the launch of JanaNiaga yesterday, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the platform offers financing to SMEs that are facing a cash crunch due to long invoice repayment periods.
JanaNiaga, which was first announced under Budget 2021 in November last year, applies to SMEs that supply to the government or government-linked companies (GLCs).
For the initial stage, JanaNiaga will be opened to SMEs that supply to Petroliam Nasional Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd
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“With the support of the GLCs, the SME suppliers will enjoy a financing rate of as low as 3.5% a year with a financing margin of 100%, much lower than the normal financing rate. Applications for the financing would be made online, allowing the approval to be given within 24 hours.
The JanaNiaga digital platform will be led by EXIM Bank, which has provided an initial allocation of RM300mil that will be expanded to RM1.2bil later.
Tengku Zafrul said the JanaNiaga platform would support economic recovery in the long-term. He also pointed out that a digital supply chain payment platform such as JanaNiaga has been in use in many countries.
In addition to JanaNiaga, the finance minister added that the government has introduced a slew of initiatives to address the cash flow issues of Malaysian businesses.
