By AZALEA AZUAR / Pic BERNAMA

BANK Muamalat Malaysia Bhd has introduced a RM500,000 financial assistance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for the after-market in the automotive industry in Malaysia. 

The loan comes with a 3.5% per annum profit rate over a duration of seven years, without any collateral and documentation fees. 

It also includes a 12-month moratorium on monthly instalments for the first year and companies who wish to apply must be operational for two years. 

These are all based on the terms, conditions and criteria from the Targeted Relief and Recovery Facility (TRRF), which was established by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). 

This initiative is partnered with the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii), which aims to raise awareness and consultation to SMEs. 

It also includes workshops to help them regain their business momentum through its flagship programme the Workshop Transformation Programme (WTP) where it has successfully helped more than 4,000 automotive workshops improve their business pro- files and operational productivity since 2014. 

This assistance is expected to benefit 500 aftermarket businesses, followed by BNM’s fund allocation towards Bank Muamalat to help sectors affected by Covid-19. 

According to MARii CEO Datuk Madani Sahari, this financial assistance is an important step in Malaysia’s bank sector, as they are important in lifting the burden of the automotive industry as the country recovers from the pandemic. 

“Through this collaboration, any aftermarket SMEs requiring this assistance from Bank Muamalat can contact MARii to ensure a higher success rate in their applications,” he said. 

Bank Muamalat president and CEO Khairul Kamarudin said this is a timely effort. 

The aftermarket sector within the automotive industry can tap into the TRRF fund to revive operations and boost recovery,” he said. 

A total of 80 participants from MARii’s WTP were introduced to and briefed on the scheme as of last month.