We want more for Chinese traders, says SME group

The Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia says the RM50 million budgeted for 2017 is not enough.

PETALING JAYA: The Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia is hoping that the government will double the budget allocation meant for loans to be given to Chinese SMEs.

The association’s president, Michael Kang, said the RM50 million to be channelled to SME businesses through Koperasi Jayadiri Malaysia Berhad (Kojadi) was insufficient. Kojadi is MCA’s investment arm.

“It’s definitely not enough,” Kang told FMT, adding that the association had hoped for RM100 million instead of the RM50 million proposed in Budget 2017.

However, he acknowledged the availability of another RM162 million allocated to the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation. He said Chinese entrepreneurs could tap into this fund if they were willing to go digital.

When he tabled the budget proposals yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Razak said that apart from the RM50 million that would go through Kojadi, there would also be RM20 million for microcredit loans under the supervision of the Malaysian Chinese Women Entrepreneurs Foundation.