KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Bank Bhd and Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd (CGC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to add another RM750mil to the existing RM250 million Enterprise Clean Loan (ECL), as part of a joint initiative to nurture and develop Malaysian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The agreement is for three years and the first tranche worth RM100 million,  is expected to be fully disbursed in the next three months, said CIMB Group Chief Executive Officer of Group Consumer Banking, Renzo Viegas.

"The growth rate of SMEs is much faster than the country's gross domestic product (GDP). By definition, it has become a clear focus area for us, both in terms of  contribution towards the GDP and employment in the country," he told reporters after the MoU signing ceremony here on Monday.

Renzo said the earlier RM250 ECL had been successfully disbursed to about 400 local SMEs, representing 40 per cent of the one million SMEs registered in Malaysia.

The signing was witnessed by CIMB Group's CEO  Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz and CGC's president and CEO Mohd Zamree Mohd Ishak.

Earlier in his speech, Zafrul said the ECL offers financing of up to RM1mil per company with a loan tenure of up to seven years.

"It requires no collateral, a 48-hour approval and disbursement within 24 hours, giving companies faster and easier access to the funds they need to grow their business," he said.

Meanwhile, Zamree said that CGC Malaysia is currently in the midst of discussions with its ASEAN counterparts on the possible cross-border guaranteed loans for SMEs.

"We hope to build the infrastructure (with our ASEAN counterparts) and then get participating banks, like CIMB or Maybank (to provide the loans)," he added.

In his speech, Zamree said the partnership with CIMB is an ongoing initiative being pursued to further enhance its collaboration with financial institutions to create alternate financing options for SMEs via its PG scheme.

"Since PG's inception in 2009, we have availed a total of RM4.6bil worth of financing via 14 participating financial institutions," he said, adding, the CGC has issued 437,000 guarantees and financing for SMEs worth about RM59bil over the last 44 years.  - Bernama