Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Bhd (SJPP) has made available government guarantee schemes - Working Capital Guarantee Scheme (WCGS) and Services Sector Guarantee Scheme (SSGS), to eligible Bumiputera contractors based in Sarawak undertaking the Pan Borneo Highway project. The eligible Bumiputera contractors will be entitled to apply for up to RM5 million guarantee each from both WCGS and SSGS with an attractive guarantee fee of only 1.0 per cent per annum, respectively.

SJPP Principal Officer and Director, Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi, said the schemes were part of the government's initiative to ensure that the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have access to credit for their business growth with a particular emphasis on export-oriented SMEs and those in the services sector.

"Besides assisting the Bumiputera contractors in the Pan Borneo Highway project, both schemes are also available to all SMEs in Malaysia via participating financial institutions with the same terms," he said in a statement yesterday.

Nungsari said SJPP currently has sufficient allocation for both schemes and welcomed those who are eligible to submit their applications to the 32 participating financial institutions.

WCGS and SSGS are made available under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed recently with the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (Teraju), RHB Islamic Bank Bhd, SME Bank and Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd.

Under the MoU, the Bumiputera contractors in Sarawak undertaking the Pan Borneo Highway will be given extra incentive via Teraju as part of its initiative under the Carve Out and Compete implementation plan in line with the government's aspiration to promote the participation of Bumiputera in the national economy.

While the intention of the MoU is to cater for the Bumiputera contractors for total financing of up to RM500 million with RHB Islamic Bank and SME Bank, non-Bumiputera contractors are also encouraged to apply under both WCGS and SSGS via other participating financial institutions