The just-announced Budget 2024 has mandated Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd (Bank Pembangunan) to allocate up to RM7.3 billion, throught eight programmes, of targeted financing towards high-impact development projects.
Its group chief executive officer, Roni Abdulwahab, said the allocation also serves to provide essential equity and working capital support to Malaysian enterprises.
Of the RM7.3 billion available capital, Roni said RM2 billion will be earmarked for the Madani Development Scheme (MDS).
“The programme will provide impact capital for targeted sectors highlighted in the 12th Malaysia Plan and the Madani Economic Framework, including education, healthcare, affordable housing, urban and rural development as well as enhancing socio-economic development in Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.
Apart from MDS, Roni said the other programmes are the Sustainable Development & Transition Programme, Transportation & Logistics Programme, Tourism Infrastructure Scheme, Digital Infrastructure & High Impact Sectors Programme, Rehabilitation and Support through Equity, Working Capital Scheme, and Matching Fund Investment Platform.
“With this budget, we renew our commitment to working closely with the government to ensure sustainable growth for Malaysia to deliver impact capital for national development and fully support the objectives of Malaysia Madani,” he said.
“Budget 2024 is reflective of the government’s commitment to strengthen the country’s socioeconomic development and has the necessary reforms to drive long-term resilience and prosperity for the nation,” he added.
Roni said Bank Pembangunan’s management also took note of the government’s decision to restructure development financial institutions (DFIs) through merger of BPMB, SME Bank and Exim Bank.
“We acknowledge this decision by the government to strengthen the overall impact capital ecosystem and deliver greater economies of scale, as well as further enhancing economic resilience for the country,” he said.
Merger of DFIs was first mooted in Budget 2020, when then-finance minister Lim Guan Eng announced that Bank Negara Malaysia was proposing a two-phase restructuring plan for the DFIs to form a new financial institution through the merger of BPMB, Danajamin Nasional, SME Bank and Exim Bank.
The acquisition of Danajamin from Credit Guarantee Corp Malaysia Bhd and the Minister of Finance (Inc) was done in November 2021.