AN economic stimulus package to be announced on February 27 is aimed at aiding the private sector so that it can reap the benefits of a rebound, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

He said the package is expected to help restore market confidence. 

“If the novel coronavirus outbreak blows over in April, you can expect a rebound,” Lim said in Cyberjaya today.

Lim said Malaysia was not headed for a recession.

“There are no fears of recession,” he said, amid predictions of a gloomy economic climate in view of the virus epidemic.

“Sometimes the fear is worse than the disease itself,” he added.

He added that the stimulus package is designed to mitigate the possibility of a recession.

Lim declined to confirm whether the government would be revising its forecast GDP for 2020. 

“Please wait until next week when the prime minister announces the stimulus package. I’m not saying whether we will revise it at this moment,” said Lim.

Yesterday, Singapore revised its forecast for 2020 from 0.5-2.5% to -0.5-1.5%, bracing for a potential recession as a result of Covid-19. 

It was also reported last week that the outbreak could cut China’s growth by as much as 1%.

Meanwhile, Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), SME Bank, and MDEC will corroborate to provide 50% matching grants of up to RM5,000 for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to digitise their businesses. 

BSN will provide RM500 million in grants for a period of five years which would be disbursed to a maximum 100,000 SMEs each year. 

Each SME is allowed one application for three different types of digital services from the 42 registered digital services providers under MDEC. 

SMEs can pick from five different digital services – electronic point of sales (e-pos); human resources and customer relationship management’ digital marketing; enterprise resource planning; and accounting and tax services. 

To qualify for a grant, the SME must be at least 80% Malaysian-owned, operational for at least one year and have annual sales of at least RM100,000 for the first year or RM50,000 for two consecutive years. 

According to the Statistical Department, the digital economy is estimated to increase to 21% of the GDP by 2022, compared to 18.5% in 2018. 

Today’s launch of the grants in Cyberjaya was attended by BSN chairman Rossana Annizah Rashidi, Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh, Deputy Finance Minister Amiruddin Hamzah and Deputy Entrepreneur Development Minister Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli. 

The digitising initiative was announced in Budget 2020. – February 17, 2020.