KLANG, March 22 (Bernama) -- The National Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund (TEKUN Nasional) successfully reduced its non-performing loan (NPL) rate or bad debt to RM120 million last year, down from RM380 million previously.
Its chairman, Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid, said that throughout last year, TEKUN had disbursed loans totalling RM1.1 billion to eligible entrepreneurs and successfully made additional collections from previous loans.
"Last year, TEKUN Nasional was able to recover what had been loaned, and the latest data shows that the surplus payments received have reduced the bad debt by RM260 million.
"TEKUN Nasional managed to reduce the NPL rate from 12.6 per cent to 9.8 per cent," he told Bernama after a meeting with entrepreneurs at an Iftar event at Taman Sungai Pinang here today.
Abdullah Sani added that the decrease in NPLs shows that TEKUN Nasional's financial education programme in collaboration with the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK) has successfully helped entrepreneurs manage their finances and plan their businesses more effectively, which in turn helped them settle previous loans.
"A basic entrepreneurship seminar course, regular monitoring, and loan restructuring options for entrepreneurs facing financial difficulties, including more flexible payment plans, were also held," he said.
At the event, TEKUN Nasional received 27 new loan applications from local entrepreneurs across various categories through a special counter that was opened from 4 pm.
The event was also attended by Faizah Ariffin, aYayasan Bank Rakyat (YBR) Board of Trustees member, who subsequently handed out school bags to 150 children from the Kapar area.
-- BERNAMA
