KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd (BPMB) is heeding the government's call for development financial institutions (DFIs) to provide full support for people's socio-economic well-being and to help the economy recover.

President and group chief executive officer Arshad Mohamed Ismail said as one of Malaysia's DFIs, the bank understood that the impact of Covid-19 had been deeply felt by the rakyat.

"The prolonged global pandemic has certainly affected all of us – individuals and small and medium enterprises (SME) resulting in unemployment or reduction in business.

"Thus, in line with our developmental mandate, we remain committed to doing our very best to support the country's economic recovery," he said in a statement today. Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz recently said DFIs must play a strategic and important role in the country's efforts to restore and retain the capacity of businesses to provide employment opportunities and support livelihoods.

Arshad said BPMB would help accelerate Malaysia's journey to economic recovery. "We also urge all industry players to continue to play an active role to help our community weather the storm," he added.

To ease and support businesses during the challenging period, BPMB is offering five financing schemes totalling RM5.6billion, in addition to the bank's general corporate banking facilities.

The schemes are offered at preferential financing rates, targeting key strategic sectors namely digitalisation, sustainability, maritime and logistics, tourism, and public transportation.

BPMB said it would continue to play a key role to support Malaysia's economic recovery by aligning its strategies with the government's initiatives on sustainability, digitalisation and inclusivity.