11 October 2019
This is a budget that truly reflects the government’s shared prosperity vision, carefully curated to benefit the Rakyat across all major races, and main segments like the SMEs and the B40.
We laud the sharper focus on advancing the nation’s digital transformation, while also ensuring the benefits will be broad-based, enabling all segments of society to capitalise on the country’s enablement of 5G and other new technologies. This is clear from the tax incentives for knowledge-based foreign investors and encouraging a cashless society, to piloting technology like autonomous vehicles and blockchain. As a strong proponent and enabler of digital banking, we welcome the initiative to advance the nation’s cashless agenda by boosting the use of e-wallets, through the one-time RM30 digital stimulus per qualified Malaysian.
Further, the enabling policies for SMEs to embrace digital in running their business are well thought out. Going digital is crucial for them to capitalise on the potential afforded by the regional and global e-commerce industry.
An additional boost to SMEs is the government’s incentives on the development and certification of halal businesses, which will feed into the global halal market valued at US$3 trillion. In tandem with this objective, we are ever-prepared to assist SMEs to leverage on CIMB Islamic’s Halal Corridor for them to capture part of that fast-growing Halal market.
CIMB also looks forward to BNM’s announcement on the digital banking licence, which we will definitely consider.
We welcome the government’s support for SRI Sukuk, as well as tax incentive for investments in renewable energy technology right through to 2023. In particular, the generous 10-year 70% tax exemption for solar leasing technology, together with CIMB’s SME Renewable Energy Financing package will be a definite boost to SMEs’ adoption of renewable energy. All these will help support the nation’s move towards an eco-friendlier operating landscape.
In moving towards a more sustainable social agenda, policies for the B40 segment are predicated on a good balance between direct assistance and enablement, which is crucial to ensure that as many of them as possible are able to help and advance themselves economically.
Overall, it is a budget with a good combination of conservative and creative measures that will collectively drive the nation towards a path of long-term sustainable and inclusive growth.
