KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry has decided that the increase in companies' indebtedness threshold from RM10,000 to RM50,000 will be continued without a a time frame set, says Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi (pic).

       He said that his Ministry through the Companies Commission of Malaysia saw the decision as an effort to help businesspeople, especially those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

       "The threshold value (indebtedness) when we set it had a timeline but now we have decided this will continue and without a deadline for now. The Commission and the Ministry see this as a way to help those affected," he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Nov 11).

       Nanta was replying to a supplementary question from Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PAS-Pasir Mas) who wanted to know to what extent the increased indebtedness initiative had helped the affected companies.

       Previously, the Commission had increased the indebtedness threshold from RM10,000 to RM50,000 as a temporary measure from April 23, 2020 to March 31, 2021 in order to reduce the risk of companies winding up.

       On developments involving the Prihatin Business Registration Scheme (SPPP) which was established to help the B40 (lower income) group whose income was affected by the pandemic, Nanta said 21,397 applications through the scheme were recorded under the Business Registration Act 1956 from Jan 1 to Oct 31.

       "Of the total, 15,053 applications were from the B40 group while 6,344 applications were received from full-time students of higher learning institutions. A total of 21,107 sole proprietorship businesses and 290 partnership businesses were registered through SPPP during the period, " he said in reply to Cha Kee Chin's (PH-Rasah) original question.

       Cha had wanted to know what the Commission's initiatives were in helping the B40 group affected by the pandemic to restart their businesses as soon as the economic sector opened up and how the 2022 Budget would benefit them.

       "The Commission is still opening up opportunities and targeting more than 100,000 new registrations through this scheme to further boost the country's economic recovery after being hit by the pandemic, as planned for by the government in Budget 2022," said Nanta.

       "The scheme is expected to benefit the B40 group as well as full-time students in public and private higher education institutions, polytechnics, colleges, skills institutes and skills centres to register businesses under the Business Registration Act 1956 without charging fees for new registrations and business information," he added. - Bernama