KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) said today that access to financing remains a persistent challenge for its members, with many businesses still facing difficulties securing the capital needed to sustain operations and expand.

ACCCIM president Datuk Ng Yih Pyng said findings from its latest Malaysia’s Business and Economic Conditions Survey (M-BECS) showed that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) continued to face a higher-cost and more uncertain operating environment in the first half of 2026, while alternative financing channels remained underutilised.

“Alarmingly, only 33.3 per of micro enterprises have successfully accessed banking facilities, compared to 74.6 per cent of large enterprises and 50.9 per cent of MSMEs.

“While loan availability is not a major issue, the critical challenge lies in obtaining affordable, timely, and cash-flow-aligned financing,” he said in a press conference at Wisma Chinese Chamber here.

Socio-Economic Research Centre (SERC) executive director Lee Heng Guie said 57.8 per cent of respondents in the M-BECS indicated that they sought financing primarily to support working capital and cash flow needs.

He added that about one-third of the respondents required relatively modest financing of between RM100,000 and RM500,000 annually, while another one-third required financing ranging from RM500,000 to RM5 million.

“Conventional banks remained the primary source of financing for our respondents at 52.9 per cent, followed by family or shareholders at 18.6 per cent and government or Bank Negara Malaysia-backed financial schemes at 15.7 per cent,” he said.

As alternative financing channels remain underutilised, Lee said more than half of the respondents, or 54.5 per cent, felt that access to financing had become tighter compared with two years ago.

From the findings, Lee said high interest or financing costs and lengthy approval processes remained the most significant barriers to obtaining financing, with 44.5 per cent of respondents citing these challenges.

Most alarmingly, Lee said 45.9 per cent of respondents were aware of Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) but had never applied for financing from them, while 50.6 per cent said they lacked awareness of such institutions.

He said the issue is therefore not merely whether public financing schemes exist, but whether firms know about them, understand how to apply and find the application process manageable.

“Still, most of them think that the DFIs in terms of financing terms and competitive rates are quite positive and favourable.

“Yet many (more than half of respondents) are still neutral about their accessibility, responsiveness and approval speed,” he said.

Still, Lee said adoption of alternative financing options, including peer-to-peer financing, equity crowdfunding, digital bank financing, supply chain financing and venture capital, remained very low, with more than one-third of respondents either unaware of such options or aware of them but never having used them.

He suggested that, among other measures, more targeted outreach efforts and simplified processes should be introduced to enhance the role of DFIs in supporting MSME financing.

The survey polled 791 businesses between June 4 and June 30.