KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 — Majlis Amanah Rakyat’s (MARA) investment sector has performed exceptionally well, recording a 6.0 per cent revenue growth in 2019 compared to the previous year.

Rural Development Minister Datuk Abd Latiff Ahmad said one of Mara’s major contributions was to provide public services to 1.26 million people in rural areas, in line with the rural socio-economic empowerment.

"Mara’s subsidiaries should continue to enhance the agency’s ability to pay high dividends to shareholders, pursue active involvement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) on target groups, as well as to explore new market opportunities outside of their respective domain,” he said in a statement today.

Abd Latiff believes Mara is not only significant but also has Bumiputera investment expertise that could compete with open business entities, and the agency should be quick to explore new business opportunities post-Covid-19.

In another development, the statement said Mara will continue to ensure that Bumiputera companies continue to stay competitive from an entrepreneurial standpoint.

"Some of Mara’s initiatives extended to entrepreneurs include deferring business financing repayments for six months, as well as providing free rentals for April and May, and special 30 per cent discounts on premises for four months.

"The newly introduced Mara Entrepreneurship Enhancement Programme is an effort to ensure that Bumiputera SME (small and medium enterprise) businesses can cope with the effects of the pandemic,” the statement said. — Bernama