GREEN is the new black and the government is going all out in making this happen. 

Under the Economic Transformation Programme, green technology is given special attention as it is one of the six Entry Point Projects (EPPs) that are expected to help grow the Gross National Income (GNI) by fourfold to RM78.7 billion by 2020. 

Incentives include tax investment allowance for the purchase of green technology equipment, income tax exemption on the use of green technology services and systems, as well as the implementation of the National Carbon Reporting Programme (MYCarbon) for the corporate sector by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

The Green Technology Financing Scheme (GTFS) offers guarantees on financing and rebates on the interest charged by financial institutions.

Basically, it is money back in the pockets for green technology players.

GTFS also provides easier access to financing for those looking to develop sustainable technology.

It had an initial total financing of RM1.5 billion but the amount was increased to RM3.5 billion in 2012 due to overwhelming participation.

GTFS provided financing for 188 green projects amounting to RM2.2 billion from 2010 to June this year through collaboration with 26 financial institutions.

Upon commencement of projects, more than 3,000 green jobs and RM4.43 billion in green investment are expected.

In the 2016 Budget themed “Prospering the Rakyat”, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak stressed the importance of innovation in green technology.

He also extended the deadline for the GTFS by two years to December 31 2017.

“We are extremely pleased that the government had extended the implementation of the GTFS until December 2017 with a fund of RM1.2 billion,” said GreenTech Malaysia chief executive officer Ahmad Hadri Haris recently.

“That RM1.2 billion is, however, the balance of the original fund allocation of RM1.5 billion."

“To date, we have disbursed between RM500 million and RM600 million a year, so another additional two years would allow us to fully utilise the initial allocation.”

Ahmad Hadri said he wasn’t surprised that the government had chosen to extend the deadline as his firm had been frequently engaging with the Finance Ministry.

“The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is an international agency promoting policies that improves the economic and social wellbeing of the people around the world, had said the GTFS was a success story for Malaysia.

“It had contributed RM7.9 billion to the gross domestic product (GDP) and we are expecting it to contribute 144,590 jobs by 2020 and RM22.4 billion in the national GDP.”

Ahmad Hadri added that he was grateful that the government had recognised the potential of green technology to the economy, especially in the final crucial years towards Vision 2020.