Malaysia

No amount/estimate: (i) 3 March 2020, BNM lowered the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) by 25 basis points to 2.5%. 5 May 2020, OPR dropped by 50 basis points to 2%. The ceiling and floor rates of the corridor of the OPR are correspondingly reduced to 2.25% and 1.75%, respectively. 7 July 2020, The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Bank Negara Malaysia decided to reduce the OPR by 25 basis points to 1.75%. 3 November 2020, The MPC decided to maintain its OPR at 1.75%. The ceiling and floor rates of the corridor of the OPR are correspondingly reduced to 2.00% and 1.50%, respectively. 20 January 2021, 4 March 2021, 8 July 2021, 9 September 2021, and 3 November 2021, The MPC decided to maintain its OPR at 1.75% [update]; (ii) 27 March 2020 in PRIHATIN, Special Relief Facility (SRF) interest rate is reduced from 3.75% to 3.5%.

No amount/estimate: (i) 24 March 2020, The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) waived annual licensing fees for capital market licensed entities; (ii) 25 March 2020, BNM announced measures temporarily easing regulatory and supervisory compliance on banks to enable them to support loan deferment and restructuring; (iii) 10 April 2020, The Companies Commission of Malaysia announced measures to enhance protection of distressed companies against liquidation; (iv) 16 April 2020, SC announced regulatory relief measures for public listed companies.

(i) 27 March 2020 in PRIHATIN: (a) The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) includes options for deferring payments, restructuring and rescheduling of employers' contributions. The measure is expected to provide cashflow to employers which is estimated at MYR10 billion; (b) No amount/estimate: The government, allows the postponement of income tax instalment payments to all SMEs for three months beginning 1 April 2020; (ii) 17 March 2021 in PEMERKASA, No amount/estimate: The government announced initiatives to revitalize the tourism and retail sectors with various tax exemptions and deferment of income tax installment payments; (iii) No amount/estimate: 31 May 2021 in PEMERKASA PLUS, The Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia will consider appeals for the postponement of tax penalties to the year 2022 and will reschedule overdue tax payments for affected taxpayers and businesses.

(i) 27 March 2020 in PRIHATIN, Exempt payment for Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) levy across all sectors for six months beginning April 2020. This measure is expected to assist companies’ cashflow with a total savings of MYR440 million; (ii) 5 June 2020 in Short-term National Economic Recovery Plan or PENJANA: (a) Tax incentives for the tourism sector amounting to MYR1.8 billion; (b) Tax incentives for purchase of passenger cars, amounting to MYR897 million; (c) Support the commodity sector through 100% export duty exemption from 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2020. This amounts to MYR200 million; (d) To catalyze establishment of new businesses, financial relief, amounting to MYR300 million, will be provided in the form of income tax rebate for newly established SME and stamp duty exemption for SMEs on any instruments executed for Mergers and Acquisition; (iii) 18 January 2021 in PERMAI, No amount/estimate: (a) To support more individuals to do COVID-19 screening and detection tests privately, the scope for tax relief relating to full health screening expenses, which was increased from MYR500 to MYR1,000 in Budget 2021, has now been expanded to also cover COVID-19 screening; (b) The government has announced several incentives in the form of tax deductions for donors who have been assisting in cash and in-kind those impacted by the pandemic. Such donors are eligible for a tax deduction based on their gross business income or aggregate income; (c) Special tax relief of up to MYR2,500 on the purchase of mobile phones, computers and tablets which expired on 31 December 2020, will be extended for another year until the end of 2021; (d) To alleviate the burden of SMEs, the Government has given a special tax deduction to any company that provides a reduction of rental on business premises to SMEs of at least 30% from the original rental rate from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. Based on current economic conditions, this special deduction will be expanded to cover the rental reduction also given to non-SMEs. This special deduction period will also be extended until 30 June 2021; (e) To boost the sales of passenger vehicles affected by COVID-19 as part of the PENJANA package, the government announced a sales tax exemption for locally assembled and imported passenger vehicles until 31 December 2020. The government recently announced the extension of this exemption until 30 June 2021; (f) The government currently provides exemption from excise duty and sales tax for the purpose of transfer, disposal and for private use of taxis, provided the vehicle is owned for seven years. This condition has been reduced to five years, effective from 1 January to 31 December 2021; (g) The Human Resources Development Fund will exempt the employer levy for companies that are unable to operate during the MCO and CMCO periods; (iv) No amount/estimate: 31 May 2021 in PEMERKASA PLUS, (a) The government will provide a special income tax deduction to landlords that provide rental reduction of at least 30% to SME and non-SME tenants until 31 December 2021; (b) Under the government’s Home Ownership Campaign (HOC), home buyers are exempt from stamp duty until 31 December 2021; (c) The government extended the sales tax exemption facility for passenger vehicles until 31 December 2021. The sales tax exemption on locally assembled passenger vehicles is up to 100% while the sales tax exemption on completely built-up vehicles is 50%; (v) No amount/estimate: 28 June 2021 in PEMULIH, Businesses unable to operate during the lockdown are exempted from paying the levy to the Human Resources Development Corp (HRD Corp) for two months. The HRD Corp is a mandatory levy payment imposed on employers from all industries. The funds collected go towards providing training and skills upgrading of the Malaysian workforce.

(i) 27 March 2020 in PRIHATIN: (a) The Government will provide a one-off cash assistance, Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) with an allocation of MYR10 billion. Among the beneficiaries include employees in the private sector, FELDA settlers, farmers, fishermen and small traders; (b) The remaining cash transfers under the Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) program totaling MYR3.2 billion will be paid out in July 2020; (c) The support totaling MYR270 million is targeted for students at various levels of tertiary education; (d) The Government will provide a one-off cash assistance of MYR500 to more than 1.5 million civil servants of grade 56 and below, including contract workers [The estimated amount is MYR750 million]; (e) More than 850,000 Government pensioners will be given a one-off assistance of MYR500 in April 2020 [The estimated amount is MYR425 million]; (f) The Government will provide a one-off cash assistance of MYR500 to 120,000 e-hailing drivers with a total allocation of MYR60 million; (g) The Government has agreed to pay salaries to the workers of service contractors despite their absence during the MCO amounting to MYR110 million; (h) The Government rental exemption for the Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) with a cost of MYR3 million borne by the Government; (i) For the rent-to-own (RTO) units, a six-month moratorium is provided effective April until September 2020, involving 4,649 RTO units at MYR5.7 million; (j) No amount/estimate: As for Public Housing, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall will provide similar exemption which will benefit more than 40,000 tenants; (k) No amount/estimate: The Government has also approved a 6-month lease exemption on all premises owned by the Federal Government; (l) The Government with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) will increase the allocation of discount on electricity bill to MYR530 million, with the introduction of a tiered-discount system for households; (m) provide a direct fiscal injection of MYR25 billion to ease the burden of rakyat and businesses; and (n) work together with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and relevant social entrepreneurs to provide food assistance, healthcare and shelters to the vulnerable groups such as senior citizens and children in shelters, the disabled, homeless and orang asal with a total allocation of MYR25 million; (ii) 5 June 2020, in Short-term National Economic Recovery Plan or PENJANA: (a) To ease the transition to the new normal of working-from-home, the Government will support working parents through the subsidy of child care expenses. There will also be incentives to encourage child care centers to comply with the new normal and to incentivize certification of early education practitioners. These measures amount to MYR200 million; (b) Social assistance support, amounting to MYR108 million, will be provided to identified vulnerable groups: (1) Persons with disabilities (OKU): 185,713 recipients costing MYR55.7 million, (2) Home Help Services: 1,815 recipients costing MYR544,500, and (3) Registered single mothers: 1,350 recipients costing MYR405,000; (c) An allocation of MYR20 million to encourage transition away from the traditional working hours concept of 9 AM to 5 PM towards extended working hours on shifts-basis; (d) Under Public Transport Subsidy amounting to MYR200 million, the Government will introduce an unlimited monthly travel pass costing MYR30 for use on all rail services (MRT, LRT, Monorail), BRT, RapidKL buses and MRT feeder buses; (e) ePENJANA credits in e-wallet, amounting to MYR750 million, to encourage contact-free payment and to boost consumer spending; (iii) 23 September 2020, The PRIHATIN Supplementary Initiative Package or KITAPRIHATIN, amounting to MYR10 billion, targets four main groups: the bottom 40% income group (B40) who are married and single; M40 group with family and who are single; local workers in various fields and micro-traders in various fields. [Total amount allocated for B40 and M40 is MYR7 billion only under Bantuan Prihatin Nasional 2.0 (BPN 2.0). The remaining amount is allocated for the Wage Subsidy Programme 2.0 and Prihatin Special Grant (GKP)]; (iv) 18 January 2021 in PERMAI: (a) Under Budget 2021, the government has increased the monthly rate of welfare assistance under the Social Welfare Department (JKM) with effect from January 2021. This welfare assistance involves an allocation of MYR2.2 billion and will benefit more than 400,000 recipients; (b) JKM will also implement a Food Basket Program immediately which will provide essential food items worth MYR100 for each eligible household, involving a total allocation of MYR50 million; (c) The government will allocate MYR25 million under the GLIC/GLC Disaster Relief Network program as a matching grant with government-linked companies for social initiatives. This includes the provision of community assistance, including to the elderly, homeless, the disabled and flood victims; (d) No amount/estimate: For those who suffered loss of employment during the MCO enforcement, the government has agreed to relax the conditions for the Employment Insurance System program or SIP PRIHATIN. Employees who do not meet the minimum contribution conditions, or whose contract was not extended after having been renewed for at least 3 times previously, are now eligible to apply for the SIP PRIHATIN assistance of 30% of their monthly salary for a period of 3 months; (e) MYR24 million has been allocated by the government to fund the full contribution under SOCSO’s Self-Employment Social Security Scheme. To date, almost 32,000 applications from delivery riders have been received under the scheme; (f) The government has agreed to provide a one-off financial assistance of MYR500 to 14,000 tourist guides as well as 118,000 drivers of taxis, school buses, tour buses, rental cars and e-hailing vehicles, with an additional allocation of MYR66 million; (g) No amount/estimate: Electricity rebates will be given to all TNB users, domestic and non-domestic at a rate of 2 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is equivalent to a reduction in electricity bills of up to 9% for a period of 6 months, from 1 January to 30 June 2021; (v) 17 March 2021 in PEMERKASA: (a) The government will allocate MYR1.2 billion to 2.4 million recipients from the B40 group, who have lost their income, to provide support such as a one-off assistance of MYR500; (b) No amount/estimate: For individuals with bankrupt status, the Malaysian Insolvency Department will facilitate their dealings with the bank in receiving government assistance; (c) Assistance for kitchen items with an allocation of MYR100 million is expected to benefit 300,000 poor households in major cities; (d) No amount/estimate: The government has agreed to increase the maximum salary eligibility limit for Disabled Workers Allowance to MYR1,500 from MYR1,200 per month; (vi) 31 May 2021 in PEMERKASA PLUS, MYR2.1 billion is allocated to help low-income households. Households with a monthly income of less than MYR2,500 will receive MYR500 (USD121) as a one-time payment. Households with a monthly income of between MYR2,501 and MYR5,000 are eligible to receive MYR300. Single Malaysians will receive MYR100. As of 28 June 2021, the government agreed to provide additional Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) payment of up to MYR500 in July 2021, and the payment will be made in stages starting 29 June 2021. In addition, the third phase of BPR with aid of MYR100 to MYR1,400, including payments of approved BPR appeal cases, will be paid in September 2021. In total, the BPR value until the end of the year was MYR4.9 billion; (vii) 28 June 2021 in PEMULIH: (a) The government announced that it would channel direct cash assistance to the BPR amounting to MYR10 billion until the end of 2021; (b) provide Special COVID-19 Assistance or BKC with the following rates and categories – (1) hardcore poor households will receive assistance of MYR500 in August 2021, MYR500 in November 2021, and MYR300 in December 2021; (2) single individuals in the hardcore poor category will receive assistance of MYR200 in August 2021 and MYR300 in November 2021; (3) B40 households will receive assistance of MYR500 in August 2021 and MYR300 in December 2021; (4) single B40 individuals will receive assistance of MYR200 in August 2021; and (5) M40 households will receive assistance of MYR250, while M40 singles will receive MYR100 in August 2021. Overall, the BKC grant is expected to benefit more than 11 million households, senior citizens, and singles with an allocation of MYR4.6 billion; (c) provide electricity discounts to domestic and nondomestic consumers where the government will bear an additional cost of MYR1 billion [update]; and (d) enhance the Job-Seeking Allowance. This program will be extended to informal workers and new school graduates. Applicants can receive an allowance of at least MYR300 and must apply through the MYFutureJobs platform. In addition, Malaysians who have lost their jobs or who are unemployed can benefit from the MYR500 million in extra funding for the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF). The assistance is expected to assist over one million affected Malaysians; (viii) 6 July 2021, The MYR20 rebate using e-hailing rides to vaccination centers (PPV) is now available to everyone in Selangor who are eligible for vaccination. The rebate for the Grab e-hailing services would benefit almost 50,000 individuals statewide, with an allocation of MYR1 million; (ix) 29 July 2021, Johor has announced an additional allocation of MYR4.15 million to help those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

(i) 27 March 2020 in PRIHATIN: The Government will introduce Wage Subsidy Program to assist employers in retaining their workers with an allocation of MYR5.9 billion; (ii) 6 April 2020 in PRIHATIN PLUS, The Malaysian government issued extra funding worth MYR10 billion intended to help SMEs manage their cashflow and to retain employees: (a) The wage subsidy program announced on March 27 will be expanded from MYR5.9 billion to MYR13.8 billion, an increase of MYR7.9 billion; and (b) Special PRIHATIN Grant (GKP) amounting to MYR2.1 billion will be established for eligible micro enterprises. A grant of MYR3,000 will be provided to each company, benefitting almost 700,000 micro enterprises; (iii) 5 June 2020, in Short-term National Economic Recovery Plan or PENJANA: (a) The wage subsidy program, amounting to MYR5.3 billion, will be extended for a further 3 months with a subsidy of MYR600 per employee for all eligible employers; (b) The Government will introduce incentives, amounting to MYR1.5 billion, to encourage the hiring of the unemployed; (c) The Government will facilitate policies to support the growth of the gig economy and the welfare of gig economy workers. This amounts to MYR75 million; (d) The Government allotted MYR800 million to support employers and employees as work-from-home arrangement is encouraged; (e) The Government will continue to provide grants to eligible enterprises for adoption or subscription of digitalization services under the SME Digitalization Matching Grant totaling MYR100 million, in partnership with telecommunication companies and the Smart Automation Grant totaling MYR100 million, capped at up to MYR1 million per company; (f) Incentives for Property Sector, amounting to MYR1 billion, to stimulate the property market and provide financial relief to home buyers; (g) MYR2.4 billion is allocated to ease financial stress on businesses through remissions of penalties related to late tax payments; (iv) 23 September 2020, The PRIHATIN Supplementary Initiative Package or KITAPRIHATIN, The Government will introduce: (a) MYR2.4 billion Wage Subsidy Programme 2.0, and (b) RM600 million Prihatin Special Grant (GKP); (v) 18 January 2021 in PERMAI: (a) No amount/estimate: The government announced that the Wage Subsidy Program 3.0 under SOCSO will be enhanced whereby all employers operating in the MCO states will be eligible to apply, irrespective of sector. For a period of one month, eligible employers will receive a wage subsidy of MYR600 for each of their employee earning less than MYR4,000. In addition, the wage subsidy limit of 200 employees for each employer will be increased to 500 employees. This initiative involves an additional allocation of MYR1 billion which is estimated to benefit 250,000 workers employing more than 2.6 million workers; (b) The government will expand the Prihatin Special Grant Plus assistance to cover 500,000 SMEs in the seven MCO states with a payment of MYR1,000 each, while 300,000 SMEs in other states will receive MYR500 each. The expansion of this additional special grant or the PERMAI Prihatin Special Grant, involves an additional allocation of MYR650 million. However, should a state be declared a red zone with MCO imposed, the government is ever ready to assist by immediately channeling additional assistance to SMEs in that state; (c) No amount/estimate: The Government has agreed to provide a special discount of 10% on electricity bills from January to March 2021 to six business sectors nationwide, comprising hotel operators, theme parks, convention centers, shopping malls, local airline offices as well as travel and tour agencies; (d) No amount/estimate: MARA has agreed to provide a 30% rental discount on business premises for a period of six months from November 2020 to April 2021; (vi) 31 May 2021 in PEMERKASA PLUS: (a) The government allocated MYR1.5 billion to extend the wage subsidy program for a further one month. Under this scheme, employers can apply for a one-month subsidy of MYR600 for each employee earning less than MYR4,000 per month, of up to 500 employees; (b) No amount/estimate: Entrepreneurs under the MARA program will receive a 30% discount on the rent of their business premises for three months from May to July 2021; (c) No amount/estimate: Microenterprises that previously received a Prihatin Special Grant will receive a further MYR500, which will increase the grant’s total payout to MYR1,500 for each recipient. As of 28 June 2021, the government has allocated a total of MYR5.1 billion through the GKP initiative. Under PEMERKASA Plus, eligible recipients had already received their GKP 3.0 payment of MYR1,000 and will receive a further MYR500 in mid-July 2021.; (d) No amount/estimate: Shopping malls, travel agencies, convention centers, theme parks, and hotel operators will continue to receive a 10% discount on electricity bills from July to September 2021; (vii) 28 June 2021 in PEMULIH: (a) No amount/estimate: The government announced the provision of additional payments under GKP 4.0 to eligible recipients of MYR500 to be paid in September 2021 and another MYR500 in November 2021. For micro-entrepreneurs who have not yet received this assistance, registration will open in mid-July 2021; (b) The government agreed to implement Wage Subsidy Program or PSU 4.0 with an allocation of MYR3.8 billion which is expected to benefit more than 2.5 million workers; (c) Over 5,000 registered tour agencies will be eligible to receive a one-off payment of MYR3,000 to help with business operations once the lockdown has been lifted (The estimated total amount is MYR15 million); and (d) Malaysia’s creative arts industry has been allocated MYR100 million in the form of incentives for the production of digital content and skills development programs; (viii) 14 October 2021, The Sarawak government has allocated MYR78.5 million under the Sarawakku Sayang Special Assistance (BKSS) Program 7.0 Plus to assist SMEs and microentrepreneurs adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

(i) 27 March 2020 in PRIHATIN: (a) The Government will allocate MYR1 billion for Food Security Fund; (b) The Government provides MYR100 million for the development of infrastructure for food storage and distribution as well as crop integration program and also allocates MYR64.4 million to viable Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan and Pertubuhan Nelayan Kawasan. This is to develop agro-food projects that are capable of generating income within three to six months; (c) The Government has identified several small projects such as improving roads, upgrading dilapidated schools in Sabah and Sarawak, cleaning houses of worship and police stations as well as upgrading tourism facilities with an allocation of MYR2 billion; (d) The Government in collaboration with telecommunication companies will provide free internet services to all customers during MCO period starting April, amounting to MYR600 million; (ii) 5 June 2020, in Short-term National Economic Recovery Plan or PENJANA: (a) A MYR2 billion fund will be dedicated to reskilling and upskilling programs for Youth and Unemployed Workers; (b) To enable the transition to the new normal of remote learning and work, MYR3 billion support will be provided to increase internet connectivity for education, productivity (video conference applications) and news; (c) Eligible microenterprises and SMEs will be onboarded to shift towards business digitalization through a co-funded program with MDEC and e-commerce platforms. This Micros and SMEs e-commerce campaign amounts to MYR70 million; (d) The Government will collaborate with e-commerce platforms to co-fund digital discount vouchers, amounting to MYR70 million. This is done to encourage spending on products from local retailers; (e) An online one-stop business advisory platform for the microenterprises and SMEs, amounting to MYR5 million, will be set up to enhance the outreach of the existing physical SME Hub; (f) To encourage and sustain the role of social enterprise in promoting responsible business, the Government will provide a matching grant through Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) totaling MYR10 million to social enterprises who are able to crowdsource contributions and donations to undertake social projects that will address the challenges faced by targeted communities through innovative ways; (g) National Technology and Innovation Sandbox, amounting to MYR100 million, will be developed to pilot new technology solutions and provide relaxation of regulations to text new technology solutions (e.g. drone delivery, autonomous vehicles); (h) Accelerate the digitalization of government services, amounting to MYR20 million, to reduce face-to-face transactions; (i) National “Buy Malaysia” Campaign, amounting to MYR20 million, to encourage the consumption of Malaysia-made products and services; (j) An allocation of MYR50 million to attract foreign companies to relocate their business into Malaysia by addressing the risk of re-shoring; (k) Part of the Agriculture and Food Sector Support amounting to MYR50 million is allocated to agro-food workforce mobility via incentives for pioneer companies to train and educate workforce to explore opportunities in agriculture and plantations and in-kind benefits for Urban Farming (e.g. Fertilizers, Seeds, Infrastructure, Equipment, Advisory and Training) worth MYR500 per person and MYR50,000 per community; (l) Dedicated funding and support for the arts, culture, entertainment, events and exhibitions sector amounting to MYR225 million; (m) No amount/estimate: The National Employment Services under PERKESO will be upgraded by enhancing the job portal and employment placement services and collaborating with the private job sites for employment matching; (iii) 18 January 2021 in PERMAI: (a) The telecommunications industry is committed to provide assistance during this MCO period. The provision of free 1 Gigabit data has been offered to the public to browse websites, including for educational purposes. This MYR500 million facility started on 1 January 2021, and will be extended until the end of April 2021. In addition, a special subscription package for students who are sitting for their SPM and STPM examinations will be extended to all students of higher learning institutions. This package will also be made available until the end of April 2021; (b) To continue the support for entrepreneurs and businesses in generating income through online sales or e-commerce platforms, the Government will accelerate the implementation of the SME and Micro SME e-Commerce Campaign and Shop Malaysia Online campaign, with a total allocation of MYR300 million. Through these campaigns, microentrepreneurs will receive business coaching and on-boarding onto e-commerce platforms while buyers will enjoy savings through online shopping; (iv) 17 March 2021 in PEMERKASA: (a) Additional MYR2.5 billion for small-scale projects in 2021 such as repairs of infrastructure and public facilities damaged due to floods; (b) The government approved a matching grant of MYR30 million to encourage investment in the mechanization and automation of the palm oil industry; (v) 28 June 2021 in PEMULIH, (a) To assist microenterprises and SMEs in accelerating the digitalization of their business, the government allocated a total of MYR300 million; (b) The Penjana Kerjaya program was established to boost job demands among employers and job opportunities among local job seekers. The program was intended to end in June 2021 but has been extended under PEMULIH. The extension will cover several changes to the program: (1) the salary eligibility limit has been reduced from MYR1,500 to MYR1,200, under the Malaysianisation program, which seeks to push for more local employment; and (2) relax the employment contract from 12 months to six months for employees aged 50 years and above, as well as the disabled; and (c) The Human Resources Development Corp (HRD Corp) will implement the Place and Train Program by allocating MYR125 million. This program helps graduates with career opportunities by enabling applicants to participate in a skills training program through which they can secure employment upon completion.

(i) April 2020, USD2.73 million as a guarantee under the Supply Chain Finance Program (Additional Financing). Another USD2.73 million is co-financed. As of 9 January 2021, the amount of the guarantee increased to USD18.5 million. The amount of cofinancing also increased to USD18.5 million; (ii) 6 October 2020, USD0.02 million under the Capacity Development for the Supply Chain Finance Program (Phase 2) (Subproject 3); (iii) 5 November 2020, USD0.09 million under Creating Investable Cities in Post-COVID-19 Asia-Pacific: Enhancing Competitiveness and Resilience through Quality Infrastructure. As of 11 December 2020, the amount increased to USD0.11 million.

(i) 20 May 2020, The United States through the US Agency for International Development will provide (a) health assistance in response to COVID-19 amounting to USD1 million, and (b) Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) humanitarian assistance to support COVID-19 response efforts for refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia amounting to USD0.2 million; (ii) No amount/estimate: 28 July 2021, Malaysia is expected to receive 415,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for its National COVID-19 Immunization Program (NIP).