Maybank head of community financial services (CFS) Malaysia, Datuk Hamirullah Boorhan.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd
(Maybank) expects its retail small and medium enterprise (RSME) loan portfolio to rise to RM16.80bil by end 2017, boosted by business property-based loans.
Maybank said on Tuesday it expected financing to RSME segments to grow by 35% this year compared with about 27% last year.
The bank's head of community financial services (CFS) Malaysia, Datuk Hamirullah Boorhan, said the RSME segment was a key component of the CFS portfolio and had consistently been registering double digit growth over the last five years.
RSMEs typically comprise businesses with turnover of RM25mil and below.
Hamirullah said RSMEs played a vital role in the country’s economy and constitute some 97% of the overall SME segment.
He said growth in the RSME segment this year was expected to come from business property-based loans, portfolio guarantee (PG), trade finance, commercial cards, micro credit and SME deposits through the Maybank SME First Account and payroll accounts.
As part of efforts to support the RSME segment, Hamirullah said Maybank will be increasing the number of seminars this year under its “Building capacity and capability” programme (BCC). The BCC which was launched in 2014, will see a total of 15 seminars conducted this year compared with eight last year.
The Maybank BCC is aimed at enabling RSMEs to understand better the banking facilities available to them and how they can leverage on these services to grow their business.
The half day sessions are jointly hosted by industry experts as well as financial advisors from Maybank who provide insight into traditional banking products as well as new opportunities available through online and digital platforms.
Participants also benefit from business insights and financial tips shared by renowned speakers as well as join business networking sessions with other SMEs and field experts.
“Given our wealth of experience in serving this segment, we are confident that we can help the RSME segment to run their businesses more effectively, manage their cash flows better and leverage new-age technology to take their businesses to the next level,” said Hamirullah.
The BCC seminars - open to all mid-sized SMEs - first began in 2014 and has successfully benefitted more than 2,400 SME and micro entrepreneurs in the country. The programme currently includes sub-sessions called “Sembang-sembang Business with Maybank” and “Best Brand & Business Practices”, Workshops for Emerging SMEs targeting for small and medium entrepreneurs.
This year, Maybank will also be including local market expert - namely Aladdin Street.Com - to share about the impact of e-commerce and globalisation with participants. Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia (CGC) will also be present to provide direct assistance to the participants.
“With the wealth of opportunities expected from the implementation of the Digital Free Trade Zone, we want to ensure that local SMEs are sufficiently equipped with knowledge and resources to benefit from the expected boost in e-commerce growth in Malaysia,” said Hamirullah.
“Our BCC programme will cover 15 suburban locations nationwide over the next six months and reach out to more than 1,200 entrepreneurs,” he added.
“We will also include informative knowledge sharing sessions such as on the e-Commerce halal marketplace, M2uPay solution, access to CGC financing and portfolio guarantee as well as on marketing and branding tips.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
