Maybank group chief executive officer for community financial services Datuk John Chong
KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd
(Maybank) is eyeing mid double-digit growth in financing for its small and medium enterprise (SME) lending segment this year.
Group chief executive officer for community financial services Datuk John Chong said the bank’s lending to the SME segment may grow by 13% to 14% this year.
Maybank is the dominant player in this segment’s loan space, with close to 70% of all of SME lending in Malaysia.
“As of last year, for the five-year prior (2019-2023), we had done about RM66bil worth of financing in the SME space. Last year alone we did about RM17bil and the growth rate was about 12% against the industry of about 5%.
“This year, we are looking at more than RM18bil (in lending) and this would mean about 13% to 14% in SME loans growth,” Chong said at a media conference yesterday.
He said the bank would capitalise on the growth potential of the halal market and also tap the area of sustainability among SMEs.
There are currently about 1.2 million SMEs in the country.
“We also want to support them in terms of operational efficiency such as in the area of payrolls as well as in terms of sustainability in the area of environmental, social and governance initiatives where we find SMEs also want to embark on this,” Chong said.
Maybank yesterday introduced its myimpact SME Hub, a one-stop integrated and holistic ecosystem for Malaysian SMEs that offers value-based solutions established on sustainable and ethical principles.
It also serves as a knowledge hub and support system to facilitate and partner SMEs in their journey to transition towards sustainable practices.
Maybank, along with leading industry partners, said it aims to empower SMEs in Malaysia to achieve a balance between the social responsibility, environmental impact and economic prosperity in navigating through the global supply chain to succeed on the world stage.
Chong said the myimpact SME Hub offers a full suite of services and complete ecosystem to prepare SMEs in their sustainable journey and ultimately for many, enter the global supply chain to boost their growth potential.
“We provide expert guidance and tailored support through practical tools, consultancy and advisory services, certification and accreditation facilitations, as well as financing to cater to all their personalised business requirements.
“With the growing global demand for eco and ethically-conscious choices as well as availability of government incentives in favour of these initiatives, integrating sustainability principles is the strategic choice to ensure business continuity for the SMEs,” he said.
President and group chief executive officer Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said: “Maybank has always been a champion of the SME segment, acknowledging them as the backbone of the nation’s economy.
“With the launch of the myimpact SME Hub and in line with our purpose of humanising financial services, we are taking our support a step further to equip them with the tools and knowledge to navigate the business landscape and invite them to make the empowering impact towards sustainability choices.”
In addition, with a focus on the halal industry, Maybank will also offer a nationwide halal solution that is targeted to help 200,000 Malaysian halal industry SMEs, of which currently around 70% of them are Maybank customers.
The bank said it will also provide comprehensive guidance to customers in their halal certification journey until they successfully obtain the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia’s (Jakim) halal certification under the Halal Facilitation initiative.
This is in addition to a Halal Assurance System that simplifies the upkeep of halal document management digitally, ensuring compliance to Jakim’s halal standards.
