Datuk Dr Chin Yew Sin, deputy secretary general of Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong)
The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) deputy secretary general Datuk Dr Chin Yew Sin was recently awarded The World’s Top 10 Most Outstanding Chinese Entrepreneurs in Chongqing, China.
The award was conferred by the China Economic and Trade Promotion Association together with the Federation of China’s Industrial and Commerce Associations and the the China International Economic Development Research Centre. Chin was also awarded the World’s Top 10 Outstanding Role Models of Chinese Entrepreneurs.
He received the awards for his contribution in the non-govermental organisations and entrepreneurial fields category. Chin is also the secretary general of the Asean-China Economic and Trade Promotion Association Malaysia.
New Islamic finance certification
SME Bank aims to produce well-trained and highly-competent personnel and executives in the Islamic finance industry with the introduction of the Chartered Islamic Development Banker (ChIDB) programme.
Group managing director Datuk Mohd Radzif Mohd Yunus said the ChIDB was the banking industry’s first certification programme of its kind and would enable Malaysia to continue leading the development of Islamic finance.
“The programme is jointly developed by SME Bank’s unit, Centre for Entrepreneur Development and Research Sdn Bhd (SME-CEDAR), and Islamic Banking and Finance Institute (IBFIM). It offers professional certificate programmes in Malaysia’s financial marketplace.
“It will address the peculiar needs of the development financial institutions (DFIs) fraternity and offers a new pathway for the trainees in tandem with the existing chartered banker and chartered Islamic banker paths,” he said.
The collaboration between SME-CEDAR and IBFIM will cover training in the area of development and delivery of Islamic banking and finance programmes for SME Bank staff and existing and potential clients.
“SME Bank is ready to help produce more talents in its efforts to deliver the desired professional services in compliance with syariah law,” Radzif said.
Middle East banks tighten SME credit
Banks in the Gulf states are tightening lending conditions for small, private companies as the region copes with declining oil prices.
As it stands, lending to SMEs make up a very small amount of banks’ business. According to a World Bank study, SMEs accounted for only about 2% of GCC banks’ loans in 2010 as they typically rely more on non-bank financial companies.
However, SMEs account for much of the job creation in the Gulf, reportedly employing over 40% of the workforce in Dubai, and this could affect the business community at large in the longer run.
Bankers are apparently becoming more cautious about lending to SMEs because they fear low oil prices could deprive the companies of access to fresh business.
Additionally, a global US regulatory crackdown on money laundering has increased the compliance costs for banks doing SME business, as banks have to spend more resources on checking their clients’ legitimacy.
“We are seeing the SME sector under stress more often – sometimes a result of changes in commodity prices and sometimes liquidity-related, which may be due to some well-publicised exits from this market,” said a senior banker handling loan portfolios at a UAE bank.
“Regional banks, as a result, are monitoring their exposures more intensely.”
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