AmBank to disburse RM20 billion SME loans in next 3 years
KUALA LUMPUR: AmBank (M) Bhd aims to disburse RM20 billion in loans to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the next three years to spur the sector development in Malaysia.
Group chief executive officer Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir said in line with AmBank’s Top 4 strategy, the bank has undertaken several initiatives focusing on SME growth moving forward.
“AmBank Group will continue to support SMEs through the much-needed financing. At the same time, we are also conscious of the need to go beyond providing companies with funding.
“Through our various SMEcentric initiatives, we are focused on being there for our SME clientele, from cradle to initial public offering,” he told a media briefing on the bank’s latest initiatives for SMEs yesterday.
Last year, he said the bank had disbursed RM6.14 billion worth of SME loans, marking a substantial 30.6 per cent growth from RM4.7 billion in 2017.
“In order to enhance the support rendered to the bank’s SME clientele, we are looking to launch a purpose-built SME business banking service centre with a dedicated team to assist the companies in their daily needs. The service centre is expected to be launched in the third quarter of 2019,” he added.
Sulaiman said the group’s strategic collaboration with Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd (CGC) to develop and provide financing to the SME segment in Malaysia, also saw an additional allocation of RM100 million to finance Proton dealers in January this year.
He added that AmBank had launched nine portfolio guarantee schemes with CGC amounting to RM2.25 billion between 2015 and 2019.
Meanwhile, he said the bank’s AmBank BizCLUB, a platform to help SMEs scale to the next level through financing and beyond financing initiatives, offered training, networking and publicity opportunities to the enterprises.
“The second season of the AmBank BizRACE, the cornerstone initiative under the AmBank BizCLUB, is underway. The business competition provides SMEs with the opportunity to win RM2 million worth of prizes.
“This year’s competition has drawn more than 1,000 entries from SMEs across the nation. The Top 30 will go through a business pitching session to impress the AmBank BizRACE panel of judges in order to be selected as one of the Top 10 finalists,” he said.
He said that the Top 10 finalists will then go on to the final pitching session and subsequently to the grand finale Awards Night on April 26, 2019. — Bernama