CIMB on track for Rm15bil SME disbursement
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Bank Bhd and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd recently announced a refreshed SME business proposition to provide customers with a complete suite of solutions that go beyond banking.
The new proposition is anchored on three pillars, namely SME Transact, SME Financing and SME Partners, alongside accounting and human resource solutions offered by CIMB partners in the pipeline.
In addition, CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic are also on track to disburse Rm15bil to SMES in 2019 to 2020, having provided Rm3.9bil to Malaysian SMES for the six-month period ending June 2019.
CIMB group chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz said: “With SMES currently contributing more than one third of Malaysia’s GDP, banks have a responsibility to grow this sector and to support the National Entrepreneurship Policy’s objective to have SMES contribute 50% to the GDP by 2030.
“We have deepened our understanding of our customers, their pain points and how best to transform their journey with CIMB. Hence, the three pillars in our new SME proposition represent all the support that our SME customers need, not just in financing, but also in terms of knowledge-sharing and strategic partnerships, so that SMES, start-ups and entrepreneurs can develop and scale up systematically.”
CIMB’S partnership with Axiata Digital Capital provides 700,000 SMES in Malaysia and Indonesia with access to financing solutions to facilitate SMES to scale up regionally. In addition, there is also a collaboration with Capbridge Pte Ltd to facilitate SME capital raising by CIMB.
With the world’s demand for halal products and services far outstripping supply, CIMB’S global network and well-established Aseanchina Halal Corridor provide SMES with the perfect platform to access the halal market.
For this and other business needs, CIMB Islamic has allocated Rm2bil for unsecured Shariah financing, as well as microfinancing to small business owners via SME financing/ loan referral platform IMSME, in collaboration with Credit Guarantee Corporation (CGC).
Access to the micro financing can be done through IMSME at 10 selected branches starting September, with the aim of making it available nationwide by year-end.
“As an Asean multinational with a strong regional footprint, we are well-positioned to support SMES that wish to take advantage of this market with its 648mil population,” he added.
In support of the country’s national aspiration to nurture entrepreneurs, CIMB has committed to hold at least 1,000 talks in 2019, with 550 sessions held thus far.
There are around 60 if these talks were held in September alone, in conjunction with Bank Negara Malaysia’s SME Month.
The complementary talks feature key tips and advice on running a successful SME, covering topics such as credit score and forex hedging, as well as growth opportunities afforded by digital, big data, e-commerce and communications.
To date, over 4,000 business owners have benefitted from such talks.
CIMB’S new SME proposition forms part of its current mid-term growth plan Forward23.