CIMB OFFERS THE RIGHT BREW OF SUCCESS

SMALL and medium enterprises (SMES) are often the most vulnerable to the uncertainties and volatility of today’s business environment. With escalating costs and a slowing global economy, an SME is often at risk of thinning profit margins.

However, the survival of smaller businesses is dependent on more than just profits, as explained by CIMB Bank group commercial banking chief executive officer Victor Lee.

He emphasised that whilst focusing on survival, businesses must also look to ensure sustainability in the long run.

“Making a profit is, of course, of paramount importance to any business, but what is equally crucial is for SMES to focus on three factors: cashflow, access to funding and the right business partners to help support their success,” he said.

One way to achieve this is to fully leverage CIMB Bank’s integrated and holistic SME banking solutions, which has three main pillars – SME Transact, SME Financing and SME Partners – that aim to ensure SMES are well-positioned for future growth by having access to effective solutions that will help them maximise returns.

SME Transact: Cashflow is king!

One of the biggest challenges SMES face is cashflow management, which could truly make or break a business. Regardless of how well a product or service sells, poor cashflow planning could lead to the inability to pay suppliers and employees, which could severely disrupt business.

Lee pointed out that a critical area usually overlooked by companies is collecting on account receivables. For instance, SMES often forget to chase for payment, after supplying goods or services.

With online business banking service Bizchannel@cimb, SMES can make payments online promptly and monitor cash flow constantly at their convenience. This, coupled with its payments services, can help improve reconciliation workflow for smaller companies to ensure liquidity, particularly when supported by the bank’s guarantee services.

Grouped under CIMB’S SME Transact, payments and collections services are also complemented by cash management services, with benefits such as reward opportunities of up to 2% with CIMB Islamic’s business current account and fee waivers available for Conventional and Islamic business current accounts.

SME Financing: Seizing opportunities!

Any company can attest to the fact that it can be difficult to seize opportunities, if resources on hand are limited. Lee shared that he came across many cases where, without sufficient cash reserves or financing, SMES have missed out on opportunities that could fuel growth.

He highlighted that with CIMB’S flexible financing options and fast turnaround time, SMES can have timely access to funds, in order to capitalise on opportunities that come knocking on their door. Companies can choose the facilities that best fit their needs, from financing the purchase of property and working capital to trade facilities. These facilities, under CIMB’S SME Financing, include the SME Quick Biz Financing, which provides up to Rm1mil working capital without collateral and the SME Biz Property Financing, which offers financing up to 160% of property value with tenure of up to 25 years.

In September, CIMB debuted its first Islamic Micro Financing via the IMSME platform at 20 branches. IMSME is the country’s first SME financing referral platform managed by Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd (CGC). The aim is to make this available nationwide by year-end.

SME Partners: Leveraging on others’ expertise

With increasing digitisation, SMES need to operate faster than ever before, to be ahead of the competition and to capture opportunities. As smaller companies may have limited resources to develop the required expertise or knowledge to manage every aspect of their business, Lee’s advice is for SMES to leverage on specialised service providers to spur growth.

That said, identifying the right solutions can also be a challenge for SMES, which is why CIMB came up with SME Partners, a network of selected service providers to help companies run and grow their business.

The support provided by CIMB’S SME Partners covers areas such as payments and collections, courier services, workspace and connectivity, digital marketing and e-commerce solutions, as well as accounting and HR solutions in the pipeline, offered by CIMB partners with up to 50% off the solutions.

“In short, through CIMB, SMES can have access to cashflow, funding and the right business partners under a single integrated platform, making it that much easier to focus on running their business,” said Lee.

Find out more on how to achieve the right brew of success at www. cimbbank.com.my/smebanking