UOB helps start-ups and SMEs establish themselves in 33 locations across Southeast Asia

SINGAPORE: United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) today announced that its customers – from start-ups to small- and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) – will be able to establish a presence more easily across Southeast Asia with preferential rental rates at coworking spaces in the region.

UOB’slatestinitiativeaddresses one of the top constraints to businesses’ cross-border expansion – managing the set-up costs associated with expanding overseas.

The bank has signed Memoranda of Understanding with EV Hive (Indonesia), Common Ground (Malaysia), WORQ (Malaysia) and 80RR Fintech Hub SG (Singapore) to offer its customers up to 20 per cent off the rental at any of these companies’ co-working spaces.

These tie-ups add to UOB’s existing partnership with Toong in Vietnam, making up a total of 33 co-working spaces located around the region including Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Janet Young, head of Group Channels and Digitalisation, UOB, said, “We found in the Asean SME Transformation Study3 that more than half of SMEs have plans to expand in the region over the next three years.

“However, factors such as cost and difficulty in finding suitable local partners are a concern to them.

“By using co-working spaces offered by our network of partners, our customers will be able to set up their operations in a new market in a fast, flexible and cost-effective way.”

Unlike traditional leases which typicallyrequireatwo-tothree-year commitment, co-working spaces offer businesses more flexibility in determining the duration of the lease based on their needs.

There is also no need to incur the upfront costs of renovation and office furniture or to manage tasks such as setting up their utility or internet services.

Another advantage of using a co-working space is the ability to connect with other tenants, including start-ups, technology companies, digital marketing firms and professional service providers such as lawyers, accountants and intellectual property specialists for collaboration opportunities.

Since helping its customers establish a presence in Vietnam through Toong, UOB has seen businesses in the co-working community, from start-ups to established corporations, help one another in their overseas expansion.