Here are competitive financing schemes available to SMEs in Asia

Find out what CIMB and OCBC have in store for growing SMEs in the region.

ABF: As more entrepreneurs start and maintain their own business ventures, what are the options available to SME and to Social Enterprises?

CIMB Bank: Renzo Viegas, Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Head of Consumer Banking
Given the emphasis on the SME sector as one of the key drivers of economic growth in Malaysia, banks play a crucial role in supporting the growth of SMEs. Under "The SME Masterplan 2012 - 2020", the target is for SMEs to achieve an average GDP growth of 8.7% per annum in the period 2012 - 2020.

New start-ups can access various special government funds/financing schemes through the Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) which offers specialised financial products and services to suit the needs of the targeted sectors. Commercial Banks including CIMB Bank can assist in intermediating government special funds such as the Fund for Small and Medium Industries 2 (FSMI 2) and New Entrepreneur Fund 2 (NEF 2).

To assist SMEs without collateral or with inadequate collateral to obtain credit facilities from financial institutions, Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Berhad (CGC) provides guarantee cover to FIs to enable SMEs to obtain credit facilities.

We are constantly looking at developing a wide range of financial products and services (both conventional and Islamic) catering to the varied needs of SMEs. SMEs requiring long-term capital to sustain and grow their business can approach CIMB for private equity or venture capital partners to provide support and advice. 

OCBC: Linus Goh, Head of Global Commercial Banking
With the increasing number of financial institutions engaging this segment over the past few years, there is a wide spectrum of financing options available in the market for SMEs to tap on. This ranges from working capital financing such as trade, factoring, business overdrafts and term loans to asset-based financing covering commercial property, machinery and equipment.

In addition, government agencies such as SPRING, IE Singapore, and the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) offer a comprehensive range of grants, equity/debt funding and financing assistance schemes to support SMEs across different stages of growth and industries.

OCBC recently launched the Business Overseas Loan to address SMEs’ needs for simpler and faster access to cross-border financing. Eligible SMEs enjoy a loan of as much as $500,000 to fund their regional expansion across Malaysia without requiring any collateral.  

RCBC: Ismael Sandig, Senior Executive Vice President - Retail Banking Group
There are a number of loan products available already for the SMEs and the social enterprises. The best bank really is the one that can effectively package or bundle the products for these customers.

DBS: Lim Chu Chong, Head of Enterprise Banking
The financing landscape for SMEs has changed in the last few years and many SMEs in Singapore have embarked on knowledge-based banking. Increasingly, entrepreneurs are more financially savvy and their banking needs more sophisticated.

At DBS SME Banking, we are highly committed to developing and delivering value-added solutions to business owners of start-ups, small and medium enterprises through a comprehensive suite of banking solutions and services. More importantly, we continuously look at new avenues to develop innovative solutions and competitive offerings targeted to meet the specific business needs in different segments in the SME space.

 DBS is the first bank to offer a banking package that is customised to the needs of social enterprises, the DBS Social Enterprise Banking Package. The package has the most competitive unsecured business loan rate at 5% per annum, processing fees and charges are waived. Under the package, social enterprises are not required to put up any initial deposit or maintain daily average balance for their corporate current accounts.