Singer sees continued growth in motorcycle financing

KUALA LUMPUR: Singer Malaysia Sdn Bhd, which has partnered Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) to offer instalment payment via BSN's nationwide network of registered banking agents, expects to see growth in the financing and sales of motorcycles.
Singer Malaysia Sdn Bhd managing director Yeap Dein Wah said the company gives easy credit to customers who want to purchase household products, including financing services for motorcycles.
"Our growth areas in terms of value are in motorcycles. Today we're one of the biggest financiers for motorcycles in Malaysia. Our market share of motorcycle sales exceeds 5% of the total market share," he told a press conference after the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding here with BSN on Friday.
Yeap said the motorcycle financing business started eight years ago on a small scale. Today it is financing a few thousand units a month and the business is growing quickly.
"The market in Malaysia for motorcycles keeps on increasing year after year. As long as the motorcycle market size increase, our growth will follow," said Yeap.
The Singer brand is known for its sewing machines, which cater for both home and industrial use. Singer also sells and provides easy payment scheme for a variety of consumer durables such as television, refrigerator, washers, furniture and more.
"It (motorcycles) is nothing different (from consumer durables) because we're here to promote easy payment. We help Malaysian households to improve their standard of living," said Yeap.
Earlier at the event, BSN agreed to collaborate with Singer to be a direct channel partner offering its network of registered banking agents for instalment payments of Singer product.
Since the inception of BSN's registered banking agents in January 2012 until May this year, it has recorded about 20.2 million transactions amounting to over RM1.69 billion.
BSN is targeting to have 6,000 registered banking agents by year-end, from 5,342 currently. It also aims to have 19 million transactions this year.
Yeap said Singer has 250,000 customers who perform payments every month and it will encourage its customers to use BSN's registered banking agents.
He added that Singer's business and sales have been increasing over the years, recording a double-digit growth every year and that the company has been penetrating the market in the outskirts of Malaysia.
With a retail network of 700 outlets in the country, Yeap said Singer will continue to open more outlets when it sees a need.