KUALA LUMPUR: HSBC Malaysia has launched the RM500 million HSBC New Economy Fund for high-growth, new economy businesses across Malaysia aimed at supporting the country’s digital economy.
HSBC Malaysia head of commercial banking Karel Doshi said a key ingredient for tech-led businesses and emerging Malaysian startups to scale is the investment to grow.
“We fully expect new economy businesses to play a more significant role in driving Malaysia’s economic growth and prosperity over the coming years. The HSBC New Economy Fund, which is the first of its kind in Malaysia, is focused on providing these high-growth, innovative companies with access to funding solutions so that they can continue the next stage of their growth,” she told a press conference at the fund’s launch today.
The fund will primarily support lending to tech-led businesses and emerging startups from Series B stage and beyond, as they explore opportunities within Malaysia’s growing digital economy.
Karel said the HSBC New Economy Fund demonstrates the bank’s support for the innovation economy in Malaysia and beyond.
“Malaysia is putting itself at the forefront of Asean’s thriving startup ecosystem with an emphasis on developing the country as a hub for high-performing businesses in the region. We are positive on the new economy in South and Southeast Asia and as a group we are doubling down on our support for new economy players,” she said.
She added that beyond the incentives provided by the Malaysian government, it is crucial to connect startups to other parts of the world and bring other parts of the world to them. HSBC’s extensive knowledge of Asia, gained over 150 years, positions it to facilitate this global connection.
“We have an international network and a trained team to deal with startups – this places the bank in a strong position to support emerging entrepreneurs of today who will spur the next generation of tech innovation companies that will be crucial to the development of the new economy landscape in Malaysia,” said Karel.
HSBC Malaysia highlighted that the development of Malaysia’s startup ecosystem aligns with the country’s long-term objectives, as outlined in initiatives such as the Madani Framework, the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 and the Malaysia Startup Ecosystem Roadmap 2021-2030.
These initiatives are testament to the commitment to bolster the development of startups in the country and place an emphasis on making Malaysia a digitally vibrant nation.
The approaches include providing enhanced funding, digitalisation grants and capacity building programmes that will be crucial to elevating the position of Malaysian startups on the global stage.
HSBC has invested US$2 billion (RM9.3 billion) globally into its commercial banking to improve its digital capabilities and to develop more solutions to support the clients
Going forward, the bank will continue to offer working capital, treasury management and payments and cash management solutions to meet the needs of these businesses at different stages of their lifecycle.
HSBC Malaysia is also consistently looking for ways to collaborate with government agencies and ecosystem players to support Malaysia’s new economy ecosystem.
