PETALING JAYA: OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Malaysia Chinese Restaurant Association (MCRA) to support more than 100 China-based enterprises in the food and beverage industry in Malaysia.
MCRA, established in 2018 and registered with Malaysia’s Registrar of Societies, promotes the internationalisation of Chinese dining brands and facilitates catering businesses in Malaysia. It has overseas branches in several provinces of China, including Sichuan, Hubei, Henan and Shanxi.
According to MCRA president-general Gao Hao Yun, the collaboration with OCBC Bank will help its members to streamline their banking processes beyond financing to include cash management and foreign exchange management.
“We welcome this tie-up with OCBC Bank which has a long presence in Malaysia and recognised as being an integral part of the OCBC Group, strongly entrenched in Asean-Greater China as Southeast Asia’s second largest bank. We are confident our members will benefit immensely from this collaboration.
“:Specifically, our members will be able to gain from OCBC Bank’s award-winning cash management and foreign exchange management services along with their financing products. Many of our members are looking to simplify processes and go digital; so, this tie-up is timely,” he said, adding that the industry is estimated to be worth US$13 billion (RM58 billion).
In addition, he said, MRCA believes that its China members will benefit from the OCBC’s dedicated China Business team as their partner to bridge any language and cultural gaps, and offer the essential resources required to capture business opportunities, such as financial services and better insights into the local business environment including rules and regulations.
OCBC Bank China Business head Leong Pei Pei said the collaboration with MCRA aligns with the bank’s quest to bring its award-winning financial solutions to China-based F&B companies seeking to grow in Malaysia.
OCBC Bank managing director and emerging business head Chan Kok Leong said the bank remains committed to both SMEs and China businesses seeking to gain a greater presence in Malaysia.
“We will continue to look out for meaningful collaborations and support the China-based SMEs in the country, along with our other SMEs, enabling them to fulfil their aspirations through our financing solutions, particularly our digitally-backed capabilities which will in turn provide a simple, fast and convenient approach to meeting their banking needs,” he added.
