KUALA LUMPUR: Banks need to shoulder the responsibility together with the government in realising the reforms outlined in the Madani Economy, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.
At the launch of Maybank myimpact SME Hub in conjunction with the “Meet-and-Greet Session with the Prime Minister of Malaysia and Maybankers”, Anwar said the framework aims to bring about economic transformation by elevating the value chains in the global supply chain and enhancing the nation’s economic sustainability.
The prime minister stated that the framework focuses on three industries to elevate the nation’s status – energy transition, food security and industrial transformation and manufacturing.
And to ensure wealth equality is upheld, the Madani Economy emphasises the need to bring the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector to participate in these industries.
Anwar also urged the country’s banking industry to remain competitive in addressing the confluence of the “three Cs phenomenon” – complexity, chaos, and contradictions – in the post-normal era of today.
He said that since the financial industry plays a crucial role in supporting the country’s economy, banks need to have high resilience to withstand these three Cs and, more importantly, to possess humaneness and compassion in protecting the people from the rapid circulation brought about by these three Cs.
Anwar also addressed concerns over cartel intervention in the rice industry by stating that the proposed Madani white rice initiative will remove cartel dominance.
Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh has claimed that the Madani white rice proposal will only benefit cartels, spelling the end of local white rice.
“No, we are cutting cartel intervention. But we will discuss this at the next National Action Council on the Cost of Living meeting,” the prime minister said.
In a separate development, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) is projecting higher loan growth for its small and medium enterprises segment this year, with estimated expansion to RM80 billion from RM66 billion last year.
Maybank Community Financial Services Group CEO Datuk John Chong Eng Chuan said this number marked an increase to 13-14% compared with the previous year’s growth rate of 12% as well as significantly higher than the industry standard of 4.5% growth.
“In total over the five years, we provided RM66 billion worth of financing solely for the SME segment. Last year alone, we facilitated about RM17 million (of which RM5 billion was sustainable financing), representing a growth rate of 12% based on that figure. While the industry standard stood at 4.5% for SMEs, our growth outpaced this at 12%. Looking ahead, this year, we anticipate exceeding RM80 billion in financing, marking a growth rate of more than 13 to 14% for SMEs in Malaysia,“ he told reporters in a press conference at the same event.
Maybank introduced myimpact SME Hub, a one-stop integrated and holistic ecosystem for SMEs, offering value-based solutions established on sustainable and ethical principles.
It also serves as a knowledge hub and support system to facilitate and partner SMEs in their journey to transition towards sustainable practices.
The bank and its industry partners aim to empower SMEs in Malaysia to achieve a balance between the social responsibility, environmental impact and economic prosperity in navigating through the global supply chain to succeed on the world stage. There are currently about 1.2 million SMEs.
Maybank president and group CEO Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said, “With the launch of the myimpact SME Hub and in line with our purpose of Humanising Financial Services, we are taking our support a step further to equip them with the tools and knowledge to navigate the business landscape and invite them to make the empowering impact towards sustainability choices.”
In addition, with a focus on the halal industry, Maybank offers a nationwide halal solution which is targeted to help 200,000 Malaysian halal industry SMEs, of which around 70% are Maybank customers.
