First Financing Fair In Batu Pahat Organised by The Association Of Banks, Bank Negara Malaysia and Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation, An Encouraging Success
BATU PAHAT AUGUST 18TH 2009:- The first-ever Financing Fair organized by the Association of Banks in Malaysia (the Association of Banks), together with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation (SMIDEC) on Monday, was a resounding success with more than 300 participants taking part.
Held at the Dewan Jubli Intan, Batu Pahat, there was warm response from the attendees, representing the various businesses and industries located in and around town as well as the commercial banks with presence in the southern region such as Affin Bank, Alliance Bank, CIMB Bank, EON Bank, Hong Leong Bank, HSBC Bank, Maybank, OCBC, Public Bank, RHB, Standard Chartered and UOB.
Besides Credit Guarantee Corporation (CGC) and Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit, development finance institutions such as Agro Bank, Bank Simpanan Nasional and SME Bank were also present.
Running concurrently with two half day sessions of important trade talks to educate businesses, there were also 19 booths set up by member banks as well as the said development finance institutions whereby businesses obtained on the spot advice and guidance from the financial institutions on all commercial matters.
The Financing Fair, aimed at strengthening relationships between commercial banks and businesses, mainly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), is envisioned to be the first of a series of nationwide roadshows planned for 2009 and 2010.
Maybank Chief Operating Officer Datuk Johar Che Mat said the first Financing Fair themed “Majlis Beramah Mesra Bank dan Perusahaan Kecil dan Sederhana” was held in Batu Pahat because it is the industry’s intention to reach out more effectively to key population and industrial centers outside key urban areas in the Peninsular as well as Sabah and Sarawak.
Datuk Johar represented Maybank chief executive officer Dato’ Sri Abdul Wahid Omar who is the Chairman of the Association of Banks.
“The Financing Fair is an important milestone in the banking sector. We are pleased with the response from the local community and since this is our debut event, I am confident the organizers will be able to hold even more impactful Financing Fairs in the future,” he said.
Datuk Johar also added that the Financing Fair is also meant to create awareness amongst the public that commercial banks continue to be responsive and responsible towards customer needs and that commercial banks continue to aggressively support SME activities despite challenging economic conditions.
Some of the major business organizations in the region were represented – Chinese Chambers of Commerce Batu Pahat and Kluang, SMI Association of Johor and the Johor Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Businesses from Batu Pahat and the surrounding vicinity including Kluang, Rengit and Yong Peng which attended the one-day Financing Fair also benefited from many key trade talks given by experts from various commercial banks and development finance institutes.
The talks given in Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin covered a wide range of important subject matters vital to SMEs such as loans processing, SME financial assistance, effective cash flow management, micro-financing as well as guarantee schemes provided by CGC.
On a related matter, The Association of Banks, BNM and SMIDEC also held a special dialogue session with the business organizations mentioned above and the Malaysian Timber Council today.
The Association of Banks Executive Director Chuah Mei Lin said the objective of fostering better relationships between the financial community and businesses from smaller towns is a key theme of the Financing Fair and thus, will continue to be a major event in the industry’s calendar in the foreseeable future.
Businesses can get more information from the Association of Banks’ newly revamped website www.abm.org.my while the toll-free hotline ABMConnect at 1-300-88-9980 is always open Monday to Friday during working hours to help solve any banking query and other related finance matters.
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