SMEs and Business Organizations Meet in Kuala Terengganu for an Interactive Session with Bankers

Kuala Terengganu, Wednesday 2 December 2009 –The forum named “Sesi Berinteraksi Bersama Organisasi Perniagaan”, held today between the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and other relevant business organizations in and around town (which included the Malay Chamber of Commerce of Kuala Terengganu, the Chinese Chambers of Commerce of Kuala Terengganu, the Terengganu Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Malaysian Timber Council) on the one hand and representatives of the financial services industry on the other, was well received with attendance by approximately 100 participants.

Led by Bank Negara Malaysia and The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM), the dialogue opened with presentations by Bank Negara Malaysia, SME Corporation Malaysia and Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Berhad on micro-credit and a wider spectrum of financing options available for SMEs and other businesses. In line with the commercial banks continued support for SME activities, the interactive session which followed presented an opportunity for the business community to share with the financial services sector its suggestions and comments for better collaboration going forward.

According to the Executive Director of The Association of Banks in Malaysia, Chuah Mei Lin, the interactive session is part of an on-going series of nationwide dialogues aimed at forging a stronger relationship between the business communities outside of key urban areas in Malaysia and the financial services fraternity.

“Kuala Terengganu was selected as our first location on the East Coast of Malaysia primarily for its diverse and vibrant economic activities and to dovetail with Minggu Kesedaran Kewangan (M2K) 2009 held recently from 22 to 24 October 2009 in the town with resounding success. There will be more dialogues of this nature in 2010 to enable bankers to meet SMEs and other business organisations face to face and also state to state including Sabah and Sarawak for a candid exchange of ideas and suggestions. The matters raised at the dialogues will provide useful insights to both SMEs and the financial services sector, particularly the commercial banks,” explained Chuah.

Besides the dialogue in Kuala Terengganu, sessions of a similar nature have been held since July 2009 in Pulau Pinang and in Batu Pahat. In the same vein as the first financing fair and dialogue held in August 2009 in Batu Pahat, dialogues with SMEs and other business organizations may be organized in conjunction with a financing fair which will allow banks and development financial institutions to conduct seminars for consumer education besides setting up booths to provide on the spot advice and guidance to SMEs on all commercial matters.

SMEs and business organizations may obtain more information from ABM’s website, www.abm.org.my or may contact the toll-free hotline ABMConnect at 1-300-88-9980 from Monday to Friday should they have any enquiries on banking related issues.

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