OCBC Malaysia goes for $1.28bn SME loan disbursement this year

The lender and its local rivals are currently searching for good SMEs with export potentials.

OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd aims to disburse RM4 billion ($1.28 billion) in loans for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by year-end. Last year the bank disbursed about RM2.5 billion ($799.1 million).

Director and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Chew said this year, the bank as of June, had approved RM5 billion ($1.6 million) in loans for SMEs with RM2 billion ($639.28 million) having been disbursed.

"We are very proud that Malaysia is number one in terms of access to credit for SMEs and this is spearheaded by Bank Negara Malaysia, which has enabled the industry to develop.

"They (SMEs) just need to have a good business plan, track record and human capital capability in areas such as branding, marketing, distribution and so forth," he told reporters at the ACCA SME Conference 2011 in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday.

SME Corp Malaysia's Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mahdi Mohd Ariffin said the main challenge faced by SMEs today was actually cash flow.

"When a bank looks at proposals, it needs to consider and access the cash flow of these SMEs because it helps them repay loans.

View the full story in Bernama.