Malaysia: CIMB Islamic provides RM100m financing for SMEs to achieve halal status

KUALA LUMPUR, Bernama — CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd has allocated RM100 million financial support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) looking to grow their business in the global halal market.

The bank said its latest proposition HalalBizReady, would provide financing packages that help businesses become compatible with the requirements of halal certification whether by getting their premises, operations or supply chain to be in line with those requirements.

“CIMB HalalBizReady is an empowering proposition to help businesses expand beyond Malaysia to access the US$2.2 trillion global halal market,” said chief executive officer Ahmad Shahriman Mohd Shariff in a statement today.

He said the RM100 million financing support was part of CIMB’s RM15 billion commitment to finance SMEs, announced earlier this year.

“This reflects our commitment to growing Islamic banking assets, with 82 per cent of CIMB’s SME financing growth in 2019 year-to-date attributable to Shariah-compliant businesses.

“Asean alone has 242 million Muslims, providing a huge demand pool that is accessible to these businesses through CIMB’s strong regional network and membership of the CIMB Trade Club,” he said.

CIMB Trade Club is an exclusive digital e-commerce ecosystem participated by 14 global banks whose network spans over 50 countries, and is aimed at empowering member companies to promote their businesses and expand their markets globally.

HalalBizReady is part of CIMB’s refreshed SME proposition’s suite of solutions that comprises three main pillars including SME Transact, SME Financing and collaborations via industry SME Partners.

Apart from business financing, the package also gives customers access to a wider global and regional market via the CIMB Trade Club platform, and access to the expertise of CIMB’s halal-based strategic partnerships which aim to facilitate businesses to become Halal ready for further growth. — Bernama