News Room

Special Team to Spearhead RHB ISLAMIC's Promotional Efforts in the South

MELAKA, 29 August 2006: In line with the government’s call for greater private sector support and participation in the implementation of the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), RHB ISLAMIC Bank Bhd (“RHB ISLAMIC Bank”) has appointed a dedicated team to spearhead its marketing efforts in the southern corridor.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as large corporations doing business in the corridor can now expect more innovative solutions and fast approvals to meet their individual financing needs.

“We hope such efforts will also help to strengthen the already mutually beneficial relationships we have with our valued business partners in this region,” said RHB ISLAMIC Bank Chairman Dato’ Vaseehar Hassan Abdul Razack today.

Dato’ Vaseehar, who was speaking at an Appreciation Luncheon for 11 Business Partners of RHB ISLAMIC Bank here, said the bank’s efforts were also a commitment to help boost the local economy to the benefit of all parties, including its business partners, the state governments of Negeri Sembilan, Johor and Melaka and the bank itself.

The luncheon was in appreciation of the support and trust that the 11 business partners have placed on RHB ISLAMIC Bank over the years. RHB ISLAMIC Bank has, thus far, extended loans of up to RM230m for companies in Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor.

Last month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that a total of RM15 billion would be pumped into the Southern Johor Economic Region (SJER) under the 9MP to attract investors, including foreign investors, to the region.

The 10,000-hectare site, stretching from the Johor Causeway to Gelang Patah and covering the Senai International Airport, the Johor Port in Pasir Gudang and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas, will become the largest development corridor under the 9MP.

Among the projects that will be undertaken in the corridor are an education hub with state of the art facilities supported by brand name universities, a medical centre of excellence, with top-end private hospitals, and research facilities.

Businesses, including SMEs in Johor as well as Negeri Sembilan and Melaka, are expected to reap great benefits from the development of the corridor.

Dato’ Vaseehar noted that companies in the Southern Corridor had a strong base in manufacturing as well as the plantations and agricultural sectors, as well as a large export market. “Based on these factors, RHB ISLAMIC Bank is very bullish about the prospects of the region,” he added.

He said efforts were already being made to ensure that RHB ISLAMIC Bank would be able to continuously meet the needs of its current and potential business partners in the region.

“We are doing this by structuring innovative financing packages for these companies based on their individual business requirements. While these companies may be involved in quite diverse industries, such as food processing, poultry, furniture, construction, and manufacturing, we are confident that our packages will meet their individual and collective needs,” he added.

Dato’ Vaseehar noted that some of RHB ISLAMIC Bank’s business partners worked on a smaller scale while others were established organisations and market leaders. “We are pleased to work and grow with any customer. Factors such as the size of a customer’s business, its value, or his experience are not criteria that we emphasise on when we choose our business partners,” he added.

Commenting on the plans for the Southern Corridor, Dato’ Vaseehar said the diversity and strength of the businesses in the region would serve as an initiative for RHB ISLAMIC Bank to develop structured lending packages to suit the requirements of companies there.

He said cross-selling efforts within the RHB Group, particularly with RHB Bank Bhd and its Delta Finance Division, had also helped to boost RHB ISLAMIC Bank’s marketing efforts in the Southern Corridor. “These efforts have also led to many successful referrals, thus enabling RHB ISLAMIC Bank to forge mutually beneficial working relationships with businesses in the area,” he added.

Dato’ Vaseehar said RHB ISLAMIC Bank, with its expertise and experience in business financing, was looking forward to assisting more corporations and SMEs in meeting their business requirements in the future.