Posted on May 17, 2011, Tuesday
EAST MALAYSIAN PRESENCE: According to Syed Zed, SME Factors representative offices in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu will be set up in a couple of months.
KUCHING: Following its successful launch in Sabah and Sarawak recently, SME Factors Sdn Bhd (SME Factors) has received overwhelming response from small and medium (SME) entrepreneurs and contractors in both states.
According to the company’s president and chief executive officer Syed Zed Al Qudsy, SME Factors representative offices in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu would be set up in a couple of months.
“For the time being, clients from Sabah and Sarawak are managed by the head office sales team who will fly down to both states regularly to meet up with the clients as well as find new ones,” he said in a press statement yesterday.
As an SME cashflow solutions provider, SME Factors was offering a range of products and services slated for SME businesses. Licenced by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Ministry of Finance, the company would specialise in receivables financing by providing cashflow solutions to all types of SMEs regardsless of industry or size, from start-ups to multi-million ringgit companies.
“Apart from thorough risk management analysis on clients, SME Factors promises a speedy approval of only five calendar days,” said Syed Zed.
During the company’s official launch of its services here last week, Syed Zed mentioned that SME Factors would be targeting to extend facilities worth RM100 million to about 100 clients each in Sabah and Sarawak within this year. Currently, it has rolled out facilities amounting RM500 million to more than 600 entrepreneurs in Peninsular Malaysia.
Commenting on the rationale behind the company’s expansion into East Malaysia, Syed Zed remarked, “The rapid economic and industrial growth in East Malaysia is really impressive. The state governments have laid all the right measures to attract investors and entrepreneurs to build and develop the state economies together and the business-friendly approach must be be continued and emulated by other states.
“Against this positive backdrop, SME Factors made the bold decision to extend its services to SME entreprenuers and contractors in Sabah and Sarawak,” he added.
SME Factors began its SME financing facility services in West Malaysia in 2008. So far, it has extended facilities in excess of RM500 million to about 600 contractors undertaking projects under the government or government-linked companies (GLCs).
Syed Zed said SME Factors was also planning to extend its services to SMEs carrying out projects from the private sector by the second half of this year.
“SME Factors aspires to help grow the SME sector into one of our key economic pillars. A steadily-growing SME sector will spur internal demand and investments in the country and we will be less dependent on the export market. With the Economic Transformation Programme and the 10th Malaysia Plan being rolled out by the government, the confidence level towards our economic growth has become more evident and stronger.
“Various projects worth over RM300 billion are underway and these will result in trickle-down effects that cascade down the benefits to all Malaysians especially the SME entrepreneurs and contractors,” added Syed Zed.
