NEWS IN BRIEF: AUG 1, 2022

CIMB BANK BHD and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd are offering the NCIA-CIMB Entrepreneur Scheme (NCES) to eligible micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs) in the northern region, namely Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak.

In a statement today, CIMB Bank said eligible small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will be provided with a 50 per cent rebate on the total interest/profit of their CIMB SME Quick Biz Financing and this would include financing under the Targeted Relief and Recovery Facility. 

“We look forward to playing a continued role as a catalyst for growth and we hope our efforts continue to have a positive impact on the communities, MSMEs and the economy as a whole,” said CIMB Group chief executive officer of group commercial banking Victor Lee Meng Teck. 

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-- BERNAMA

BANK ISLAM MALAYSIA BHD has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, as its preferred cloud provider to power its digital transformation. 

In a statement today, Bank Islam chief executive officer Mohd Muazzam Mohamed said the bank has selected AWS as its preferred cloud provider to benefit from the highest levels of security and compliance, without sacrificing speed of innovation. 

"We were able to develop a prototype for our Be U digital bank in only three months with AWS, and we can now explore advanced cloud services, like machine learning, to develop an alternative credit framework to broaden access to customers who would otherwise have difficulty obtaining a credit line,” he added.

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MALAYSIA  AIRLINES passengers can now instantly report any delayed or missing baggage at any time of day with the introduction of its Baggage Self-Service Reporting feature, allowing its passengers to easily make a report, track and monitor the recovery process via their personal devices.

In a statement today, the carrier said the Baggage Self-service Reporting feature is available for passengers across all Malaysia Airlines’ domestic and international networks. 

“This is also timely as it gives peace of mind and reassurance to our passengers that their needs are taken care of, especially when travelling during this peak period as many airports globally are facing operational challenges in managing the influx of revenge travellers," said Malaysia Airlines’ group chief marketing and customer experience officer Lau Yin May.

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ASIA FOUNDATION, a non-profit international development organisation, is collaborating with logistics provider DHL Express Malaysia as a capacity-building partner for its Accelerate My Business program. 

In a statement today, the foundation said Accelerate My Business is a program that is targeted at women who are considering starting a small business as well as small business owners who want to learn the basics of digital, business and financial literacy skills. 

DHL Express Malaysia and Brunei managing director Julian Neo said DHL Express would address the knowledge bottlenecks that discourage female entrepreneurs from expanding their businesses by leveraging our logistics and cross-border trade expertise. 

“This is in line with our company’s purpose of connecting people and improving lives,” he  added. 

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ALLIANCE BANK MALAYSIA BHD has introduced a new shariah-compliant financing option through its Digital SME solution to assist micro and small businesses, especially those operating in the halal industry or those who prefer an Islamic-permissible funding.

The bank said the quick and easy-to-apply digital financing alternative which is based on the Islamic concept of commodity murabahah, enables micro and small businesses to obtain up to RM500,000 financing conveniently, fully digitally.

It is applicable to businesses that have been in operations for at least three years with a minimum annual turnover of RM500,000, it added.

“This year, we aim to provide RM200 million in digital SME financing to help business owners grow via our Digital SME solutions,” Alliance Bank senior vice-president and head of Digital SME Kevin Shum said in a statement today. 

-- BERNAMA