One for the album: (From left) Star Media Group (SMG) chief business officer Lydia Wang, Geomax founder and director Steven Ng, SMG chief executive officer Chan Seng Fatt, Heineken corporate affairs and legal director Renuka Indrarajah, OCBC Bank wholesale banking managing director Jeffrey Teoh, and Malaysian Investment Development Authority sustainability division senior assistant director Zurisma Zulkarnain during the ESG Positive Impact Awards winners showcase.—YAP CHEE HONG/The Star
THE buzz is amazing when entrepreneurs get their very first customer. Following that buzz is a feeling of liberation upon receiving the first payment.
Starting a business, however, entails some important necessities, and one of them involves securing a business bank account for the upkeeping of business cash flows.
To ease the journey for these businesses - majority of which are small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and Bumiputera-owned - OCBC Al-Amin Bank Berhad (OCBC Al-Amin), the wholly-owned Islamic banking subsidiary of OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, continues to offer easily accessible and fully digital banking solutions such as the OCBC eBiz Account-i - a Shariah-compliant business account to Bumiputera SMEs in Malaysia.
Over 1,000 SMEs adopted the OCBC eBiz Account-i within five months of its launch in June 2023. The bank’s fully digital product offered SMEs a low initial deposit, a business debit card-i and an optional QR payments collection service, OCBC OneCollect. More importantly, it offers an online application process that eliminates the need to visit physical branches to open a business account – saving valuable time and hassle.
OCBC Malaysia managing director,senior banker and head of investmentbanking Tan Ai Chin said theESG-linked financing solution createdanother new benchmark inMalaysia, given that it embeds theIslamic principles of value-basedintermediation financing with anadded feature of a derivative solutionto effectively manage financialrisks.The bank also launched online Islamic financing for Bumiputera SMEs in August 2023 to streamline the application process as well as conducted community outreach programmes in partnership with Halal Development Corporation, such as Jelajah Halal Malaysia, to promote financial literacy within Malaysia’s Halal ecosystem, empower SMEs with knowledge and tools for informed financial decisions, and foster a broader financial inclusivity within the Bumiputera community.
OCBC Al-Amin adopts OCBC Group’s sustainability strategy which encompasses three pillars aligned with environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects, including Accelerating the Transition to a Net-Zero Future, Bringing Impact to Communities, and Conducting our Business Responsibly.
These pillars set out the ten material ESG factors deemed significant to OCBC’s business operations and reflect stakeholders’ priorities. OCBC Al-Amin’s sustainable and responsible financing policies also incorporate the principles of Value-Based Intermediation (VBI) and it champions the concept of double-green financing in an endeavour to reflect the synergy between Shariah-compliant solutions and ESG values.
Sustainable finance
As a responsible financial partner, the OCBC Group also facilitates and supports the increasingly widespread acceptance of sustainable finance among Malaysian corporates and government-linked companies (GLCs) to advance their decarbonisation journey.OCBC Al-Amin led the way in sustainable financing as Gamuda Group’s sole sustainability structuring adviser for its maiden Shariah compliant ESG-linked holistic financing solution totalling up to RM550mil last year.
OCBC Malaysia managing director, senior banker and head of investment banking Tan Ai Chin said the ESG-linked financing solution created another new benchmark in Malaysia, given that it embeds the Islamic principles of value-based intermediation financing with an added feature of a derivative solution to effectively manage financial risks.She added that OCBC Al-Amin also played a significant role in KPJ Healthcare Berhad’s maiden sustainability sukuk issuance of RM555mil through its RM3bil Sukuk Wakalah programme, the first of its kind to be issued in Malaysia and the ASEAN region by a private healthcare provider.
“OCBC Al-Amin acted as the Principal Adviser, Shariah and Sustainability Structuring Adviser for KPJ Healthcare’s Sukuk Programme. The Sukuk had garnered overwhelming interest from a diverse group of investors. Tan said the partnership is yet another testament to the bank’s continuous effort to accelerate ESG adoption by corporates through the provision of innovative and climate-friendly sustainable financial solutions”.
Tan highlighted that OCBC was also instrumental in advising Westsports Holdings Sdn Bhd for its recent debut Sukuk issuance under its newly established Islamic Medium Term Notes Programme of up to RM5bil. Notably, the Sukuk Programme also has the flexibility to issue sustainability and sustainability-linked sukuk, in-line with Westports Holdings’ continued drive towards better alignment to its ESG-related goals.
Tan commented that the establishment of this sustainable finance embedded sukuk programme is a significant milestone as the first of such issuance for the port and marine sector in the Malaysian capital market.
She further highlighted that the OCBC Group will continue with its pivotal role to advise, lead and arrange groundbreaking sustainable finance transactions amongst local corporates and GLCs, which exemplifies and attests to OCBC Group’s efforts in driving the adoption of sustainable finance among clientele base to support their ESG best practices and sustainable journey.
Boosting sustainable endeavours
oCBC Bank wholesale bankingmanaging director Jeffrey teohnee teik said the boost in adoptionof ESG principles have laid thefoundation for sustainable businesspractices, thus creating aparadigm shift on how businessesengage with the environment.As a firm supporter of the sustainability agenda, OCBC Bank is also the main sponsor of Star Media Group’s (SMG) ESG Positive Impact Awards (ESG PIA) for the second consecutive year.
Noting that the ESG PIA is a commendable initiative to recognise efforts of businesses which are doing well by doing good, OCBC Bank’s Wholesale Banking managing director Jeffrey Teoh Nee Teik said the boost in adoption of ESG principles have laid the foundation for sustainable business practices.
“It creates a paradigm shift in terms of how businesses engage with the environment, considering the impact of their practices on areas such as pollution control, resource scarcity and climate change management.”
“There is also the social aspect, such as human rights, in addition to environmental aspects. These are all critical factors that govern the way businesses should be run in the future, and this is going to be crucial in terms of importance to all the stakeholders, such as governments, regulatory bodies, and future investors,” he said during the ESG PIA Winners Showcase event held at Menara Star earlier this month.
The event featured prominent experts from the industry such as Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) senior director Dr Meenachi Muniandy as well as Malaysian Investment Development Authority’s (Mida) sustainability division senior assistant director Zurisma Zulkarnain.
Zurisma highlighted on ESG-related grants that are available to SMEs nationwide, while Meenachi shed light on the ministry’s efforts in advancing ESG in the industry such as the “CSR Match”, as well as evolving awareness of ESG, especially among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) since the National Industry Environmental, Social and Governance Framework (i-ESG Framework) was introduced in October last year.
Besides presentations by Meenachi and Zurisma, the ESG PIA 2022 winners including Heineken Malaysia Bhd and Geomax Rubber Innovative Products Sdn Bhd also gave informative and insightful talks.
Geomax founder and director Steven Ng Yong Beng gave an upbeat and engaging session that highlighted the importance of planning company operations around “purpose, planet, people, prosperity, partnership and performance”.
Teoh (right) receiving a token of appreciation from Chan during the ESGPositive impact Awards winners showcase at Menara Star, PetalingJaya—YAP CHEE HonG/The Star
“We have to think about turning not just our waste, but the industry’s waste into something that can benefit society as a whole while contributing to a circular economy,” he said.
Heineken corporate affairs and legal director Renuka Indrarajah shared about the company’s multitude of efforts on the adoption and implementation of ESG. Noting that it is difficult for businesses to “achieve big things in a short time”, Renuka said: “The higher management has to commit to people and resources to make things happen.”
The award will provide companies with market recognition for their commitment to ESG, according to SMG chief executive officer Chan Seng Fatt. He also said it will enhance the corporate image of participants.
“In today’s investing world, investors are also quite aware and will emphasise the importance of ESG commitments. Additionally, the recognition will enhance a brand’s reputation as a responsible corporate citizen. These impacts are tremendous in today’s corporate landscape,” said Chan during the event’s opening ceremony. SMG chief business officer Lydia Wang was present as well.
The ESG PIA 2022 Gala Night was held on June 8 last year at M Resort Hotel Kuala Lumpur. Its aim was to drive positive change and inspire others in the country to embrace sustainability. Out of the 100 participating companies, a total of 60 awards were given out across 15 categories.
The submissions were evaluated by a panel of judges based on set criteria across the three ESG pillars.
The ESG Positive Impact Awards 2023 is organised by SMG and endorsed by the Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry and Miti, with OCBC Bank as the main sponsor.
Log on to https://staresgawards.com.my/ for more information on how to be part of sustainable change.
Scan the QR to watch more on the showcase.
