We have extensive experience in raising bilateral and syndicated offshore funds
for our clients' onshore and offshore requirements.
There are an increasing number of Malaysian corporations who are venturing
abroad to seek business opportunities. In fact, Bank Negara Malaysia has stated
in the Financial Sector Masterplan that "More domestic corporates will be expanding
regionally and globally, and will require capital investment in technology to
increase their productivity as labour costs rise. To do so, there will be the
need for increased access to long-term fixed rate financing and more sophisticated
risk management advisory services and products from domestic banking institutions,
insurance companies and offshore financial services".
Typically, Bank Negara Malaysia would require the local corporations to raise offshore funding for any cross border acquisition. The Malaysian government is also promoting a domestically-driven economy by encouraging private sector investment from domestic enterprises especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) businesses and middle market businesses generally referred to as mid-cap companies.
SMEs constitute about 92% of over 680,000 companies registered in Malaysia. Approximately 33% are found in trade and retail industries, 9% in the construction sector and 7% in the manufacturing sector.
Although SMEs in the manufacturing sector form only 7% of total SMEs, they constitute more than 90% of over 50,000 manufacturing entities in Malaysia and contribute approximately 27% to the manufacturing output of the country.
Due to the growing importance of this market segment, the Mid-Cap Team was formed in September 2003 to focus and further develop DBS Bank's presence and involvement in this sector by providing financial assistance to growing SMEs and mid-cap companies.