CIMB joins Petronas’ vendor financing programme as panel bank

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said CIMB Bank Bhd and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd (collectively CIMB) had joined its vendor financing programme (VFP) as the ninth panel bank.

The collaboration was marked by a memorandum of understanding (MoU) exchange ceremony yesterday, Petronas said in a statement. The VFP is to offer financing solutions to small and medium enterprise (SME) vendors in the oil and gas service equipment (OGSE) sector, to grow their businesses and reach their full potential.

“The VFP was established in May 2018 to assist Malaysian OGSE vendors, adversely affected by the oil price crisis, in securing working capital and improving their cash flows to sustain their businesses.

“Under the programme, Petronas helps banks facilitate their due diligence through vendor verification, thus simplifying the risk assessment and reducing approval time,” Petronas said.

By joining the VFP, CIMB will support Petronas’ OGSE vendors on value-chain financing with an extensive commercial banking coverage across Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.

The strategic alliance between Petronas and CIMB will further empower SME vendors in embracing market volatility and challenging realities with financing solutions well matched to SME needs, while catalysing the oil and gas ecosystem’s development for the nation’s benefit, said Petronas project delivery and technology group procurement vice president Liza Mustapha.

CIMB Group commercial banking chief executive officer (CEO) Victor Lee Meng Teck said the collaboration with Petronas is well-aligned with the nation’s SME agenda, as well as CIMB’s strong commitment in and focus on the SME sector.

The VFP’s other panel banks are Bank Islam, Malayan Banking Bhd, RHB Bank, HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd, United Overseas Bank, Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhd, Bank Rakyat and Bank Muamalat.