Techcombank awards trade mandate to Citi
Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (Techcombank) has appointed Citi as its trade finance bank. The US institution will provide trade finance solutions and advances to Techcombank's local exporter and importer clients. Customers of Citi will also be able to take advantage of Techcombank's local network in Vietnam.
"Vietnam's corporate structured space continues to evolve and its banking sector has proactively taken steps to ensure that clients' demands are met. Techcombank has made a major move in realising its goals and given Citi a phenomenal endorsement in Vietnam, a market where we see great potential to partner with leading financial institutions," said Munir Nanji, managing director and regional head of Citi's Asia-Pacific bank services group, in a statement. The US institution has been building up its bank services group since 2008 when it created the designated vertical. Nanji was appointed to his position this March.
Kasikornbank adds night shift
Corporate treasurers in Thailand no longer need to fret over late-night payments after Kasikornbank extended its foreign exchange and treasury service hours from 5pm to 11pm on weekdays. The new "night shift", as the bank calls it, overlaps with office hours in both London and New York, easing business transactions for treasurers between the Southeast Asian market and the world's largest financial centres. According to Kasikornbank, the service will reduce customers' risk and make it easier for them to draw loans and conduct international trade.
"The financial crisis in the United States and the public debt crisis in Greece have triggered high volatility in the world financial market," said Thiti Tantikulanan, capital markets business division head of Kasikornbank, in a statement. "This will affect exporters and importers, prompting them to urgently seek foreign exchange risk management channels in order to protect their businesses."
The bank estimated that Bt15 billion ($458.8 million) worth of transactions would be processed during the extended working hours in the first year of operation.
Tiger Airways partners with EuroCommerce
Tiger Airways has expanded its EuroCommerce online payment solution to nine global currencies, adding to the options customers have when booking tickets on the carrier's website. Currencies covered by the service include Australian dollar, British pound sterling, euro, Hong Kong dollar, Malaysian ringgit, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Thai baht and US dollar.
"We are pleased to expand our partnership with EuroCommerce," said Tony Davis, president and group chief executive of the airline, in a statement. "By expanding our relationship to provide a fuller range of solutions, we realise greater operational and cost efficiencies in payment processing. When Tiger Airways gets a better deal as a customer, we give even better fares to our customers."
Davis said Tiger Airways reduced its average costs by 11.4% from April 2009 to March 2010 over the previous year and also lowered fares by 22.2% on average. The airline originally implemented the EuroCommerce solution in 2008.
Not to be outdone, AirAsia has implemented a similar foreign exchange solution using the Royal Bank of Scotland's FXmicropay platform for its online booking system. The Malaysian airline's solution currently allows customers the option of six global currencies.
KFH offers giro payments in Malaysia
Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia), better known as just KFH, signed an agreement with the Malaysian Electronic Payment System (MEPS) giving the Middle Eastern institution's clients access to the local interbank giro payment system and shared ATM network services. According to the bank, it is the first foreign Islamic bank to offer both services in Malaysia.
"Our corporate and retail customers will be the direct beneficiaries of these two services," said Puan Jamelah Jamaluddin, chief executive of KFH in Malaysia, in a statement. "Our strategic partnership with MEPS will, without a doubt, allow us to reach a wider and more diverse market segment as we deliver our mandate to provide Shar'iah-based products and services."
New portal for Singapore's SMEs
A new dedicated portal for local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was launched by Singapore's EnterpriseOne, a website managed by the city-state's enterprise development agency Spring Singapore. The portal will allow Singaporean SMEs to access information and various resources in order to improve operating efficiencies, reduce costs and raise productivity. SMEs will be able to view their productivity performance through an online calculator offered on the site.
"The portal will enable SMEs to learn the basic concepts, calculate their productivity and use the resources available on the website to raise their productivity," said Png Cheong Boon, chief executive of Spring Singapore, in a statement.
According to Spring Singapore, SMEs make up 99% of total enterprises and employ about 60% of workers in Singapore.
