Bangkok--8 Nov--KBank
KASIKORNBANK and Baoshang Bank (BSB) now offer SME loans for SME operators in China, with more than 42 million target customers, and for Chinese SME operators with operations in Thailand. Provided under a new credit scoring model, it is hoped that the SME loans will strengthen trade and investment cooperation between Thailand and China.
According to KASIKORNBANK CEO Mr. Banthoon Lamsam, KBank intends to make a deeper foray into the SME credit market in China, where big business opportunities remain. The Bank and BSB, a local Chinese bank, have signed an agreement for offering SME loans in China, retail loans for rural areas, interbank transactions, and diverse financial facilities for Sino-Thai trade including international settlement, trade financing and syndicated loans.
With BSB and its knowledge of the Chinese market and customers, KBank will be able to expand its offering of SME credits to customers in China. Both parties are developing new models of credit scoring and syndicated loans in China and Thailand for projects developed by Chinese and Thai companies. Additionally, both banks have jointly developed loan technology and exchanged business knowledge and management experience, including personnel training for both parties.
China is one of the world’s largest SME markets, with approximately 42 million SME operators, each with no more than 300 employees, RMB 50 million of capital turnover per year or RMB 80 million of annual sales. A number of them lack access to loan facilities and working capital for business operations. This fact presents an opportunity for KBank, with its expertise in Thailand’s SME market, to penetrate the SME market in China and benefit from a partnership with a local bank and its knowledge of the local market.
Mr. Banthoon added that the cooperation will enhance KBank’s accessibility to SME entrepreneurs in China for their business development, and support trade between the two countries. With eight outlets overseas, namely the Shenzhen Branch, Beijing Representative Office, Shanghai Representative Office, Kunming Representative Office, Hong Kong Branch, Los Angeles International Branch, and Cayman Islands Branch and Tokyo Representative Office, KBank continues to expand into foreign markets.
BSB is a local Chinese bank, headed by Mr. Li Zhenxi, Chairman of BSB, with 18 branches, 14 branches of which are in Mongolia and four additional branches in large cities: Beijing, Ningbo, Shenzhen and Chengdu. BSB also has 105 sub-branches, and more than 6,000 staff members. Its major customer group is local SME operators.
Previously, KBank formed a partnership with China Minsheng Banking Corporation, offering credits in China, with lending of RMB200 million each. The cooperation has been highly successful both in terms of loan volume and quality, with low bad debts. Also, KBank has thus gained more experience in China’s SME market, a fundamental factor supporting the Bank’s future business in China.