Bangkok--Sep 29--KASIKORNBANK
KASIRKORNBANK’s loans for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) exhibited steady growth over the first eight months of this year totaling Bt190 million, rising 11 percent against this year’s target of 15 percent. The rise is attributed to the Bank’s strategy on direct penetration to retail customers by organizing seminars together with special interest loan offering services. The activities taken place in 3 provinces resulted in lending worth almost Bt1 billion.
Mr. Pipat Aneaknithi, First Vice President of Business and Professional Banking Department said that loans extended to SMEs customers whose annual sales turnover not exceeding Bt50 million have grown steadily. During the first eight months of 2004, KBANK lent around Bt190.900 billion to SMEs, increasing by 19.10 billion or 11.12 percent from the end of last year, with SME customer base about 120,000 nationwide. The Bank targets to provide Bt197.041 billion in loan to SMEs this year, or an increase of 14.7 percent. Meanwhile, KBANK’s total loan grows at the rate of 7 percent this year.
The highest growth of loans recorded this year is in the North, with value about Bt21.635 billion, rising by 31.80 percent from 2003 year-end. Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phitsanulok and Lampang are among the provinces posting high growth in loans. Businesses with bright prospects include car and motorcycle dealers, agricultural commodity trading business such as rice mills, cassava as prices of these commodities are expected to stay high into next year. In addition, tourism and electrical appliances are also among those promising businesses.
Mr. Pipat added that the marketing approach the Bank used with the retail sector was direct penetration to the business owners who manage their own businesses and have absolute decision power. From this, the Bank invited these business owners to seminars where the Bank offered special interest rate loan program called “Pricing Campaign” whereby the participants were able to obtain special interest loan rates in a range of MLR-1.00 percent to MRR + 1.75 percent. From the seminars organized in 3 provinces; Khon Kaen, Samut Sakorn and Bangkok, the Bank could extend loans worth altogether about Bt1 billion. And this week the Bank will organize a seminar entitled “Khoo Kha Khoo Kid Thurakij Kemkaeng (Strong business with business partners) to a group of SME customers at Phitsanulok where the Bank expects to extend loans for around Bt300 million, according to Mr. Pipat.
In addition, the Bank also uses the campaign called “Member gets Members” so that existing customers can invite their business partners to participate the seminar, which will enable the Bank to have access to new group of customers and draw more customers of other banks to use the Bank’s services. Kasikornbank still expects that SME loans are the core of the Bank’s loan extension that will sustain loan growth in the long run.
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