DATE | : 1 October 2019 |
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WRITER | : Arjuna Chandran Shankar |
PUBLISHER | : The Edge Markets |
KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 1): CIMB Group Holdings Bhd has partnered with the Sustainable Energy Development Authority to provide sustainable energy financing for small to medium enterprises (SMEs).
During his speech at the banking group’s The Cooler Earth Sustainability Summit today, CIMB Group chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz announced that the financing called “CIMB SME Renewable Energy Financing” covers 100% of the cost of acquiring and installing renewable energy technology for SMEs.
“The financing will be done on a case-by-case basis. We have to see the amount requested in relation to the size of the SME,” he said on the sidelines of the conference.
He added the move is part of CIMB’s sustainability agenda.
Zafrul highlighted that the bank has offered lower interest rates for loans for hybrid cars and for green building index houses and buildings.
“This is to encourage people to take sustainability issues more seriously, and to make it more commercially viable for them,” he added.
He said the group’s RM2.85 billion (US$680 million) sustainable development goal bond was 100% taken up and would be used for financing its clients’ environmentally sustainable activities.
The bond was announced yesterday and will be officially launched on Oct 9.
On Budget 2020, Zafrul said the group was hopeful that the government would give tax incentives that encourage the development of sustainable technology, as well as any measures to help with the education of the bottom 40% income group.