Latest news with #HLB
The Star
12 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Hong Leong Bank issues RM400mil Tier 2 subordinated notes
KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLB) has issued RM400 million in nominal value of Tier 2 subordinated notes under its multi-currency Tier 2 subordinated notes programme (HLB T2 Programme). In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, the bank said the issuance comprises two tranches: Tranche 6 Series 1, amounting to RM75 million and Tranche 6 Series 2 totalling RM325 million. "Tranche 6 Series 1, with a tenure of 10 years, has a coupon rate of 3.78 per cent per annum, and is non-callable for five years, while Tranche 6 Series 2 has a tenure of 12 years, a coupon rate of 3.85 per cent per annum, and is non-callable for seven years. "Both tranches pay coupons every six months, with Tranche 6 Series 1 callable from June 20, 2030, and Tranche 6 Series 2 from June 21, 2032, on any subsequent coupon payment date," it said. HLB added that the proceeds from the subordinated notes will be utilised, without limitation, for its working capital, general banking, and other corporate purposes, and the refinancing of any existing borrowings incurred, subordinated debt issued by the bank and/or any existing subordinated notes issued under the HLB T2 Programme. RAM Rating Services Bhd has assigned an AA1 rating for the subordinated notes programme. - Bernama
Malaysian Reserve
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Malaysian Reserve
HLB and DCAP Digital Collaborate to Boost SME Lending and Financial Inclusion with Cutting-Edge AI
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, June 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Aligned with its continuous efforts to support the SME ecosystem and offer tailored financial solutions to empower business development, Hong Leong Bank ('HLB' or the 'Bank') has signed a Memorandum of Understanding ('MoU') with DCAP Digital Sdn Bhd ('DCAP Digital'), enhancing its SME lending solutions infrastructure and driving financial inclusion for underbanked communities in Malaysia. Founded in 2020, DCAP Digital specializes in providing transparent and fair credit solutions through its full-stack Lending-as-a-Service ('LaaS') platform, offering an ecosystem for capital deployment into high-quality, pre-vetted borrowers alongside innovative digital tools that ensure efficiency, transparency, and compliance to regulatory requirements. Through this collaboration, HLB aims to leverage DCAP Digital's expertise in LaaS solutions, and especially its proprietary AI-driven credit scoring engine designed for more accurate and inclusive credit assessments, combining them with the Bank's robust financial solutions and extensive reach within the consumer financing and mobility (motorcycles and EVs) sectors to provide tailor-made lending solutions that are catered towards the customers' unique business and financing need. In May 2025 alone, over 61,000 motorcycles were newly registered in Malaysia, underscoring the dynamic nature and consistent demand within this market, yet one of the significant challenges in motorcycle financing, particularly for underbanked segments, often lies in efficiently establishing robust credit profiles and streamlining the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) processes. 'This represents a big step forward for HLB in terms of enhancing our lending services, as we continuously look to streamline our financing processes to better serve our dynamic pool of business customers', commented Woon Siew Hoong, HLB's Head of SME Banking. 'Aligned with our brand promise of being Built Around You, we are committed to maintaining a comprehensive suite of banking solutions that are designed to suit our customers' diverse needs, while ensuring the solutions are deployed in an efficient and seamless manner. Our partnership with DCAP Digital is a major milestone in this journey, where we combine AI integration, digital innovation, extensive market penetration, and tailored financing solutions to provide a truly enhanced customer experience.' With this partnership with DCAP Digital, HLB will primarily look to support its growing pool of motorcycle dealer customers, assisting them with seamless loan application processing and accelerated access into the Bank's Dealer Hire Purchase Program. HLB will also leverage on DCAP Digital's ecosystem to provide dealers with other relevant financing solutions, including cash management solutions, bank acceptance, and trade line services. Sonia Ng, Co-Founder & CEO of DCAP Digital added, 'We are thrilled to partner with HLB to further our mission of promoting financial inclusion through AI-powered credit solutions. This collaboration merges HLB's financial strength with our technology-driven approach, promoting seamless experiences, smart SME transformation and sustainable growth across the motorcycle ecosystem.' The collaboration will also involve joint promotional activities, such as workshops, seminars, and marketing campaigns to amplify visibility within the motorcycle industry, and training sessions for dealers on application best practices. For more information, please visit
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
HLB and DCAP Digital Collaborate to Boost SME Lending and Financial Inclusion with Cutting-Edge AI
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, June 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Aligned with its continuous efforts to support the SME ecosystem and offer tailored financial solutions to empower business development, Hong Leong Bank ("HLB" or the "Bank") has signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with DCAP Digital Sdn Bhd ("DCAP Digital"), enhancing its SME lending solutions infrastructure and driving financial inclusion for underbanked communities in Malaysia. Founded in 2020, DCAP Digital specializes in providing transparent and fair credit solutions through its full-stack Lending-as-a-Service ("LaaS") platform, offering an ecosystem for capital deployment into high-quality, pre-vetted borrowers alongside innovative digital tools that ensure efficiency, transparency, and compliance to regulatory requirements. Through this collaboration, HLB aims to leverage DCAP Digital's expertise in LaaS solutions, and especially its proprietary AI-driven credit scoring engine designed for more accurate and inclusive credit assessments, combining them with the Bank's robust financial solutions and extensive reach within the consumer financing and mobility (motorcycles and EVs) sectors to provide tailor-made lending solutions that are catered towards the customers' unique business and financing need. In May 2025 alone, over 61,000 motorcycles were newly registered in Malaysia, underscoring the dynamic nature and consistent demand within this market, yet one of the significant challenges in motorcycle financing, particularly for underbanked segments, often lies in efficiently establishing robust credit profiles and streamlining the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) processes. "This represents a big step forward for HLB in terms of enhancing our lending services, as we continuously look to streamline our financing processes to better serve our dynamic pool of business customers", commented Woon Siew Hoong, HLB's Head of SME Banking. "Aligned with our brand promise of being Built Around You, we are committed to maintaining a comprehensive suite of banking solutions that are designed to suit our customers' diverse needs, while ensuring the solutions are deployed in an efficient and seamless manner. Our partnership with DCAP Digital is a major milestone in this journey, where we combine AI integration, digital innovation, extensive market penetration, and tailored financing solutions to provide a truly enhanced customer experience." With this partnership with DCAP Digital, HLB will primarily look to support its growing pool of motorcycle dealer customers, assisting them with seamless loan application processing and accelerated access into the Bank's Dealer Hire Purchase Program. HLB will also leverage on DCAP Digital's ecosystem to provide dealers with other relevant financing solutions, including cash management solutions, bank acceptance, and trade line services. Sonia Ng, Co-Founder & CEO of DCAP Digital added, "We are thrilled to partner with HLB to further our mission of promoting financial inclusion through AI-powered credit solutions. This collaboration merges HLB's financial strength with our technology-driven approach, promoting seamless experiences, smart SME transformation and sustainable growth across the motorcycle ecosystem." The collaboration will also involve joint promotional activities, such as workshops, seminars, and marketing campaigns to amplify visibility within the motorcycle industry, and training sessions for dealers on application best practices. For more information, please visit View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Hong Leong Bank Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Meet the tree that could save Florida's citrus industry
Matt Mattia used both hands to flip through the branch at his eye level, studying each side of every leaf as sunlight filtered from above. 'Just healthy leaves,' he said, noting the dark green color. He turned his attention to a young fruit that was still the same color as the leaf next to it. 'That looks pretty symmetrical,' he said, plucking it for further examination. 'That should develop into a nice, big orange.' Mattia is no farmer, and the tree was no ordinary plant. He works for the United States Department of Agriculture as a geneticist. The tree has a name: Donaldson. Mattia called it the most researched tree in the state of Florida. It's also the tree that growers hope will save the state's citrus industry. 'When I saw the Donaldson tree, I was like, 'Wow, this is something that's really unique and really different,'' Mattia said. Donaldson's notoriety has come from its unique combination of three attributes: its status as a genetically pure orange tree, its sweet taste, and most importantly, its resistance to the Huanglongbing disease, more commonly known as HLB or 'greening.' Since arriving in the United States from Brazil, greening has killed groves across the state of Florida and contributed to a 90% decline in citrus production over the past 20 years. Leaves of infected trees appear splotchy in color and can be abnormally shaped. The tree's fruit also takes on irregular characteristics – until the tree dies. While it has infected almost every variety of citrus tree, it hit one of two types of orange trees particularly hard: the Hamlin variety, which fruits early in the winter before the late-season Valencia oranges came in. Under FDA rules, Hamlins and Valencias are the two major types of oranges that are allowed to be used for Florida orange juice, Mattia explained. Without the Hamlin trees, growers' profits suffered. Donaldson is also an early season tree. It was planted 30 years ago when the USDA created its Groveland research farm with different citrus varieties that growers could fall back on, like a seed bank. Mattia found it by sampling 25,000 different trees to test for infection and fruit sweetness. He found other trees tolerated greening, but their fruit was bitter, bordering on inedible, he recalled. Donaldson, with its high sugar content, stood out. A Hamlin tree was planted near Donaldson at the same time. Mattia pointed at the spot, which was nothing more than the remnant of a trunk sticking out of the ground and a pink ribbon tied around it. Greening did most of the damage, and Hurricane Milton finished it off, he said. 'It just was a huge stark contrast between something that was really very, very sick and declining and something that appears to continue to produce a regular crop,' he explained. 'We took the fruit, we sampled the fruit, and we tasted it, and we were like, wow, this has industry potential.' Now that they've settled on a tree, Mattia and his team have been figuring out what it would take to make Donaldson a commercial success. Several researchers analyzed the taste, which to the average palette is identical to Hamlin and Valencia. The best method to produce orange juice was also looked at, with Mattia opening a bottle that had been created using a method new to their research. Mattia's team is now working on the next phase of their testing: monitoring young Donaldsons that had been grafted onto dozens of different rootstocks to see which combination of plants grow the strongest and fastest. One Hamlin tree planted among the Donaldsons as a control showed signs of greening infection. Mattia said it was highly likely many of the healthy-looking nine-month-old plants had already been hit, though as a researcher it only helped him get further to his goal. But the USDA isn't gate-keeping Donaldson, even though the tree itself is grown behind fences and locks. 'We're pushing it out to commercial usage,' Mattia said. 'If people want to test it in their own grove, it's available, and we have the data and the research going on here that supports that effort.' Florida is already on-board. Mattia said the state has propagated 18,000 Donaldsons that it's sending to growers across the state to accelerate the adoption effort. One of those potentially interested is Mary Graham, owner of Graham's U-Pick Farms, who had heard of Donaldson and wanted to know how many seeds each fruit had (five to seven) and whether the fruit was edible when freshly picked (yes). For a century, Graham's specialized in oranges. As of this year, they only grow peaches. 'We noticed greening hitting our grove probably about 15 years ago,' she recalled. 'About 10, 12, years ago, it started getting a little more aggressive. So at that point, we looked for an alternative crop.' Like her neighbors, Graham tried different methods to save her trees. She and her husband added more nutrients to the soil and cut down on chemicals, which she said helped the trees recover. Eventually, the disease won the battle, and her husband tore out the last of the trees in January. She's looking to plant new seedlings for her children to eventually care for, even though she said her peaches were better for business. 'We're hopeful about the Donaldson tree,' she said. 'With that one, what else can they come up with?' That's what Mattia is all about. He previewed 'future orange juice,' a blend of different citrus fruits that resembles orange juice but has a notable flavor difference that's being created as an alternative to Donaldson in case the tree doesn't work out. 'My mission is to really help people,' he said. 'So if they, if the industry and the processors find utility from this tree, I feel like our mission is accomplished.' Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hong Leong Bank Named 'Best SME Bank in Malaysia' by The Asian Banker, Driven by Strong Loan Growth Rate and Customer-Focused Innovations
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, June 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on its consistent excellence and deep commitment to the SME ecosystem, Hong Leong Bank ("HLB" or "the Bank") has been named the Best SME Bank in Malaysia for the sixth time at The Asian Banker Global Excellence in Retail Finance Awards 2025. This accolade is a testament to HLB's enduring history of delivering industry-leading SME banking solutions that serve its customers' diversified needs. The Bank continues to record strong strides in its SME banking sector, achieving a commendable 8.5% year-on-year ("y-o-y") growth in SME loans and expanding the Bank's SME loan book to RM36 billion as of March 2025. This sustained growth has also strengthened HLB's overall performance, with SME banking now contributing 12.1% to the total Bank's revenue and Profit Before Tax (PBT) rising to 12.6% in March 2025. According to Kevin Lam, Group Managing Director and CEO of HLB, the strength of the Bank's SME segment highlights HLB's commitment to supporting its customers towards achieving their business objectives. "The global economic landscape is characterised by continuous change, presenting businesses with a spectrum of opportunities and complexities as we witness the unfolding of a 'new trade world order'. And on these geoeconomic crossroads, we believe in proactively equipping our SME customers with the necessary resources and strategic support, regardless of global shifts in trade or market sentiment. The consistent positive momentum within our SME banking segment is powerful evidence of our commitment, demonstrating the strength of our long-term partnerships with our customers, enabling them to confidently pursue their diversified business objectives with our comprehensive suite of bespoke business banking solutions." HLB's recognition as the Best SME Bank in Malaysia reflects its comprehensive approach to supporting its SME customers, combining digital innovation and tailored solutions to ensure a seamless customer experience boosted by strategically-integrated digital efficiencies. Expanding on the Bank's own tablet-based onboarding feature, one key advancement in HLB's business banking solutions is the Partnership Onboarding feature, which allows SME customers to onboard partnership entities directly in-branch, providing more flexibility and convenience for partnerships seeking banking services with HLB while allowing the Bank to accommodate a wider range of business structures. The in-branch tablet-based onboarding feature can now also be used to support the opening of Foreign Currency Accounts ("FCA"), providing further convenience for businesses dealing in foreign markets. HLB has also enabled businesses to validate their LHDN registration number via an LHDN API, allowing customers to make statutory payments through the Hong Leong ConnectFirst ("HLCF") platform. With this enhancement, customers can conveniently register their LHDN number directly at HLB branches, simplifying compliance with regulatory requirements. According to Yow Kuan Tuck, HLB's Managing Director of Business & Corporate Banking, the consistent positive growth among HLB's SME segment underscores its dedication to designing tailor-made banking solutions that are innovative, efficient, and cater to customers' unique business needs. "HLB has a long history of working closely with our customers to deliver tailor-made solutions that cater specifically to their diversified business needs. In supporting our SME customers in their business growth, we have consistently integrated technological advancements and innovative digital solutions to simplify certain processes and execute tasks more efficiently and effectively. From introducing the in-branch tablet-onboarding feature, to launching our digital business banking platform and integrating features such as cash flow analytics and automated transactions, our banking solutions serve to empower SMEs to scale, pivot, and compete in today's economy." This latest accolade builds on the Bank's previous win in 2023, and this consistency has also been celebrated across the industry, notably with HLB being named Best SME Bank in Malaysia for three consecutive years at the Asian Banking & Finance Retail Banking Awards, and receiving top honours at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2024. To know more about HLB's SME banking solutions, please visit: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Hong Leong Bank Berhad
