DBS Bank Supports Government's Move To Help SMEs

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Plans to step up involvement in LEFs to leverage on government's off-budget measures

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Reaffirms Commitment To Building Long-Term Relationships With SMEs

SINGAPORE, OCT 12 - DBS Bank said today it supports moves by the Singapore government to enhance the Local Enterprise Finance Scheme (LEFS) to make it more effective for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

DBS said the incentives and relief package announced by the government today is in line with various initiatives it has already implemented to help SMEs, and it will continue to proactively explore additional avenues to offer innovative financial solutions to help SMEs during this period.

"DBS is already a leading participant of the LEFs scheme and we plan to further step up our involvement. DBS takes a long-term view of our customer relationships, and we will continue to nurture partnerships with our clients during this economic slowdown," DBS' managing director and head of Enterprise Banking, Hong Tuck Kun said.

As a first initiative, which was implemented a week before the government's announcement today, DBS launched its "Gain with DBS" programme aimed at helping SMEs customers better manage their costs of operation, by focusing on procurement process, that will help them achieve at least 10 per cent in cost savings. Under the programme, the Bank will play the aggregator's role in leveraging on DBS' huge purchasing volume to secure preferred pricing for its SME customers for office essentials.

Apart from this new initiative to help SMEs bring down their operating costs, DBS also holds a series of quarterly seminars focused on topical subjects for its SME customers. It recently held a seminar, conducted in Mandarin, focusing on "Measures to weather the economic downturn". Response to the seminar was so encouraging that it has prompted DBS to hold another session on the same subject, this time in English, on October 30.

"As a strategic financial partner, DBS will continue to provide SME customers with the necessary support in their banking needs and update customers with relevant market information to help them ride through this trying period. Our recent launch of a comprehensive and fully integrated Chinese language website section of our Internet site is also useful in this regard," Hong added.

DBS Group Holdings Ltd is the holding company of DBS Bank and is the largest banking group in Southeast Asia. DBS Bank is ranked among the top banks in Asia. A recognised leader in Internet banking and e-commerce, DBS is the market leader in Singapore-dollar loans and deposits, and equity fund raising. Beyond Singapore, DBS Group serves corporate, institutional and retail customers through subsidiaries and associated companies in Hong Kong, The Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, and international banking services through a network of overseas branches and offices. With its acquisition of Dao Heng Bank in June, 2001, DBS is the fourth largest bank in Hong Kong by assets.