KUALA LUMPUR – Agrobank is targeting an emphasis on facilitating economic recovery and generating value through five key initiatives in 2022 to strengthen the agriculture sector in Malaysia.
Covering president/chief executive officer Khadijah Iskandar said the adaptations made by Agrobank in 2021 has positioned it in a better state of preparedness to face another crisis, and the bank better equipped to support economic recovery efforts in the agriculture sector, therefore it is important for it to also focus in generating value for its customers who have suffered throughout the pandemic.
“The pandemic has taught us to be resilient and we have continued to strive for our customers, crafting programmes and initiatives to ensure their business continuity and stability during the difficult times. We are confident we can weather the recurrence of that situation,” she said this during a virtual media briefing session held recently.
The five key initiatives will focus on:
1. Economic recovery to be fuelled by Agrobank through intensified distribution of government funds to specific target groups and subsectors
2. Development of new revenue drivers
3. Driving green and sustainability initiatives
4. Digitalisation to enhance value proposition and improve organisational productivity
5. Cost management to sustain increased investments into strategic capabilities.
“For example, when we talk about the key initiative on the economy recovery, we expect to work towards higher growth focus to address the needs of National Agro-Food Policy 2.0 and supporting a higher scale of mechanisation in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” she added.
During the briefing, she expressed on the importance for the bank to gradually shift to digital services, which is in line with the development of fintech technology and moving along as planned by other banks in the country. However, for Agrobank, it will depend on its customer’s needs, especially those from the B40 group and those living in the rural areas.
“We have a plan to put them on the digital journey, but we are also acknowledging that internet connectivity in the rural areas, for example in Sabah and Sarawak, is still an issue, and there is a need to reach out and educate the people there about digitalisation.
“In the meantime, we are also preparing a framework to improve branch operations to ensure the needs of the local community, especially our customers from the micro segment, are met,” she said.
In 2022, Agrobank is looking forward to further strengthening its businesses and exploring new ventures by establishing the development of new revenue drivers and developing new business verticals and initiatives to build greater competitive advantages.
The bank recorded a financing income of RM510 million for the third quarter of 2021 ended 30 September 2021, an increase of 2.2% from RM499 million recorded in the corresponding quarter last year.
Explaining further, Khadijah said 2021 has been a year for Agrobank to speedily recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and continue to provide counter-cyclical measures through financing such as the Special Relief Facility, Penjana, Pemulih and the Targeted Relief and Recovery Facility under Bank Negara Malaysia, besides the financing assistance (Pemerkasa and moratorium) facilities as an additional financial support to ease its commercial, consumer and micro customers to meet their cash flow needs.
“We also introduced the restructuring and rescheduling assistance, which managed to safeguard about 82% of our vulnerable customers from becoming impaired.
“We then encouraged our customers to utilise various government funds and assistance allocated for micro, small and medium entrepreneurships, which were channelled through Agrobank,” she explained.
She added that as a development financial institution, Agrobank has been mandated since 1969 to support the government to develop the agriculture sector and hold on to its renewed vision “Advancing Agriculture Beyond Banking”.
Agrobank hopes its 2022 outlook will benefit the agro-community in Malaysia, especially the unserved and underserved communities such as the B40 group, women, the disabled and asnaf.
“For 2022, we are also looking at improving our collaborations with higher-impact projects and collaborations with our strategic partners through the Agrobank Centre of Excellence (ACE).
“We also intend to intensify our approach in managing vulnerable credits.
“Beyond financial assistance, we will continue to supply the changing needs of our customers through ACE, which provides business knowledge and financial management guidance to customers by offering a multitude of online courses, webinars and special programmes to help the customers to restart and flourish in their businesses,” she said. – The Vibes, December 12, 2021
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