Maybank Kim Eng eyes technology, IP to seize Asean growth opportunities

Singapore

HAVING focused on building its Asean-wide brand and reach in the last eight years, Maybank Kim Eng - the investment arm of Malaysian banking giant Maybank - aims to play a deeper role in driving and leveraging the region's enormous growth opportunities and will be harnessing technology to do so.

The challenge, its chief executive Ami Moris, told The Business Times in a recent interview, "is all about staying on top of the relevance curve".

This means continuing to be a fit to its clients at a time where sophisticated and individualised solutions, which have only been accentuated by technology, are in demand.

As such, investing in technology and building up its own intellectual property (IP) in developing products and services to fit evolving needs of its various client segments are drivers for success.

Ms Moris said: "For us, IPs are intelligence, ideation and innovation and we need to mesh that together as clients are looking for bundled solutions in the cheapest, fastest and most convenient manner and data-driven customer experiences."

With the broking industry facing disruption from online trading platforms in recent years, this has seen the investment bank developing proprietary applications instead of contracting vendors to get the job done.

"This gives us the ability to dictate user experience to best cater to our clients' needs. We have launched the app (KE Trade Mobile) successfully in Malaysia and obviously with the success, rolled it out in the countries over time," Jeffrey Goh, Maybank Kim Eng's regional head of brokerage, said.

"Data allows us to know what our clients are doing, interested in and send them personalised notifications," he added.

A result of such efforts "is really being able to understand our clients' needs in different markets and serving them in exactly the way they want to be served. That's how we create advantages for ourselves", Ms Moris said.

A Maybank veteran of 10 years, Ms Moris was Maybank Kim Eng's chief operating officer for over three years before assuming the top job in October 2018.

Reflecting on the first phase of growth following Maybank's acquisition of Kim Eng Securities in 2011, she said: "The first phase was really pivotal to build the confidence to undertake cross-border transactions and experience in considering the different jurisdictions, rules and regulations as well as operating landscapes."

With Maybank having a presence in all 10 Asean countries, she is focused on continuing to monetise the lender's key asset, its Asean footprint, with the region poised to grow by over 5 per cent annually in the next five years.

At the end of 2018, Maybank Kim Eng was the top in Asean for equities by trade value, top in debt capital markets and local currency bonds, and fifth in investment banking and advisory. On a global level, it's top in sukuk.

As it stands, the Asean 6 - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - are the investment bank's core markets, with most offering competitive advantages to leverage.

Singapore is a hub for understanding and deepening financial product offerings for its clients, while Vietnam is most responsive to technological trends.

"We definitely look to our Vietnam team to understand how we can be more responsive and anticipate trends that could have or appear in other markets," Ms Moris said.

Thailand, due to its vibrant retail investing scene, is relied upon for the development of trading applications while Malaysia, the management hub, provides strategic oversight.

Where it does not have a presence, Maybank Kim Eng works with local partners that include ICBC International in Hong Kong and China, and Mizuho Securities in Japan, among others.

As much as being entrenched in Asean markets gives Maybank Kim Eng a "foot in the door" to capitalise on the region's growth, "it's all about having a seat at the table to be a key player", Ms Moris remarked.

The investment bank will continue to use its regional presence as a base for knowledge sharing, and act as an intermediary to support market development processes. An example is its partnership with Vietnam's State Securities Commission to build Vietnam's capital market space since 2013.

This, Mr Goh said, allows for Maybank Kim Eng to help regulators "draw on our experience from understanding the various markets we operate in to build up knowledge on subject matters like risk management and others".

At a regional level, Maybank believes that harnessing Asean's untapped human capital will push the region to new heights, a potential that can be realised by promoting responsible and sustainable growth.

Ms Moris explained: "The mission statement of the bank is humanising financial services and we want to be part of the agenda to drive and leverage responsible growth, by taking on an environmental, social and governance-focused approach to investment."

The investment bank believes that in order to capitalise on the opportunities in the region, it has to be successful in combining profit with purpose.