OCBC targets S$5 billion in loans to serial entrepreneurs by 2028
The initiative, launched in Singapore in 2019, will be introduced in Hong Kong by end-2025 and in Indonesia thereafter
[SINGAPORE] OCBC is aiming to extend an additional S$3.5 billion in loans to serial entrepreneurs in its core markets by 2028.
This builds on the S$1.5 billion in financing already extended to more than 1,800 serial entrepreneurs with over 8,000 businesses across Singapore and Malaysia since 2019, as at end-2024.
The new target brings the total loan quantum under the initiative to S$5 billion by 2028, OCBC said on Monday (Jul 7).
The announcement comes after OCBC expanded its serial entrepreneur lending programme to Malaysia in July, following a nine-month pilot. The initiative, launched in Singapore in 2019, will be introduced in Hong Kong by end-2025 and in Indonesia thereafter.
The bank defines serial entrepreneurs as individuals who hold a majority shareholding in more than one business.
“The reality is (that) serial entrepreneurs already make up quite a dominant force in Singapore,” said Linus Goh, head of global commercial banking at OCBC, at a media briefing on Monday. The bank’s internal data shows that one in three companies in Singapore are founded by serial entrepreneurs, Goh noted. In Malaysia, close to half of the small businesses OCBC serves are owned by serial entrepreneurs.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Friday, 8.30 am
SGSME
Get updates on Singapore's SME community, along with profiles, news and tips.
The bank’s portfolio also showed that companies led by serial entrepreneurs had a 30 per cent lower non-performing rate compared to those run by non-serial entrepreneurs.
Through the dedicated programme, OCBC consolidates an entrepreneur’s various business ventures and evaluates them as a group when extending financing. The bank also assigns a relationship manager who assesses the entrepreneur holistically, with access to specialists in areas such as cash management, corporate advisory and wealth management.
This approach allows a new venture to receive funding based on the business owner’s past track record, even if the entity itself lacks a history of profitability, said Anna Chang, managing director of middle market and services, global commercial banking, at OCBC.
This is in contrast to the traditional banking model, where each company would be treated in silos on a standalone basis, noted Chang. “For the bank, we are also capturing a market gap that was underserved by many banks,” she added.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
