Kuala Lumpur, 20 September 2023 - Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad (“Alliance Bank” or the “Bank”) is seeing positive results from its collaboration with Bursa Malaysia Berhad (“Bursa Malaysia”) and Mah Sing Group Berhad (“Mah Sing”) with the on-boarding of local companies onto the Centralised Sustainability Intelligence Platform (“Platform”) jointly developed by Bursa Malaysia and the London Stock Exchange Group to help expedite the adoption and integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices among businesses in Malaysia.
Since signing the Memorandum of Collaboration earlier this year, the coalition celebrated a notable milestone today as they supported Kinergy Advancement Berhad (“KAB”), an engineering company with a 3 star FTSE Russell Assessment ESG rating in 2021 and 2022, and one of Mah Sing’s key suppliers, on their commitment to drive innovative green technology and sustainable ventures. The landmark green financing provided by Alliance Bank to KAB will help facilitate their ability to reduce their cost of capital and accelerate the construction of their energy facility in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan through multiple renewable energy projects ranging from solar rooftops to the construction of a waste heat to energy plant. KAB pioneers this venture, and they are now an exclusive entity with the expertise to build, own and operate an Organic Rankine Cycle waste heat recovery plant in Malaysia. Over the next 10 years, this plant is expected to cut down 98,280 tonnes of carbon emissions and save an estimated 168,000 megawatt-hours of electricity.
Its Executive Deputy Chairman cum Group Managing Director Dato’ Lai Keng Onn said, “We are grateful to be part of a novel and holistic programme with partners such as Alliance Bank bringing tangible business value to companies who are committed to decarbonise our practices. Sustainability is part of our core strategy as we continue to drive their business growth and this cooperative effort aims to foster the adoption of ESG best practices, encourage the creation of long-term value, and improve resilience in the constantly shifting business environment. We look forward to continuous acceleration of our unique sustainability roadmap journey and establish ourselves as one of the digitally led and sustainability-enabled business organisations at the forefront of this transformative initiative.”
In supporting the business community to achieve long-term value creation and success, The Bank recently announced that it had achieved RM10 billion in new sustainable banking business ahead of its original FY2025 timeline and have revised the target to RM15 billion by FY2027. “At Alliance Bank, we aim to be our customers’ preferred banking partner and create a positive impact to the SME community through our 3As approach in helping them kickstart their sustainability journey in 3 stages, namely Advocacy, Advice, Answers. We have developed a winning proposition that offers financing and non-financing support such as preferential financing and deposit rates, exclusive green solutions, advisory and training resources that are provided through the bank’s partnerships with like-minded subject-matter experts and eco-friendly service providers. SMEs and suppliers of corporates who enrol onto the Platform and disclose their carbon footprint as well as subsequent improvements will also be eligible for additional sustainability offerings from the bank,” said Alliance Bank Group Chief SME & Commercial Banking Officer Mr. Raymond Chui.
“We are rolling out a climate action programme for SMEs which will help businesses develop their own ESG roadmap and action plan. This is in addition to the ongoing sustainable financing initiatives the Bank offers including the Sustainability Assistance Programme, solar panel financing and sustainable mortgage financing packages. Together with our strategic partners, we will continue to work closely with our customers and their supply chain vendors to enable more businesses to transition into ESG-centric companies as this will help them meet the dynamic market demands,” Chui said.
As a responsible property developer, Mah Sing remains committed to sustainable development and is proud to be part of this strategic alliance that incentivise and offers support to their suppliers such as KAB to decarbonize. “Since becoming part of the FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Index in June 2021, we have consistently enhanced our corporate governance practices and ESG performance. In the December 2022 ratings provided by FTSE Russell, we achieved a score of 3.6 out of 5.0, positioning us within the top 25% of companies on the Index,” said Mah Sing’s Founder and Group Managing Director, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Leong Hoy Kum.
“As one of the largest manufacturers in ASEAN with more than 50 projects across the central, northern and southern regions, Mah Sing has a large pool of suppliers, contractors, vendors and business associates. Through the Platform, we hope to grow sustainably with our stakeholders to achieve long-term operational excellence together, for the nation, the environment and our future,” continued Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Leong.
"Through our Platform, we are pleased to witness such dynamic partnerships between Alliance Bank and Mah Sing in driving progress within our Early Adopter Programme (EAP). We applaud the Bank for launching a new sustainable offering within a short space of time to facilitate Mah Sing and its suppliers’ green and decarbonisation efforts within the supply chain. We believe in time, more companies like KAB will benefit from the programme, and in turn be a catalyst for more integrated industry collaboration. We thank all parties involved and look forward to more successes to participants in this new ecosystem as we move beyond the Proof-of-Concepts (POCs) for the Platform," said Wong Chiun Chiek, Director, Bursa Intelligence.
For more information on the Sustainability Assistance Programme offered by Alliance Bank to support your ESG journey, please visit
https://www.alliancebank.com.my/About-Us/Sustainability/Solutions/Sustainability-Impact-Programme.
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