KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): CIMB Group Holdings Bhd's group chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Zafrul Aziz said the financial services provider was "strategically placed" to help budding entrepreneurs, due to the group's regional presence.

In a statement today, Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia-based CIMB could help startups established a presence in countries like Thailand and Indonesia, where CIMB had set up operations.

Tengku Zafrul's statement was in conjunction with CIMB's partnership with Startupbootcamp FinTech Singapore.

“As a leading ASEAN universal banking group, CIMB is strategically placed to assist businesses, including startups in the region, to realise their potential. We are certainly excited to partner Startupbootcamp FinTech to not only advance financial innovation in the region, but also create in-roads for these FinTech businesses in growing markets, such as Thailand and Indonesia.

"Furthermore, as CIMB continues to spur our own innovation space, this partnership also opens up further avenues for collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas with these startups to grow FinTech in Asia. I am confident that CIMB would be able to adopt some of the innovative solutions that are brought to fruition through our investment into this partnership,” Tengku Zafrul said.
 
Startupbootcamp FinTech's website indicates that the company serves as a platform for budding entrepreneurs to gain access to investors and mentorship.
 
"In return, we ask for 6% equity. All contracts are simple, transparent, and available for all to see," Startupbootcamp FinTech wrote on its website.

In Malaysia, CIMB's shares rose three sen or 0.6% at 3:27pm today to RM4.95, for a market capitalisation of RM42.03 billion. The stock saw some 10 billion shares transacted.

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