87 / 252
85
BANKING & FINANCE
The bank offers Syariah-compliant products
and services. They have two products, namely
Assets Financing Murabaha – to finance fixed
assets and working capital for entrepreneurs
and businesses; and Working Capital Financing
Tawarruq – to finance operating expenses and
stocks and working capital.
Small or medium-sized enterprises that are
registered, licensed and operating in Brunei,
and have been for at least 12 months with a
visible profitability trend, are eligible to apply
for a selection of financial plans.
As of July 2018, Bank Usahawan has approved
five disbursements of loans worth over
BND0.5 million in various sectors ranging from
agriculture to manufacturing, to the services
industry. The bank plans to open branches
in other districts and improve their digital
services, with its vision to be the leading
provider of financial services to the micro, small
and medium enterprises (MSMEs) of Brunei.
Maybank
Maybank is Malaysia’s largest financial
institution. In November 1960, Maybank
commenced operations in Brunei as the first
overseas unit of Maybank. Maybank Brunei
offers full retail and commercial banking
products and services in the country such as
corporate financing, development financing as
well as property financing.
Maybank Brunei has continued to thrive in
the face of a challenging economic climate. In
2017, the bank won ‘Best Small and Medium
Enterprise (SME) Bank, Brunei 2017’, awarded
by Capital Finance International, UK. It was the
second time the bank had received the award,
its first coming in 2015. In September 2017,
Maybank Brunei was awarded the ‘Fastest
Growing Foreign Bank, Brunei 2017’ by the
Global Banking and Finance Review, UK for the
third consecutive year.
In November 2018, Maybank announced it
had successfully completed the transfer of its
Community Financial Services (CFS) business
in Singapore from its branch to Maybank
Singapore Limited (MSL), a Singapore-
incorporated subsidiary.
United Overseas Bank
United Overseas Bank (UOB) was initially
known as United Chinese bank, established in
Singapore in August 1935. In 1965, the bank
changed its name to UOB. UOB is a leading bank
in Asia with 68 branches in Singapore and a
network of more than 500 offices in 19 countries
and territories in Asia Pacific, Western Europe
and North America. Its asset management arm,
UOB Asset Management, is one of Singapore’s
most awarded fund managers with a growing
regional presence. UOB is rated among the
world’s top banks, with a rating of Aa1 from
Moody’s and AA- from Standard & Poor’s
respectively. UOB provides a wide range of
financial services. This includes personal
financial services, private banking, commercial
and corporate banking, investment banking,
corporate finance, capital market activities,
treasury services, futures broking, asset
management, venture capital management,
insurance and stockbroking services.
UOB started its operations in Brunei in 1974,
under Overseas Union Bank (OUB). When UOB
acquired the Overseas Union Bank in January
2002, the operations of the branches in Brunei
was handed over to UOB. On October 1, 2005,
the bank relocated its branch office in Bandar
Seri Begawan.
In 2015, UOB stopped its retail banking
operations in Brunei. Since then, the UOB
Group refocussed its business in Brunei to
provide investment services through UOB Asset
Management (B) Sdn Bhd (UOBAM Brunei).