(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) HSBC Bank Oman on Tuesday announced the launch of an international growth fund committing RO20mn to Oman's international and internationally aspirant small and medium enterprise (SMEs).
The event was held under the auspices of H E Dr Ali al Sunaidi Minister of Commerce and Industry.
Announcing the launch at a press conference Andrew Long chief executive officer of HSBC Bank Oman said 'Today we are delighted to announce the launch of our international growth fund for which we have allocated RO20mn. SMEs are critical to the future of Oman's economy and at HSBC Bank Oman we are committed to Oman and the businesses that support the ongoing growth modernisation and diversification of the country's economy. The fund is aimed at supporting those businesses in Oman that have international requirements and those that aspire to trade internationally - this is where we believe we can add most value using our local knowledge and expertise combined with HSBC Group's international connectivity. We continue to work closely with relevant government authorities and key working groups to ensure that this segment flourishes and grows in recognition of the importance of SMEs to the national agenda of Oman.'
The fund is open to new and existing customers with cross-border trading requirements or those that aspire to grow internationally and which have an annual turnover of RO1mn and above.
'The international growth fund is new for HSBC Bank Oman. The fund is based on an existing formula that has already been successfully launched in other countries including the UAE and Egypt. In fact HSBC was the first bank in the UAE to launch a fund like this in 2010 and has renewed the fund annually since then. In 2013 HSBC also launched the international growth fund in Egypt' Long said.
International and internationally aspirant SMEs play an important role and have a unique opportunity to increase their contribution to Oman's economy. HSBC Bank Oman actively seeks to support them in this ambition. SMEs represent over 90 per cent of the total number of registered firms in Oman but the combined contribution to GDP is only around 15 per cent. This combined with the fact that 78 per cent of firms in Oman employ five people or fewer and therefore account for less than ten per cent of total employment nationwide demonstrates the opportunity that these businesses have to make a material contribution to the growth and diversification of the economy in Oman.
H E Dr Sunaidi said 'We are delighted to see further contributions from the private sector to support the important SME segment in Oman. The fund launched today by HSBC Bank Oman complements the efforts of the government in this regard and demonstrates the Bank's continuing commitment to support SMEs across the sultanate. We hope to see many SMEs benefit from this fund leveraging the local and global expertise that HSBC Bank Oman can provide.'
The fund will be administered by HSBC Bank Oman's business banking team. Daniel Felton head of middle market & business banking for HSBC Bank Oman added 'The SME sector is very important to Oman's economy both from an employment perspective and for the role these businesses play in both the traditional oil and gas industries as well as the industries contributing to the diversification of the Oman economy such as tourism professional services health care and logistics.
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