HSBC Launches $1 Billion ASEAN Fund

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) has announced a $1 billion ASEAN Growth Fund in six of the fastest growth countries in ASEAN region, to help scale up platform players in the region’s booming digital economy.

To help the region’s digital platform players achieve economies of scale, grow their asset portfolios and advance along the corporate lifecycle, HSBC is allocating $1 billion of credit facilities through this dedicated lending fund.

Southeast Asia’s digital economy is among the world’s fastest-growing; worth $218 billion in 2023 and expected to reach $600 billion by the end of this decade at a compound annual growth rate of 16.2%.

HSBC Malaysia’s CEO Datuk Omar Siddiq said that like so many other internationally minded businesses, they were excited about ASEAN’s booming digital economy.

“With a working population that is digitally native, increasing in size, and poised to consume more goods and services – especially on e-commerce – ASEAN has so much potential for growth and we are delighted to work with digital companies as they expand in the region and beyond,” he said.

Lending to Companies

The HSBC ASEAN Growth Fund provides lending to companies that are scaling up through digital platforms across Southeast Asia. It supports new economy names, more established corporates, and non-bank financial institutions by assessing operating metrics tied to their cash flow-generative asset portfolio, rather than relying solely on traditional financial metrics.

“HSBC has a proud history and strong heritage in ASEAN of supporting entrepreneurs and scaling up businesses. The introduction of our latest offerings allows us to better support new economy companies in ASEAN, whether start-ups or scale-ups, as they expand across the region and advance along the corporate lifecycle,” Omar added.

HSBC has a presence in all the six highest growth countries in ASEAN region that include Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

HSBC recently surveyed 600 companies operating in Southeast Asia and 55% of Malaysian respondents said that “digitalising operations” is a key business priority for them. The other priorities include “growth in ASEAN (59%) followed by “product development/research and development” (33%).

Digitisation More Important

HSBC Malaysia commercial banking head Karel Doshi said that in order to help capture growth in the booming digital economy, almost three quarters of the respondents (73%) said that digitisation of operations is becoming more important compared with 2023.

More importantly, we also see 82% of the respondents planning to increase their investment in the digitalisation of their businesses in ASEAN region and rapid digital adoption in the region means businesses increasingly – and understandably – need fuss-free digital banking to support their growth, Karel explained.

“They want convenient and simple-to-use trade and payment solutions that would free up more time for them to focus on strategy and expansion,” she added.