HLB has also received similar awards by The Asian Banker and Asian Banking & Finance, cementing its position as an industry leader in SME banking
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sept. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Leong Bank ("HLB" or the "Bank") has been named Best SME Bank in Malaysia at the prestigious Euromoney Awards for Excellence for the second consecutive year. This latest recognition comes after the Bank received similar recognitions by The Asian Banker and Asian Banking & Finance this year, culminating a remarkable year where HLB's consistent market leadership and unparalleled excellence in SME banking have been celebrated across three esteemed industry platforms.
HLB's SME customer base has increased 18% year-on-year ("y-o-y"), rising to over 320,000 customers in 2024 across both borrowing and non-borrowing segments. This was supported by the Bank consistently providing innovative financing solutions, notably enabling over RM280 million being approved for over 360 SMEs through the Government Guarantee Scheme MADANI 1.0 ("GGSM 1.0") program in 2024 and will continue to provide more financing via GGSM 2.0 in 2025 and beyond. HLB has also enabled full-digital onboarding for business accounts, including sole proprietorships, and provides enhanced business and foreign currency accounts for SMEs.
Kevin Lam, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HLB commented, "At HLB, our core purpose as a financial institution is simple: to empower our customers to grow their wealth. We believe that by championing the growth of SMEs, who form the backbone of the Malaysian economy, we are directly contributing to the nation's prosperity.
"Our commitment to the SME community transcends traditional banking. We have a clear vision of the bigger picture, positioning ourselves not merely as a service provider but as a true value-adding partner. Through a powerful combination of innovative digital tools and expert advisory, we enable our SME customers to navigate a global economic landscape defined by continuous change and digital evolution. By forging strategic partnerships with both our clients and key industry players, we bridge the gap between opportunity and solution, empowering our customers to pursue their diversified business objectives while confidently managing industry headwinds and market trends.
"Therefore, these recent industry recognitions are a powerful testament to the trust and deep partnership we share with our SME customers, reaffirming our unwavering commitment to our goal of becoming the Best Run Bank in Malaysia."
A key driving force of HLB's SME banking success is its digital leadership, with HLB becoming the first bank in Malaysia to introduce fully digital eKYC onboarding for sole proprietors, which can be completed in under 10 minutes. Further enhancements such as tablet-based partnership onboarding, digital onboarding for foreign currency accounts, and the integration of Weixin Pay have further strengthened accessibility and convenience for SMEs, alongside improved advisory through expanded SME cash and FX teams and regional SME centres.
HLB also has operations in Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia and Hong Kong SAR, reflecting its presence across key regional markets.
The Bank ended its Financial Year 2025 (ended 30 June 2025) with a 7.5% y-o-y growth in loans to domestic business enterprises, which has reached over RM70 billion. HLB has also expanded its loans and financing to SMEs by 8.1% y-o-y to over RM40 billion, while its community SME banking portfolio also grew by 10.4% y-o-y.
For more information, please visit https://www.hlb.com.my/en/business-banking/group-sme-banking.html
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Hong Leong Bank Wins Top Euromoney Award for SME Banking Two Years Running
ALULA, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today marks the official opening of Desert X AlUla 2026, the landmark fourth edition of the international, open-air biennial exhibition. Arts AlUla, in collaboration with Desert X, welcomes visitors to experience a stellar line-up of Saudi and international multi-generational artists whose site-responsive earthworks, sculptures, and installations will engage in a powerful dialogue with the awe-inspiring landscapes and layered heritage of AlUla.
As a premier destination rich in ancient history and breathtaking nature, AlUla, located in Northwest Saudi Arabia, solidifies its position on the global stage as a dynamic, emerging land art destination with Desert X AlUla, the region's first public art biennale, and a key highlight of the AlUla Arts Festival.
The 2026 edition of Desert X AlUla brings together 11 acclaimed artists whose diverse works reflect a wide spectrum of ideas, materials, and traditions. From monumental kinetic sculpture to sound-based explorations above and below ground, each commission is deeply rooted in relationships to AlUla's distinctive environment, further cementing Desert X AlUla's reputation as a globally significant platform for site-responsive land art.
Desert X AlUla runs until February 28, 2026, as a cornerstone of the annual AlUla Arts Festival. Curated by Wejdan Reda, Zoé Whitley, with artistic direction by Neville Wakefield, and Raneem Farsi, its fourth edition explores 'Space Without Measure.' Inspired by Kahlil Gibran, the theme fosters contemplation of imagination within AlUla's natural settings. The exhibition, set in the desert canyons of AlUla, serves as a pre-opening programme for Wadi AlFann, offering a pivotal glimpse into AlUla's plans to create a permanent land art 'Valley of the Arts.'
Hamad Alhomiedan, Director of Arts & Creative Industries at the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), said: "At Desert X AlUla 2026, audiences will engage with art that deeply converses with AlUla's unique landscapes and rich heritage. These compelling commissions highlight AlUla's dynamic transformation into a major global destination, where ancient and contemporary expressions converge. This exhibition is part of our broader revitalisation of AlUla as a culturally rich destination to live, work and visit and integral to positioning AlUla in the global dialogue of contemporary art and as a precursor to monumental projects like Wadi AlFann."
Participating artist/artworks are:
- Sara Abdu, A Kingdom Where No One Dies: Contours of Resonance
- Mohammad Alfaraj, What was the Question Again?
- Mohammed AlSaleem, The Thorn, AlShuruf Unit, The Triangles, Flower Bud, and Al Ahilla (courtesy of Royal Commission for Riyadh City)
- Tarek Atoui, The Water Song
- Bahraini-Danish, Bloom
- Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Imole Red
- Agnes Denes, The Living Pyramid
- Ibrahim El-Salahi, Haraza Tree
- Basmah Felemban, Murmur of Pebbles
- Vibha Galhotra, Future Fables
- Héctor Zamora, Tar HyPar
For further information, please contact:
Sabrine.Shaw@bursonglobal.com
AlUlaArtsFestival@bursonglobal.com
Multimedia gallery:
High-resolution photos of all 11 artists and their artworks can be found here.
About AlUla and Arts AlUla
Located 1,100 km from Riyadh, in North-West Saudi Arabia, AlUla is a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage. The vast area, covering 22,561km², includes a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites dating back thousands of years to when the Lihyan and Nabataean kingdoms reigned.
The most well-known and recognised site in AlUla is Hegra, the principal southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom and Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. AlUla is also home to ancient Dadan, the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms and considered to be one of the most developed 1st millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Peninsula, and Jabal Ikmah, an open air library of hundreds of inscriptions and writings in many different languages. AlUla Old Town Village, a labyrinth of more than 900 mudbrick homes was developed from at least the 12th century and has been revitalised as the vibrant hub for visitors and residents.
The creation of Arts AlUla within The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) is a commitment to crafting the next chapters in a millennia of artistic creation – celebrating cultural inheritance and shaping a future inspired by artists built be artists. The work of Arts AlUla seeks to preserve this legacy: fuse the old with the new; the local with the international, keeping the arts central to the spirit of AlUla as a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage.
Wadi AlFann, meaning 'Valley of the Arts,' will be a global cultural destination for land art, unveiling from 2028 onwards, where era-defining works by artists from around the world will be permanently sited in the monumental landscape of AlUla, the extraordinary desert region of north-west Saudi Arabia.
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Desert X AlUla 2026: monumental land art exhibition opens in the ancient oasis of AlUla
