Taiwan: Citi Adopts Five-Pronged Strategy to Grow Small & Medium Enterprise Market

Taipei – “Following the completion of the acquisition of Bank of Overseas Chinese (BOOC), Citi Taiwan plans to grow business in a number of sectors, particularly the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) market,” said Mr. Simon Chung, Head of Citi Commercial Banking Group at a press briefing.

“The SME sector is a key target market for Citi Taiwan and we are optimistic about future prospects. Unlike larger nations, where conglomerates dominate the economy, Taiwan’s manufacturing and exporting sector comprises many SMEs who are renowned for their flexibility, diligence, efficiency, and entrepreneurial spirit – in short, SMEs are the backbone of Taiwan’s economy.”

Based on Ministry of Finance statistics, Taiwan’s 1.24 million SMEs (97.77% of all businesses) employ 7.75 million people (76.66% of the total employee population) and create a total sales value of NT$10 trillion (29.84% of overall corporate sales value in Taiwan).

Mr. Chung said, "Following the BOOC acquisition, we now have a broader SME base with 110,000 SME deposit customers and over 7,000 SME loan customers. The portfolio is also diverse including manufacturing, wholesale trade and construction companies.

“Our on the ground presence has also been bolstered with 55 more branches in all major cities and 140 new employees. Of these branches, 27 are located south of Taichung which strengthens our businesses in central and south Taiwan.”

He added, “Citi is well placed to help these customers build their businesses internally and overseas thanks to our wide range of SME focused banking products and services. Equally important, our SME teams are very experienced and can call on the expertise and advice of many colleagues through our global network.”

Looking to the future, Mr. Chung said Citi would follow a five-pronged SME growth plan:

1. Establish nine “one-stop SME hubs” across Taiwan to maximize the effectiveness of Citi’s expanded distribution channels. Through the hubs, the goal is to provide more services to SME clients including customized financial consultancy and planning services and cash flow solutions. They will also seek to reduce processing and service delivery times.

2. Create and provide innovative, diverse and personalized products and services for SME clients. Citi representatives and product specialists will work closely with clients to better understand their banking and financing needs and address them with tailor-made solutions. Citi also offers a broad range of products from trade services to capital market solutions.

3. Develop a balanced portfolio. Citi will focus on export-oriented companies. It will also expand Middle Market Enterprise (MME) initiatives, especially those in central and south Taiwan.

4. Leverage Citi’s regional and global network to support the growth plans of clients. Growing business offshore is an objective of many SMEs and Citi, thanks to its strong regional and global network (in over 100 markets) is an ideal partner to help them realize their international growth plans.

5. Integrate and continue to nurture talent. Citi will continue to develop talent to create a strong culture of success.

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi’s major brands include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.