MALAYSIA: Himalayan Bank Ltd, the second largest bank by asset in Nepal, has brought on board Randhir Singh to spearhead its Southeast Asia expansion plans.
Randhir and his team had created history of sorts for the banking sector in Nepal when they secured the approval from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to set up a Representative Office in Kuala Lumpur for the bank.
The office, officially opened in Kuala Lumpur today (10 Feb 201), made Himalayan Bank the first Nepali commercial bank to have ventured abroad.
The office was inaugurated by Himalayan Bank chairman Manoj Bahadur Shrestha. Also present was the bank’s chief executive officer Ashoke SJB Rana and the Nepal ambassador to Malaysia Dr Niranjan Man Singh Basnyat.
Randhir came into the picture after a chance meeting last year with the Himalayan Bank chief while in Nepal for his wedding.
“I was in Nepal for my wedding. My wife’s from Nepal. While there, I had a chance meeting with Mr Ashoke. The next thing you know, here we are – creating history of sorts for Nepal,” he told Asia Samachar.
Randhir, now the consultant-cum-advisor to Himalayan Bank operations in Southeast Asia, was formerly in the information technology team of telecommunications company Maxis Bhd.
Himalayan Bank’s Kuala Lumpur office oversees operations in Singapore and Thailand.
With more than 700,000 Nepalis working in Malaysia, mostly in the security and manufacturing sector, money remittance will be one of the key segments of business for the group.
“One manufacturing plant in Johor alone employs close to 12,000 Nepalis,” said Randhir.
Himalayan Bank is already involved in the segment since 2013 via its web-based online money transfer system called HimalRemit.
“Establishment of the Rep office will increase the trust on Bank’s remittance service amongst the workers,” it said in a press statement released statement, adding that it has partnership arrangement with 14 local Malaysian remittance companies.
On the money remittance front, the other Nepali players already present in Malaysia are Global IME Bank and Prabhu Money Transfer P. Ltd. – ASIA SAMACHAR (10 Feb 2015)
[ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs in Southeast Asia and surrounding countries. Go to www.asiasamachar.com]
