June 05, 2007
Petaling Jaya, 05 June 2007 - Financial solutions specialist eBworx Bhd is eyeing the more advanced and IT-savvy banking system in Australia as part of its long-term overseas expansion plans rather than exploring opportunities in the Middle East.
Its chief executive officer Tan Suan Fong said Australia made a more compelling case for eBworx as financial institutions there were willing to invest heavily in IT besides being a better bet logistically.
“It is not within our immediate plan. But we might consider venturing into Australia in about two years from now,” he told The Edge Financial Daily recently.
“It is important for us to be able to despatch our technical staff quickly to fix any problems or difficulties our customers face. In that sense, Australia is a better choice for us geographically,” he said.
As for venturing into the Middle East, Tan said the company, for now, wanted to carve a name for itself among some of the Middle East banks already operating in Malaysia.
“We have already built solutions for Islamic financing products that some of our clients are using now. Of course, if the opportunity arises, we will bid for jobs with Middle Eastern banks here,” he said.
Tan said while software projects were generally difficult to implement with high failure rates, eBworx software engineers had over the years accumulated enough experience to foresee problems beforehand and advise clients.
“We advise our clients on future trends, that’s our forte. Technology is now so advanced that new cross-selling products are created to ensure that our clients’ fully benefit from the range of software that we provide them.”
“An added advantage to our mostly long-time customers is that our engineers are at hand to provide quick service should there be problems. The turnaround time is really very short,” he said.
Looking back, Tan said gone were the days when financial institutions had to source for the software solutions from Europe and the US.
“Our solutions are at par, if not better; than the imported ones. We understand customers’ needs and customise the solutions for them. Our company has moved from a start-up to one that is now creating value for our clients, their customers and most importantly, our shareholders.”
“Our next phase is growing our business through product enhancement, identifying new locations to set up business and possibly, entering into partnerships with European or American companies to expand our services,” said Tan.
On its foray into China, Tan says eBworx had invested close to RM2 million there in the last 18 months, and will continue its research and development works as well as source for engineers as the cost is lower compared to Malaysia.
“However, we are cautious about conducting business in China, as we think it is overrated. To run project-based businesses is not easy as there are payment issues sometimes.”
He said Vietnam was currently ripe for picking as its banking system was fast improving, especially with the backing of the World Bank, as compared to Cambodia and Laos, where based banking still lags behind their peers in the region.
“We could leverage on our Thai personnel to move into Vietnam, as they understand the culture and needs there better,” he said.
Source: Adopted from “The Edge Financial Daily by Surin Murugiah”
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