MEI 2023
DBOS’ Assets Worth RM9.5 Bil, Earnings At RM131 Mil: Premier
KUALA LUMPUR, Tues: The Development Bank of Sarawak’s (DBOS) total assets had grown to RM9.47 billion with retained earnings of about RM131 mil. as of October 2022, Premier, Datuk Patinggi Abang Haji Johari Tun Abang Haji Openg said here, today.
These had been achieved by the bank’s funding of key infrastructure projects including the Coastal Roads Network, Second Trunk Roads, Sarawak Water Supply Grid, Rural Electrification Scheme, and various infrastructure projects implemented under the Regional Development Agencies, he pointed out.
Over the past five years, DBOS had fulfilled its mandate to fund strategic infrastructure projects, the Premier said when delivering a keynote address at the 5th Malaysian Banking and Finance Summit held at Intercontinental Hotel, here.
“These projects had created substantial impact in terms of connectivity, linkages, and accessibility across the vast region of Sarawak via roads and bridges, supplying clean, safe, and reliable water, electricity lighting up our rural communities and spurring inclusive and sustainable economic development throughout Sarawak,” he pointed out.
In revealing the rational behind the formation of the bank, he said DBOS was modeled on the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a development bank founded in 1966 in the Philippines and the Singapore’s Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) which have successfully promoted social and economic development in underdeveloped and underserved economies, where getting financing right will be critical to meet their development goals.
“I took office as Sarawak’s head of Government in early 2017, sometime in April 2017. It was clear to me that we need a bolder financial model - a model that plays the role to fill major financing gaps for our economic transformation and expedite development,” he said.
DBOS was established under the Development Financial Institutions Act 2002 (DAFIA) with a paid-up capital of RM500 million from Sarawak’s reserve funds, the Premier added.
“I trust this is the way for us to expand our fiscal flexibility for strategic infrastructure projects to keep the development momentum continuing without struggling to source funding from internally or from the federal government, nor be dependent on the public market, he further said.
The bank leverages on Sarawak’s vast reserve mandated on Sarawak’s government development projects only. Therefore, the bank does not accept deposit from public like any other commercial banks, but only accept deposits from Sarawak Government’s corporations and its reserves to provide alternative funding over and above that of the Malaysia 5-year Development Plan (RMK) allocations, he told the audience.
“I look at how banks create money, where one-ringgit increase in the monetary base causes the money supply to increase by more than one ringgit.
“I noticed that many countries in the world such as Japan, Singapore and Germany have set up their own development bank in the past for economic development. Similarly, in a regional context, the Asian Development Bank also carries the function as a development bank,” he further said.
Since the projects were government projects, therefore, the loan credit risks were well insulated and that the State Government would have access to an alternative source of funding at a more affordable rates amortised over a medium to long term over and above the yearly budget, he added.
Earlier, the Datuk Seri Mohamed Iqbal Rawther, chairman of the Economic Club of Kuala Lumpur and Deputy Chairman of KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific also spoke.
Earlier the Premier was received upon arrival by KSI members led by the chairman, Tan Sri Michael Yeoh.
Sumber dari : Sarawakku