Alternative financier Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has expanded into Malaysia, where it will provide factoring services to Singaporean SMEs.

The company’s branch will be in Iskandar and Bibby has made the move due to demand from its existing customers – up to 15% of which are already doing business in Malaysia.

Alan Wong has been named director of sales and will oversee the Malaysian expansion, reporting into Ian Watson, Asia Pacific CEO. Watson says: “Malaysia is the obvious choice for our expansion in Southeast Asia. The growing number of SMEs in Malaysia translates to greater demand for alternative financing services to spur their growth.”

Among the services offered will be accounts receivables financing, with invoice discounting available to clients along with factoring services.

Wong joins Bibby from Hong Leong Finance, where he was vice-president and head of SME factoring and hire purchasing. He has more than two decades’ experience in factoring and asset-backed financing and previously held the role of head of SME sales at GE Commercial Financing in Singapore.

Watson says of the appointment: “Alan will be an asset to BFS as he has in-depth knowledge of factoring and the industry. Singapore is BFS’s regional headquarters which oversees business activities in Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. Alan’s role will not only be confined to Singapore but also to look after this newly-set up office in Iskandar.”