Travelex Makes M'sia Its Hub To Penetrate South-East Asia Foreign Exchange Market

KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 (Bernama) -- Travelex Group, a global foreign exchange player, is making Malaysia its hub for South-East Asia (SEA) to penetrate the region's foreign exchange (FX) market. Travelex Group Ltd Chairman Lloyd Dorfman said the country was the first hub in the SEA region as it has yet to operate in neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. "For us, it is really an important first move and we are looking for Malaysia, not only to develop the atmosphere but also to be the platform that will enable us to spread out into other countries in the region," he told reporters after the launch of Travelex Malaysia Sdn Bhd here Friday. Travelex Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between Travelex and Sri Inderajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd, will be the local entity that operates the Malaysian business. The company was launched by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Dorfman said eventhough they have operations in other Asian countries such as China, Japan and India, these countries have different market needs and were handled differently by the group. "This is an important and strategic step and we came here first because it was the most business friendly, most exciting market and we have the best partner," he added. Travelex Group has over 1,100 Travelex retail branches and 850 FX ATMs principally in airports and tourist locations in over 100 airports, across 25 countries. Meanwhile, Travelex Malaysia Country Manager Rakesh Aravind said the company would be focusing on four key business areas including wholesale bank notes business, which likely be a major part of its businesses. He said in Malaysia, the wholesale bank notes business, which involved a large volume sourcing of funds for distribution, is currently about US$4.70 billion (RM17 billion). "It will potentially grow to US$6.26 billion (RM20 billion) in the next one to two years, especially with new market players like us coming in," he said, adding that the wholesale bank notes business globally derived by Travelex Group is about US$20 billion. Apart from wholesale bank notes business, the company has developed a strategic alliance with AmBank Group and will partner with small money services business to become their agents as well as introducing Travelex Malaysia's branded retail network stores. The company, which has an initial investment of US$6.26 million (RM20 million), is planning to open 150 to 200 retail network stores by the end of next year, which would include strategic alliance with AmBank; agents and their own networks. -- BERNAMA