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Building Asia is a collection of business stories on CNA that examines the financial forces driving Asia’s position as an economic powerhouse.
idsMED Group – Revitalising capital flows was first aired on 9 January 2023 under the Building Asia with UOB series. It looks at how idsMED Group tapped UOB’s expertise and tailored financing solutions to manage its working capital cycle and boost its growth across the region.
Transcript
Rufinus Irman Susanto (Group President, idsMED Group):
idsMED, we are a medical supply chain company, supplying medical equipment to hospitals – from the emergency room, ICU, operating theatre, all the way to the wards.
Besides just selling medical equipment, we put a lot of emphasis in biomedical engineering and also education. We do a lot of training for doctors and nurses, and also the biomedical engineers in the hospital.
Leong Yung Chee (Head, Group Corporate Banking, UOB):
UOB supports idsMED from the perspective that we have a deep understanding of the healthcare industry and the whole supply chain.
So, when we look at the whole working capital cycle of the business, we take great pains to look at how we finance the account receivables, the account payables, to make sure that it is as seamless as possible to idsMED, as well as the suppliers and vendors.
When we look at the healthcare industry, it is a very capital-intensive business. We are better able to help clients to manage their capital by looking at digital solutions where the virtual cash flows of the businesses can be seen at one place.
And in doing so, we are better able to help them reduce where cash is trapped in certain geographies or business lines so that it’s better and more efficiently allocated.
Rufinus Irman Susanto:
In our industry, customers tend to take a long time to pay us. That’s why we have UOB to help us in terms of AR (Accounts Receivables) Financing.
Leong Yung Chee:
And this AR Financing that Rufi was talking about is where we come in to help clients shorten the working capital exposure.
So, typically what happens is that you have a working capital duration that is mismatched, where your payables and your receivables are not matched in terms of time frames.
So, what we then offer is to help bridge that gap by helping them pay their suppliers first, but also taking some exposure in terms of how long their customers take to pay them.
By doing so, we help reduce the working capital cycle for idsMED and allow them to redistribute their capital more efficiently to other businesses that require it more urgently.
Rufinus Irman Susanto:
Thanks to this financing solution from UOB, it helps us to grow quickly in the region. Today we have relationships in Singapore, in places like Vietnam.
Leong Yung Chee:
And in places like Malaysia where we are looking to help you as well. The solutions that we've designed for idsMED in Vietnam are equally applicable in Malaysia and other ASEAN countries where we have a footprint.
Rufinus Irman Susanto:
We hope with this partnership, our relationship can become stronger, and we can expand across the region together.
