Hong Leong Bank Launches New Platinum Business Credit Card

Hong Leong Bank (HLB), responding to the ever-changing needs of the market, launched its brand new Platinum Business Credit Card in association withMasterCard Worldwide. The credit card comes with a cheque facility and is the first product in the market to provide comprehensive benefits to smallbusiness owners.

“With close to half a million small business owners in Malaysia, mainly made up of sole proprietors, we see great opportunities in tapping into thissegment, as a high percentage of them still rely on own funds and family or friends to finance their business operations. HLB aims to assist and supportthis customer segment by offering a product with tailored benefits for their business needs” said Ms Yvonne Chia, HLB's Group Managing Director. “Thelaunch of the Platinum Business Credit Card will further elevate HLB's already strong card receivables, which is outpacing industry growth rate. S mallbusiness owners prefer to obtain finances via term loan and overdraft as opposed to credit card, due to its lower rates. However, credit card is also useddue to its ease of application for business purposes. Research has shown that more than 40% of small business owners use their personal credit card forbusiness payment with the balance made by cheques and cash.”

The new Hong Leong Platinum Business Credit Card provides a flexible payment solution, giving the business owners accessibility to pay for business relatedexpenditure via the credit card or the Platinum Business cheques. Amongst some of the rewarding features that business owners can expect are, longerinterest free credit period of up to 60 days for all retail transactions and a cash rebate of 20% on interest charged on cash transactions, both of whichwill help to optimize their cash flow.

Apart from the compelling features highlighted, the new Platinum Business credit cardmembers can also take advantage of the following benefits thatinclude:

· Exclusive Business Partner Discounts & Privileges – great deals from business partners that offers value-for-money products and services for businessexpenses

· Personalized Business Credit Card – enhance business's recognition with company's name on the credit card

· No Annual Fee – save on fees just by charging two times monthly or a total of RM15,000 per annum.

· SMS Alert – get alerts each time the cash withdrawal exceeds a pre-determined threshold or when cheque is returned

· Year-end Consolidated Statement – easy monitoring and maintain control of business expenditures with a statement summary

· Insurance Privileges – Comprehensive Travel Protection of up to RM2,000,000 and Retail Purchase Protection of up to RM10,000 per occurrence

To apply for a Hong Leong Platinum Business credit card, visit any of HLB's 186 branchesnationwide, call 1-800-38-888 or log on to www.hlb.com.my.

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Press Release - 15/04/2008