BUDGET 2018 : CIMB says carefully crafted Budget addresses Rakyat concerns and is forward looking enough for future nation development

PETALING JAYA : CIMB Group CEO Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz said Budget 2018 is a carefully crafted budget, addressing the rakyat's immediate concerns, and yet forward-looking enough to ensure the nation's future economic, social and spiritual development.
"Focus on bread-and-butter issues, like reducing income tax for the lower income group, increasing assistance for basic food and transportation items and providing more allocation for affordable homes will go a long way towards ensuring the Rakyat's short- and long-term interests," he said in a statement.

Zafrul called the focus on building more than 385,000 affordable homes, as firm steps by the government to address head-on the challenge of home ownership for the lower-income group.
"Extending PR1MA's step-up financing scheme to private housing developers is also a laudable move towards facilitating home-ownership," he added.
On enabling further a digital economy, the Digital Free Trade Zone that is already taking shape will make Malaysia a major fulfilment gateway and commercial hub for Asean, providing opportunities to the nation's economic backbone, the SMEs, and more jobs.
Related to this, CIMB Group, as a leading universal bank with a strong footprint in Asean, is ever ready to facilitate SMEs' cross-border trade and business expansion regionally, he said.
"The policies on GLC's operations, particularly in ensuring the well-being of staff reflect a people-focused vision by the government. Indeed, quite a few of them, like flexi-work arrangements and childcare centres at work, have already been implemented by CIMB," Zafrul noted.