^{Photo caption: At the ceremony to formalise the agreement were (L-R) Nazzi Beck, Regional Head, Strategic Initiatives of CIMB Islamic; Ahmad Shahriman Mohd Shariff, CEO of CIMB Islamic; KDYMM Sultan Terengganu, Al-Wathiqu Billah Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin ibni Almarhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah; Dato’ Haji Mohd Fadzli Yusof, Board of Trustee member, Yayasan DiRaja Sultan Mizan; Dato’ Haji Azizulrahim Ahmad Zambri, Board of Trustee member, Yayasan DiRaja Sultan Mizan; Professor Dr. Fadzli Adam, Vice Chancellor of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin and Professor Ts. Dr. Shukor Abd Razak, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation) of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin.}


Seed funding of RM350,000 will be channelled towards training and development of university graduates under The Melon Manis Terengganu Graduate Agropreneur Programme  


KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Bernama) -- CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad (“CIMB Islamic”) today announced that it has signed a tripartite agreement with Yayasan DiRaja Sultan Mizan (“YDSM”) and Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (“UniSZA”) for the Melon Manis Terengganu (“MMT”) Graduate Agropreneur Programme. The programme will provide comprehensive training and development for university graduates to tap into agriculture-based careers and opportunities.
 
Under this agreement, CIMB Islamic will contribute seed funding of RM350,000 to YDSM as the programme coordinator, whilst UniSZA will be facilitating the programme and monitoring it to fruition. The MMT is a fast-growing plant which takes 60 days to mature with the potential to be harvested approximately three to five seasons per year. This initiative is expected to benefit close to 20 graduates with two fertigation facilities that can cultivate over 1,500 melon plants per greenhouse each season. 
 
The signing ceremony took place at Istana Syarqiyyah, Kuala Terengganu and was witnessed by KDYMM Sultan Terengganu, Al-Wathiqu Billah Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin ibni Almarhum Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah. Signatories representing the three parties were Ahmad Shahriman Mohd Shariff, Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Islamic, Dato’ Haji Mohd Fadzli Yusof, YDSM Board of Trustee member and Professor Dr. Fadzli Adam, Vice Chancellor of UniSZA, marking the official commencement of the MMT Graduate Agropreneur Programme. 
 
Ahmad Shahriman said, “We are pleased to be supporting the MMT Graduate Agropreneur Programme in partnership with YDSM and UniSZA. This platform will enable graduates to venture into a commercially viable and high-tech agriculture industry, whilst creating more resilient and future-proof agropreneurs. This supports CIMB Islamic’s commitment towards value-based intermediation as a responsible Islamic banking institution through initiatives that generate longterm positive impacts to society and the economy. Through our contribution, we hope the programme is able to support the Government’s agriculture sector transformation and inclusive growth as we collectively do our part in providing university graduates with technical know-how and opportunities in the industry.” 
 
UniSZA, together with Koperasi Permodalan Sahabat Terengganu Berhad will be providing graduates with end-to-end training in melon production to ensure the graduates pursuing this field are equipped with the necessary knowledge, tools and skillsets upon market entry with promising domestic and export markets. 

About CIMB 
 
CIMB is one of ASEAN’s leading banking groups and Malaysia’s second largest financial services provider, by assets. Listed on Bursa Malaysia via CIMB Group Holdings Berhad, it had a market capitalisation of approximately RM61.9 billion as at 31 December 2022. It offers consumer banking, commercial banking, wholesale banking, transaction banking, Islamic banking and asset management products and services. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, the Group is present in all 10 ASEAN nations (Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and the Philippines). Beyond ASEAN, the Group has market presence in China, Hong Kong, India, South Korea, the US and UK.
 
CIMB has one of the most extensive retail branch networks in ASEAN with 604 branches and around 33,000 employees as at 31 December 2022. CIMB’s investment banking arm is one of the largest Asia Pacificbased investment banks, which together with its award-winning treasury & markets and corporate banking units comprise the Group’s leading wholesale banking franchise. CIMB is also the 92.5% shareholder of Bank CIMB Niaga in Indonesia, and 94.8% shareholder of CIMB Thai in Thailand.   


SOURCE : CIMB Group

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT;
Name : Hishamuddin Omar / Anis Azharuddin
Group Corporate Communications 
CIMB Group Holdings Berhad
Email : hishamuddin.omar@cimb.com / anis.azharuddin@cimb.com  

--BERNAMA