(Aug 14): Malaysia’s biggest lender Malayan Banking Bhd is halfway toward meeting its target of putting RM80 billion toward sustainable finance by 2025.

A big chunk of the green loans has been disbursed to support Singapore-based companies’ shift to low-carbon sources, Maybank group chief executive officer Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said in an interview at his office.

“We can talk about moving into renewables straight away, but equally important is how we support our clients on transition financing, transition advisory,” he said.

Maybank is among major Malaysian banks pledging to funnel money into green loans. CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, which counts sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd as its largest shareholder, aims to allocate RM60 billion to sustainable funding by 2024, twice its initial goal, while RHB Bank Bhd. plans to put RM20 billion toward sustainable funding by 2026.

The amounts, while large, aren’t enough to wean businesses off fossil fuels and address other sustainability goals. Malaysia is estimated to need RM637 ringgit of investments over the next three decades to support its renewable energy goal to reach 70% of the energy mix by 2050. The country would “need support from overseas” for funding, Khairussaleh said.

The Asian Development Bank estimates that Southeast Asia needs annual investments of US$210 billion (RM968.8 billion) to meet its climate-change goals, prompting Maybank to further expand its footprint in the region.

Already the Southeast Asia’s fourth-largest lender by assets, Maybank has made Cambodia a new universal banking market, Khairussaleh said. The Malaysian lender, currently No 11 in Cambodia, could be in the top 10 in the local market soon, he added.