5.6% and 9.9% Growth in Food & Catering Business and Retail in Q3 2023
BBMSL, a leading fintech payment service provider in Hong Kong, announced during the Hong Kong Fintech Week 2023 exhibition that in response to the slow recovery of SMEs post-pandemic, it has officially launched its revolutionary service BBHub to ease the operational pressure on its SME customers.
Serving over 13,000 SMEs across Hong Kong, with retail and catering customers making up over 50% of its clientele, BBMSL's internal data for the third quarter indicates a sluggish growth in the restaurant and retail industries post the government's consumption voucher campaign, with a 5.6% increase in the catering business and a 9.9% increase in retail compared to the second quarter. In September 2023, consumption amounts via WeChat Pay, Alipay, and Octopus showed a significant decline of 25%, 24%, and 20%, respectively, compared to August 2023.
Since the end of 2022, BBMSL has been developing the new operational model BBHub, which allows merchants to pay their operating expenses directly through payment terminals, addressing the issue of tight operational funds for SMEs. It also introduces a merchant cash advance system integrated with BBHub, offering pre-approved emergency funds based on stress tests, ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands, as an alternative for businesses waiting for or unable to apply for fully guaranteed loans.
The strategic partners of BBHub include Hong Kong Broadband Group ("Hong Kong Broadband"; Stock Code: 1310), RD Technologies founded by Mr. Norman Chan, the former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and BOXS, a member company of the Incu-Tech program at Hong Kong Science Park. Hong Kong Broadband and RD Technologies provide solutions targeting SME challenges for integration into BBHub, and POS system supplier BOXS has garnered support from the General Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of China, leading to a collaboration with the award-winning Taiwanese company, Turn Cloud Technology Service INC., Ltd. (Taipei Exchange Code: 6870), to bring Hong Kong's original technology to Taiwan.
Yu Man To Gerald Maximillian, CEO of BBMSL, commented, "The company has grown rapidly over the past three years due to the pandemic and changes in consumer spending patterns. However, seeing from the data that the food & catering and retail industries have not fully emerged from economic difficulties, we felt it necessary to join forces and increase support for SMEs. Hence, we planned BBHub and collaborated with other industry leaders to accelerate the development and recovery of SMEs through innovative technology."
BBMSL also announced its comprehensive expansion plans in the Asia-Pacific region today, including major moves into Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia this year, and further expansion to Vietnam, Japan, and Macau in 2024. To support its overseas growth, it has released a CBS documentary and participated as a silver sponsor in the Hong Kong Fintech Week.
BBMSL Limited, a Hong Kong company, established in Hong Kong in 2017, provides online and offline payment and collection services to more than 13,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in Hong Kong. The company has always been customer-centric, continues to lead the financial technology of small and medium-sized enterprises with innovation, attention to customer needs and reasonable and considerate prices, and continues to redefine payment solutions for contemporary small and medium-sized enterprises.
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