HSBC Malaysia said Wednesday that it has recently provided its first asset based lending (ABL) facility of $15 million, to Carsome Certified Sdn Bhd to finance the purchase of refurbished vehicles that would be sold to retail customers.

HSBC Malaysia said in a statement that this financing from HSBC will be key to boosting Carsome Certified’s growth operations in Malaysia.

Carsome Certified which is an operating entity of the Carsome group, refurbishes up to 2,000 cars monthly at Southeast Asia’s largest state-of-the-art car refurbishment facility in Klang that perfects the new standard of the used car industry.

HSBC’s ABL is a financing facility that aims to meet the needs of businesses based on the value of one or more of the following assets, on a revolving or term basis: receivables and inventory.

ABL also has a flexible loan to value (LTV) tied against each asset funded and the funding is drawn against the asset generative business and is regularly updated in line with the business’s asset growth.

“The used car ecosystem is a robust one with multiple touchpoints in the used car ownership journey including buying, selling, media, refurbishment, and financing – and we see the potential in each of these stages,

“As Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform, we are delighted to partner with HSBC Malaysia,” said Eric Chen, Co-founder, Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of Carsome.

According to him, there is a growing preference for affordable alternatives and this funding will enable the firm to scale and expand its Carsome Certified business that will ultimately help make vehicle ownership more accessible for Malaysians.

Christina Cheah, Head of Global Corporates and International Mid-Markets HSBC Malaysia, said that according to an industry report, the South-East Asian used car market size is expected to reach $96.12 billion by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.65 percent during the forecast period (2025-2030).

She also sees the used car market in the region as one that is ripe with opportunity as it makes vehicle ownership accessible especially for lower-and middle-income Malaysians or first-time car owners.

“Owning a car allows for better job mobility and productivity while also slowing down the rate of cars getting scrapped or abandoned thus reducing automotive waste,

“HSBC has always been at the forefront of supporting and facilitating the growth of tech-based businesses like Carsome Certified with our suite of financial solutions that are pivotal to the new economy,” she noted.

She also the financing solution the bank created for Carsome Certified provides them with flexible funding and enhanced liquidity to expand ultimately providing Malaysians with more affordable refurbished cars to select.

“The ABL financing will be tied to the cash flow generating assets where drawdowns are tied to performance metrics of the financials and in live monitoring of Carsome’s vehicle fleet,” she added.

Carsome is Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform.

With operations across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore, the firm aims to digitize the region’s used car industry by reshaping and elevating the car transaction
and ownership experience.

Together with subsidiary brands iCar Asia, WapCar, CarTimes, and Carsome Capital, Carsome provides end-to-end solutions to consumers and used car dealers across the decision funnel, from car content consumption, car inspection, and ownership transfer to financing and other ancillary services.

Malaysia’s Carsome records EBITDA of $4.3M in the first quarter