The Hindu Business Line : 3i Infotech signs $2.6-m deal with Malaysian bank

3I Infotech Ltd has signed a $2.6-million (Rs 11.74 crore) deal with the Hong Leong Bank in Malaysia to provide Triton loan origination software application. The bank is among one of the top five banks in Malaysia with 180 branches.

This is the third deal for the company in Malaysia in a little over one year, said Mr Debneel Mukherjee, President, APAC Operations.

The company has tied up with Bank Maumalat and StanChart in Malaysia to offer the same software and is likely to finalise three more deals by March 2006. "Triton is the best selling lending solution in the Malaysian market," Mr Mukherjee said.

This product will address four lines of business such as mortgage, card, margin money financing for shares and stock brokers and lending to small and medium business. The solution is only for scouting for customers, i.e. for loan origination. This proves that banks are willing to invest in technology for niche segment.

The export market is a major thrust area for 3i Infotech as it provides better price realisation. "Banks in markets such as Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore are looking for cutting edge technology for incremental growth, as they have reached a level of saturation," he said.

It will take banks in India at least three to five years to reach this level, as they are still investing in core banking solutions, he added. Banking software and services contributes 20 per cent of the company's revenues.

3i Infotech is looking to enter the wealth management segment of banking operations, where they do not have a specialised product yet.