UOB Malaysia has reaffirmed its commitment to ASEAN’s growth, highlighting inclusive leadership and the empowerment of women in entrepreneurship, leadership and sustainability as key to unlocking the region’s full potential.

The statement comes as UOB Group marks its 90th anniversary.

UOB Malaysia chief executive officer Ng Wei Wei said women entrepreneurs, like their male counterparts, face barriers in accessing financing, knowledge, digital tools and networks needed to scale their businesses and navigate a fast-changing digital economy.

“We set up The UOB FinLab programme in 2019 to help SMEs grow. In recent years, we began focusing on women entrepreneurs across Malaysia and Singapore.

“Through The FinLab, we have helped 1,200 of them to learn new digital tools and skills, navigate the economy, grow their businesses, and more importantly, build a strong ecosystem that helps them expand their networks,” she said during the panel session titled “Global Power Hour: Women Pioneering Change Across Continents” held here yesterday.

The session was part of the ASEAN Women Economic Summit 2025 (AWES 2025) and was moderated by Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Utama Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.

Ng shared the stage with Indonesia’s vice minister of trade Dyah Roro Esti Widya Putri and Cambodia’s minister of commerce Chan Nimul.

Themed “Empowering Women, Energising ASEAN: Pioneering Economic Integration for a Resilient Tomorrow”, AWES 2025 underlined the importance of placing women at the heart of ASEAN’s economic transformation amid global uncertainty and digital disruption.

The two-day inaugural summit was held alongside the 46th ASEAN Summit under Malaysia’s 2025 Chairmanship. It drew more than 700 delegates from government, business and civil society to chart a more inclusive and resilient economic future.

UOB Malaysia was the main sponsor of AWES 2025, with Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd as the empowerment partner.