By Goh Thean Eu (gohtheaneu@nstp.com.my)

MALAYSIA's fifth largest lender AmBank Group and state-owned phone company Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) have Joined forces to boost each others card businesses.

AmBank expects its soon-to-be-launched co-branded prepaid card, which will be unveiled in September. to record sales of 100.000 units by end of March next year.

	We expect sales to increase, says Abdul Wahid

TM, meanwhile, expects revenue from its i-Talk cards to grow by 10 per cent this year. i-Talk card sales in 2006 were RM100 million.

"We expect sales to increase as a result of more distribution channels," TM group chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Wahid Omar said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The co-branded card, which functions like a credit card, is the upgraded version of its AmBank NexG Prepaid Card. The card will not only function as a prepaid card, but also as a calling card.

There are more than 100,000 NexG Prepaid Card in circulation. since its launch in the third quarter of 2006.

Both AmBank and TM group signed a collaboration agreement and heads of agreement yesterday.

The heads of agreement is for a tenure of 10 years. while the collaboration agreement is for a term of three years and is extendable.

Among initiatives under the collaboration agreement include the utillsation of AmBank distribution channels for the sales of i-Talk cards and reload cards. These channels include ATM machines, vending kiosks and Internet banking.

With this, it will be more convenient for TM customers to buy or reload their i-Talk card.

TM said that Celcom users will not be able to buy or reload their prepaid lines through AmBank distribution channel but TM chairman Tan Sri Md Radzi M said there’s always room to explore the opportunity.