PETALING JAYA, May 23 (Bernama) -- A vibrant and competitive small-and medium-scale enterprise (SME) sector is essential to promote domestic-led growth and strengthen the resilience of the nation's economy, Deputy Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim said Monday.
He said SMEs are the engine providing the linkages, promoting innovation and spurring new growth areas across all economic sectors.
"But most crucially, SMEs are a significant sector that creates jobs for the people of this country," he said in his welcoming remarks at the Credit Guarantee Corporation's (CGC) 16th Top SMI Supporter Award presentation.
Representing 99 per cent of the total business establishments, SMEs contribute 31 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 59 per cent of total employment, he said.
Muhammad said the recently unveiled phase one of the SME Masterplan by the National SME Development Council has paved a new strategic direction towards promoting globally competitive SMEs across all sectors.
The SME Masterplan aims to create an enabling ecosystem that supports SMEs to become regional and international champions that drive the economy through productivity gains and innovation, he said.
He said SMEs could leverage on the current trends in the borderless and liberalised markets by using the power of the internet to reach out and serve customers in a cost-efficient manner and capitalise on new market access created by various bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements pursued by the government.
To move up the value chain and enhance productivity, he said, SMEs should employ skilled talents and more significantly, invest in automation and technology, rather that depend on cheap unskilled foreign labour and outdated business processes.
He said SMEs should also be willing to embrace adaptable business models that are receptive to changing business environments.
Bank Negara Malaysia, he said, has put in place a set of policies and has embarked on various initiatives in collaborations with the industry to ensure that viable SMEs have adequate access to financing to grow and move up the value chain.
These initiatives include the establishment of Credit Bureau Malaysia, the Small Debt Resolution Scheme, PARTNER programme, SME Financing Help Desk and Train-the-Trainer workshop, he said.
With these comprehensive initiatives in place as at end-March 2011, the SME financing outstanding stood at RM144.4 billion for more than 644,000 SME accounts, representing 37.3 per cent of the total business financing from 27.1 per cent in 1998.
-- BERNAMA
