Register business, SMEs told
SME Corp Malaysia has urged small traders and entrepreneurs to register their businesses with the agency to receive proper government assistance to expand their businesses.
SME Corp chief executive Datuk Hafsah Hashim said many entrepreneurs fail to understand the importance of having their businesses registered, hence they will lose out in the small and medium enterprise industry.
"We want to help them expand their businesses with the assistance. But if they don't register their businesses, we can't help them much," Hafsah said after launching the Women Entrepreneurs Synergy Network programme here yesterday.
She said currently the informal sector accounts for up to 31 per cent of the total businesses in the country and the government aims to reduce it to 14 per cent by 2020. This comprises licensed and non-licensed businesses.
"Some businesses have the licence to run their businesses, but they are not registered, let alone those that don't have any licence at all," she said.
To address this problem, she said, SME Corp is proposing that businesses that apply for a licence will have their businesses automatically registered. This will be implemented soon.
"We are also proposing that a special incentive be given to registered businesses in order to encourage more entrepreneurs to register their businesses," she said.
Besides that, Hafsah said SME Crop is also collaborating with the Companies Commission of Malaysia to provide dedicated programmes to encourage business registration.
She said registration can be done at any SME Corp office and applicants need only to fill in a form and pay a RM50 fee for five years.
This initiative will in return contribute to the database on companies under the Malaysia Corporate Identity Number, which will benefit many parties, particularly the SME industry.
Meanwhile, some 120 participants took part in the two-day programme which is dedicated to women entrepreneurs.
She said up until 2011, women entrepreneurs in the country account for 19.7 per cent of the total businesses, compared with 16 per cent in 2005. "We will continue to hold more programmes for women entrepreneurs in order to encourage more women to participate in entrepreneurship," she said.
Source: New Straits Times
Date: 11 April 2013
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