SME Corp: SMEs to contribute 40% to GDP by 2020
KULA LUMPUR: The Small and Medium Enterprise Corp Malaysia (SME Corp) expects SMEs to contribute 40% to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020, from the current 32.5%.
Chief executive office Datuk Hafsah Hashim said the target was achievable with SME Corp aiming for SMEs to increase their contribution to the GDP by one percentage point every year.
SME Corp would also implement its master plan next year, she said.
She said SMEs were an important agent of economic growth, SME development had been recognised as a priority on the national agenda and many development programmes have been put in place to transform SMEs into competitive, resilient and value-creating entities.
Asked about the outlook for 2013, she said it depended on the economic scenario, adding SMEs consistently performed much better than the overall economy.
Hafsah said SME Corp was the central point of reference for information and advisory services for all SMEs in Malaysia, and was given the huge responsibility to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the implementation of policies, strategies and development programmes for SMEs.
“The government has allocated RM14 billion in Budget 2013 to stimulate the growth of bumiputra entrepreneurs,” she told Bernama after the graduation ceremony for the Malaysia-Japan International Cooperation Agency Financial Counsellors and Business Counsellors programme.
She said the ceremony, officiated by Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, was organised to upgrade and enhance the organisational capacity of SME Corp officers and enable them to provide efficient and effective business advisory services to SMEs.
“It also ensures that the SMEs are well-informed of the various initiatives and incentives that the Government, along with private establishments, have to offer,” Hafsah added. – Bernama
Source : New Straits Times
Date : 19 December 2012
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