KUALA
LUMPUR: The government has drawn up a
masterplan to chart the direction and progress of the small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) in the country, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
said.
He
said the plan would focus on creating an enabling ecosystem to accelerate the
growth of SMEs through productivity gains and innovation.
“One
of the strategic goals under the plan is to promote innovation and the adoption
of technology by SMEs,” he said in his keynote address at the launch of SMIDEX
2012, Asean-India SME Conference and SME Week 2012 here yesterday.
Najib
said a national SME Development Council under the Prime Minister’s Department
was also set up to oversee the national SME effort.
“Representatives
from the private sector as well as government agencies sit in this council to
make sure we pursue policies that are meaningful, relevant and practical,” he
said.
The
inaugural SME Innovative Award with a RM1 million prize was introduced in 2010
for an SME deemed most innovative to inspire businesses.
Other
incentives include a RM500 million syariah-compliant Commercialisation Innovation
Fund for SMEs with innovative products or services which are already in the
stage of commercialisation.
On
Asean-India SME Conference, Najib said, Malaysia was ready to facilitate the
entry of Indian entrepreneurs into South-East Asia and serve as its gateway
into the grouping.
He
said the Asean-India Free Trade Area Trade in Goods agreement, which came into
effect on January 1, 2010, was a key factor that would facilitate the creation
of an open market in the region which has a combined population of about 1.8
billion.
“Since
its beginning about a decade ago, business relations between Asean and India
have seen tremendous growth and development,” he said.
Meanwhile,
he said, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of
India, Malaysia was currently the 27th largest overall foreign investor, with a
total foreign domestic investment inflow of US$298.8 million during the period
of April 2000 until June last year.
“If
investments made through the third country route are taken into account,
cumulative Malaysian investments in India to date exceed US$6 billion,” he
said.
Indian
investments in Malaysia were small in relative terms, but had doubled from the
previous year and were now valued at RM98 million, he said.
There
are 77 Indian companies, including 70 Indian joint-ventures, operating in
Malaysia.
Bernama
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