A study conducted by French agency Global
Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) revealed Asean to be a fertile ground for
innovation driven by entrepreneurship.
According
to the study, which was done in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, the region is among the most entrepreneurial
in the world with 66% of the people in the region viewing entrepreneurship as a
positive career choice, above the GEM global average of 62.46%.
The study
also revealed that the region is ripe for entrepreneurship as neighbouring
countries in Asia and in the Pacific Rim see Asean as providing good
opportunities for trade, business and economic partnerships.
Executive
director Mike Herrington said Asean is well positioned to play an increasingly
important role on the global economic stage.
“An Asian
Economic Community (AEC) is no longer an abstract, but a reality that the
regional governments are urged to embrace,” he added.
He said
the GEM report recommended 10 key focus areas to boost entrepreneurship and
innovation across the region including building the professional ability of
governments to better understand and serve entrepreneurs, and meaningful media
communications.
The
report also suggested investing in good IT infrastructure and creating tailored
development programmes for entrepreneurs.
“Entrepreneurial
capacity can be built through concerted mutual effort, with governments
focusing on reforms that help to create enabling environments that foster
innovation, facilitate more productive economies and, critically, open up new
and better job opportunities for all segments of the population,” he said.
Herrington
said these would address the concern in the report which showed only moderate
levels of innovation. He noted that only over half of Asean entrepreneurs said
their products or services are not new to customers.
Teraju aims for 40 Bumiputera listings within
three years
The
Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (Teraju) is targeting 40 bumiputera companies
for listing in the next two to three years under Skim Jejak Jaya Bumiputera.
Its chief
executive officer Datuk Husni Salleh said Teraju also targeted to increase the
total market capitalisation of bumiputera-controlled public listed companies to
between RM7bil and RM10bil during the period.
He said
the agency has a sound plan to get the companies listed on Bursa Malaysia at
the right time, depending on market conditions.
“Three
companies are in the final stages of floatation next year. They have obtained
approvals and are awaiting listing,” he told a recent media briefing on the
Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Report 2015.
Launched
by the Prime Minister in September 2013, Skim Jejak Jaya Bumiputera, which is
jointly managed by Teraju and Ekuinas Nasional Bhd, is part of the Bumiputera
Empowerment Agenda.
Husni
said the scheme provides comprehensive advisory services to bumiputera
companies with potential for listing.
Until
August this year, 11 companies were listed on Bursa Malaysia through the
scheme, with total market capitalisation of RM5.5bil.
Cradle Seed makes first investment
Cradle
Fund Sdn Bhd’s unit, Cradle Seed Ventures Pte Ltd (CSV), has invested millions
of US dollars into Involve Asia Technologies Sdn Bhd (IAT), an e-commerce
marketing platform.
CSV chief
executive officer Aziz Hussein said this was CSV’s first investment following
its launch in June this year.
“The
investment injected into IAT involves millions of US dollars and following
this, CSV will hold a 20% stake in IAT,” he said, but declined to reveal the
amount.
Aziz said
CSV was impressed with IAT’s strategic focus and momentum since it started
operations last year and the injection of funds would greatly assist it.
IAT CEO
and co-founder Jimmy How said the investment would be used to expand its
operations across South-East Asia.
“The
funds will be used for our technology development and developing partnerships
throughout the region,” said How.
To-date,
IAT has over 80 online merchants and over 1,000 publishers in its network in
Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
Business & Investment Opportunities
Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated
in Singapore since 1994.
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