Published: October 16, 2012
THE Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Masterplan, recently launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, has been designed to help SMEs in the country in a structured way.
Secretary-general of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria said local SMEs usually grew in tandem with the Asia Pacific economy.
"There will be opportunities along the value chain, that is why we work with SMEs, strengthening the value chain, not only in the country but also internationally," she said on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Business Forum here, yesterday.
Rebecca said the plan has been designed for SMEs to allow them to collaborate, become vendors and suppliers to big companies in the region.
"We are organising clinics on FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) for SMEs so that they understand what kind of market is there for them."
Earlier during a roundtable session, Rebecca said apart from the straightforward issue of reducing tariffs, reducing the non-tariff barriers was the broader issue that would have to be addressed in assisting the SMEs.
"Regional integration can foster economic growth and there are challenges along the way, including the need to achieve more equitable growth, the need to address social security net, financial security net and also to address matters such as corruption and gender issues," she said. Bernama
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