Local industry players must take advantage of all the facilities and support provided by the Government towards ensuring the long term competitiveness of their businesses, urged Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan, Second Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI).
“MITI, MIDA and our other agencies have been doing many outreach programmes, especially towards building the capabilities of our local industry players and small & medium-sized companies (SMEs). However, there is still a lack of awareness among the business community in the facilities and support provided by the Government. There are really many platforms that all of you can take advantage of,” said Ong during the National Investment Seminar 2017 organised by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) today at the Intercontinental Hotel.
The message was further amplified by Datuk Azman Mahmud, Chief Executive Officer of MIDA in his opening remarks, “Malaysia is one of the most business friendly destinations in the region with many pro-business policies. Unfortunately, many domestic industry players have yet to leverage on the facilities available. This is why we continue to undertake engagements such as today. We seek to provide updated information on relevant policies and facilities towards enabling the business community to make informed decisions in expanding your operations further.”
This call is in line with the recent Budget 2018 announcement made by YAB Prime Minister that highlighted the various measures and initiatives to further develop resilient and sustainable SMEs towards achieving inclusive and balanced growth.
“With so many efforts in place to increase the competitiveness of our SMEs, we are expecting the amount of domestic investment to increase by 6.7%. In fact, the SMEs are expected to contribute 41% to GDP by 2020. Ultimately, we want our local industry players to flourish. Malaysia is a relatively small market, therefore going regional and global is necessary to ensure the long term sustainability of your businesses. It is timely for those that have been comfortably growing in Malaysia over the years to spread your wings and tap into a bigger customer base as well as gaining access to new resources,” said Ong.
The one day seminar was well attended by more than 500 industry players representing various sectors from all across Malaysia. It featured two plenary sessions with presentations from companies such as Globetronics Technology Berhad, UWC Healthcare Manufacturing, Hyrax Oil, Adeka Foods Asia, Ingress Technologies and Systematic Aviation Services; as well as MITI agencies such as MIDA, the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), SME Corporation, Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC), SME Bank and Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Berhad (MIDF). These sessions were moderated by representatives from MIDA and Tax Crowe Horwath Malaysia.
