Asean Strategic Action Plan For SMEs To Be Announced Next Year

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- The Asean-Business Advisory Council (ABAC) will announce an Asean Strategic Action Plan for small and medium entreprises (SMEs) development next year. The plan will become a critical socio-economic factor of the US$2.4 trillion Asean Economic Community (AEC), says ABAC Malaysia Chairman Dr Munir Majid. "The level of employment of the working population by the SMEs is extremely high," he said in a media briefing here Thursday. A study showed 89 per cent to 99 per cent of companies in Asean are SMEs. It also accounts for 52 per cent to 97 per cent of employment and contributes between 23 per cent and 58 per cent to gross domestic product. Munir said ABAC would continue to inject and propose actionable measures for the SMEs such as specific proposals on access to finance, better management methods and greater use of technology among companies. "ABAC needs inputs from the SMEs to found proposals on their experience and suggestions," he said. Under Malaysia's chairmanship, ABAC with the support of all ABAC country chapters, will continue to work hard on the SME agenda. On November 19, the Chairman of ABAC Myanmar will hand over the ABAC Chair to Malaysia at a gala dinner to be witnessed by Prime Minister Najib Razak. The prime minister would have had the Asean chair handed over to Malaysia in Naypyidaw, Myanmar a week earlier, he said. "While there has been tremendous progress towards the AEC, particularly in trade in good and services, there are still gaps in the free movement of capital and skilled labour," he said. Meanwhile, Munir said there needed to be a communication plan at all levels to inform the public on the AEC and the building of the Asean community. "Asean policy planners therefore should really reach out to the people next year," he said. He said an Asean line at points of entry in member countries or having a business travel card to override visa requirements should be introduced immediately to give a strong impact on public awareness. "All these works need the full support of the private sector, especially Malaysia during our chairmanship of Asean, to achieve to the fullest extent possible the great promise for the region," he said. --BERNAMA