Go Into Export-Based Online Business, SME Corp Tells SMEs

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 (Bernama) -- Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should take advantage of the current weaker ringgit to go into export-based online businesses, leveraging on the emerging global business trend to date, said SME Corp Malaysia. Its Chief Executive Officer Dr Hafsah Hashim said SMEs must look into the booming megatrend business pattern that is bound with ASEAN's current moderate growth, including in online business. "When we did our survey back in 2010, only 7.0 per cent of 1,878 SME respondents back then were doing online business, and our survey in the third quarter of 2016 showed the number had gone up to 25 per cent while in the first quarter of this year, it was only 20 per cent. "Don't just look into the domestic market, but also look into the export market because Malaysia's population is small. "The minute they do business online, the world is their market," she told reporters at the FMM SME Conference 2016 here Wednesday. Hafsah, who was one of the speakers at the conference, said SMEs would benefit from export-based businesses at the moment as the lower value of the ringgit could enhance the value of exports, while domestic-driven businesses could reduce their imports for now. Currently, she said, 80 per cent of the local SMEs are domestic-oriented and due to the weakening of the ringgit, these SMEs can normally adapt to changes in the market moving forward. Hafsah said SME Corp has been working with the online seller 11street.my to create an e-commerce academy to train entrepreneurs, including in online presentation. Themed 'Beyond Economic Growth: SMEs Meeting Global Challenges', the conference is an avenue for SMEs to better understand the Malaysia's current economic situation and SME industry. The one-day forum organised by SME Corp and the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers will discuss and analyse in depth the impact of Budget 2017 for SMEs and regional trade opportunities from trade agreements. In her session, Hafsah said the findings of the third quarter survey revealed that 42 per cent of the respondents anticipated their business to remain stable in the next six months while about 29 per cent expected their business to improve. The survey also showed that about 44 per cent of the respondents experienced higher sales during the quarter while one-third recorded higher profits, amid continuous concerns over rising business costs and falling demand for goods and services. -- BERNAMA