Digi business marketing and operations head Steven Soon (second from left) delivering his speech as (from left) Johor South SME Association advisor Teh Kee Sin, RHB Bank Bhd commercial banking head Azlina Safian and PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd chief operating officer P’ng Tean Hau look on duri...
One for the album: (From left) Teh, Soon, Azlina and P’ng posing for photograph after their panel discussion session at the SOBA LAB programme at Trove Hotel in Johor Baru.JOHOR BARU: Digitalisation is the way forward for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and they have to start planning now,...
Unofficial figures show that some 300,000 Malaysians commute daily from Johor to Singapore to work. — FilepicJOHOR BARU: The state government is looking at the positive angle when it comes to the high number of Malaysians, including Johoreans, working in Singapore.Johor education, human resour...
An SME expo showcasing the productsKUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's small business sector experienced positive business conditions in 2018 and confidence in business and economic growth is at its highest point since 2012, according to new survey data released today by CPA Australia. The findings from CPA A...
KUALA LUMPUR: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should capitalise on the RM517mil funding made available by Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd’s (MIDF) and Malaysian Technology Development Corp (MTDC) under the Soft Loan Scheme for Automation and Modernisation (SLSAM).MIDF group ma...
PETALING JAYA: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng is tabling Budget 2019 in Parliament, the first federal budget by the Pakatan Harapan government.The tabling of the Supply Bill (Budget) 2019 will commence before Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, and will be debated by the Members of Par...
NextGen, SME Malaysia To Prepare Young Entrepreneurs For ASEAN Market
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 (Bernama) -- Next Generation Movement (NextGen) will collaborate with the SME Association of Malaysia (SME Malaysia) to enhance the capabilities of young entrepreneurs in order to take advantage of ASEAN's integrated market from Jan 1, next year.
SME Malaysia National President Michael Kang said this would ensure that young entrepreneurs to benefit from the enlarged ASEAN Economic Community's market of over 600 million people from next year.
"We want to prepare young entrepreneurs by changing their mindset to encourage them to penetrate the international market and not only the domestic market of 30 million people.
"We are well positioned to capture the regional market as we are number two after Singapore," he told a press conference after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NextGen here Tuesday.
Kang said if the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) were signed in February next year and enforced in 2018, it would provide more market opportunities for businesses.
As the bigger market will also pose stiffer competition, local entrepreneurs need to intensify efforts in capacity building in order to meet the challenges, he added.
He said these measures were imperative if the SMEs were to achieve the target of increasing their exports to 25 per cent and gross domestic product contribution of 41 per cent by 2020.
Meanwhile, NextGen President Mohamed Hassan KB Hamzah said the strategies lined up under the MoU would focus on market access, innovation and technology adoption, human capital development, and access to finance.
"We plan to enhance the companies and their product image through award recognition, train them to comply with international standards and match them with interested angel investors.
"We will also go to rural areas to enlighten entrepreneurs there on ASEAN and prepare them for the international market," he added.