KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 14 (Bernama) — All small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should take advantage of the RM11.4 billion in government incentives earmarked for their development in 2015, says Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. The recent Budget 2015 also outlined several measures to further facilitate the SME development and strengthen their long term competitiveness, he added. “Take advantage of this incentive to expand your businesses. In doing so, you will be able to further contribute to Malaysia’s economic growth,” he said in his speech, before presenting the Enterprise 50 Awards, here Friday. The Enterprise 50 is an annual awards programme organised by SME Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp) and Deloitte Malaysia, with other supporting sponsorships, to recognise the achievements of Malaysia’s enterprising SMEs. Mustapa said 2015 will also mark a very important milestone for Malaysia and its SME community as the Asean...

KOTA BAHARU, Nov 16 (Bernama) — Malaysia’s 643,000 small medium enterprise (SME) entrepreneurs have been urged to work towards penetrating the Asean market next year. Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad in making this call said they should take full advantage of Malaysia assuming the chairmanship of Asean in 2015 to more actively market their products in the region. He also cautioned that if they failed to do so, they would lose out on an excellent opportunity to enhance their business and quality of life. “SME entrepreneurs must break into the Asean market as the domestic scenario is too small with just 30 million people. But Asean has a 620 million population and imagine if, we can just sell soya or chilli sauce or fish crackers (keropok). “By breaking into foreign markets, their business will surely grow,” he added. Mustapa told reporters this after officiating the Kelantan Halal Products Transformation Programme 2015 here...

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 (Bernama) — The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has targeted to increase the small and medium enterprise (SME) market growth from 6.3 to 9.3 per cent under the SME Master Plan 2012-2020. Its minister, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the SME Master Plan 2012-2020 was aimed at contributing at least 41 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2020 from 33 per cent at present. He said the government would continue to expand financing options for SMEs by providing special funds and schemes either directly or through Bank Negara Malaysia. “I must stress that SMEs should strengthen their management skills, financial and learning capacities, and fully utilise the support given by the government,” he said at the launch of 27th Asian Credit Supplementation Institution Confederation (ACSIC) Conference 2014 from Nov 16 to 21 here Monday. His speech was read by MITI secretary-general Datuk Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria. Mustapa said under...

Pengarah Urusannya, Datuk Mohd Radzif Mohd Yunus berkata, usahawan layak memohon pinjaman sebanyak RM500,000 dan maksimum sehingga RM2.5 juta. “Pelancaran WEP akan membolehkan wanita yang bergiat dalam perusahaan kecil dan sederhana menggunakannya untuk membeli aset dan penambahan modal kerja tetap,” katanya dalam sidang media selepas majlis perasmian ulang tahun ke-10 SME Bank di Kuala Lumpur, semalam. Majlis tersebut dirasmikan Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. Menurutnya, program WEP dikendalikan bersama Program Pemacuan Kepimpinan Keusahawanan Wanita yang dikelolakan Pusat Penyelidikan dan Pembangunan Usahawan (Cedar). “Ia merupakan program pembangunan keusahawanan secara holistik yang merangkumi keseluruhan sistem daripada pra-pengkomersialan sehingga ke peringkat komersial. “Golongan wanita digalakkan memohon dan ia merupakan satu inisiatif SME Bank dalam membina kapasiti dan keupayaan usahawan wanita di Malaysia,”...