PUTRAJAYA: After China, Malaysian small and medium-scale entrepreneurs (SMEs) will be setting their sights on the halal market in India.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the initiative would see the SMEs engaging with those businesses there.
“We are in the midst of planning something. Besides the China halal market, India is another we should explore,” he said after chairing the Malaysian Champions Luncheon dialogue session.
Realising the huge potential of the global halal industry, many SMEs here want to tap into it, especially in China where there are 26 million Muslims.
The international halal trade is estimated to be worth US$2.3 trillion (RM8.95 trillion).
Earlier this month, the Secretariat for the Advancement of Malaysian Entrepreneurs (SAME), the Halal Development Corporation (HDC) and Bank of China signed a memorandum of understanding to develop the halal trade in China.
SAME will lead a delegation of 50 SMEs there in May for 10 days, to explore opportunities there.
“Nineteen SMEs have registered for the trip and I am confident we can achieve our target of 50.
“It is not only the Chinese SMEs that are interested. There are Malay companies that also want to explore this market in China,” said Dr Wee.
SEED (the Secretariat for Empowerment of Indian Entrepreneurs) has also stated that some Indian SMEs were interested as well, he said.
“We welcome them all,” said Dr Wee, who is the minister in charge of SMEs.
The Malaysian Champions Luncheon is a business networking platform organised with several prestigious SMEs
The attendees were those that have won recognition and awards from influential SME bodies, such as SME Corp, and from the media, including The Star Media Group, said Dr Wee.
“We recognise these SMEs as the best in the country and we gather them here so that we can apply their expertise and ideas to issues that matter to the industry,” he said.
Several issues, such as the Asean Economic Council and the hiring of foreign labour, were discussed at the meeting yesterday while a speaker from HDC talked about venturing into the global halal market.
Dr Wee announced that SAME would be setting up a business incubation centre with Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.
“We expect the centre to be up in two months.
“We want the centre to help develop and guide SMEs to be successful,” he said.
