SUNGAI BESAR: The government will continue to undertake various initiatives to develop and strengthen the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector as it represents 98 per cent of businesses in the country.

Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said to date, 653,158 SMEs were registered with the ministry, with 19.5 per cent of them based in Selangor.

“Sometimes, people have mistakenly thought a SME is just about baking cookies in the backyard, instead it represents the overall trade sector that includes manufacturing and class F contractors,” he told reporters here yesterday.

Ahmad said the government recognised the sector as the backbone of the country’s economy, hence it introduced and implement various initiatives and grants to help eligible SMEs grow.

On the Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Agenda, he said about 21 per cent of the programmes have been implemented by the ministry and its agencies as at the end of the first quarter of this year.

“The MIDF (Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd), for example, has approved RM13.2 billion in financing and loans to 10,283 companies, of which RM4.6 billion was disbursed to 2,535 Bumiputera entrepreneurs.

“As for SME Corp, it has approved 1,005 financial aid under its Business Accelerator Programme, with 363 or 36 per cent for SMEs in Selangor which amounted to RM75.9 million,” he added. — Bernama