KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — The business community and small and medium enterprise (SME) players should take advantage of the various initiatives provided by the government to speed up economic recovery, said Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry (Miti) Datuk Lim Ban Hong.

He said the business community and SMEs need to explore new opportunities, especially in the export sector.

Lim explained that by giving more focus to the export market, especially to regional countries, Malaysian businesses could further increase their reach at the global level.

"The agencies under Miti provide many incentives and access to new markets. The initiative will lead to the introduction of more Malaysian brands abroad and will indirectly create new market exploration,” he said after officiating the CITYPlus 2022 Investment Forum here, today.

Lim highlighted that under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), SMEs are expected to contribute 45 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product, and 25 per cent to total exports by 2025.

"Strategic plans and also plans that have been launched by the government are, for example, the 12MP, MyDigital Blueprint, as well as our policy regarding IR4.0.

"I ask that SMEs and the business community take the opportunities provided by the government through various policies and frameworks because these have been prepared to aid the business community, especially SMEs, to grow and recover quickly in the process of national economic recovery,” he said.

In addition, Lim said that through the forum, the participants, especially start-up companies, will get wider exposure, particularly in the field of technology and innovation.

He added that in the economic recovery phase, the cooperation of the private sector is important and should be supported by new policies introduced by the government.

"We should strengthen the good relationship between the public and private sector so that economic recovery can run more smoothly and the goals set under 12MP can be achieved one by one,” he said.

Lim noted that currently, SMEs comprise 97.2 per cent of the total number of companies registered in Malaysia and they are among the companies that generate the most employment opportunities.

Meanwhile, the one-day hybrid CITYPlus 2022 Investment Forum brought together over 300 participants and SME players.

In addition to focusing on the SME sector, the forum also discussed real estate investment issues and investment in new technology such as metaverse. — Bernama