‘BRIGHT PROSPECTS FOR ASEAN SMES’
Firms can now grow healthily without certain tariff restrictions, says HSBC
SMALL and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Asean are expected to gain from the de-escalation of the United States-China trade war.
This followed the positive outcome of the “Phase 1” trade deal, said HSBC Malaysia.
Commercial banking country head Andrew Sill said the outcome signalled positive prospects for local SMEs to grow healthily without certain tariff restrictions.
“The trade war does not benefit anybody in the long term. We have seen Malaysia in the interim period being the beneficiary of the trade war, with increasing manufacturing investments coming into the country,” he said at a press conference, here, yesterday.
Sill said some manufacturers had looked to Malaysia as an alternative manufacturing base given the tensions between the US and China.
“In the interim period, Malaysian SMEs probably have the opportunity to benefit from some of the uncertainties that the trade war has created.”
He said more than 200 large global companies were operating in the Asean region.
“Within that (region), we have certain industries that are very much into the global supply chain like automotive and manufacturing.
“Asean is a very important hub. Hence, it is important for SMEs to be active in certain sectors to benefit from some of the changes of inflow (investments).”
Sill said the local SME industry was an attractive option for investments.
“The country’s central position in Asean is extremely important. In a broader sense, government incentives and schemes for foreign direct investments (FDIs) will facilitate businesses, creating an open market.”
Country head of business banking Anita Tang said SMEs were the big part of HSBC Malaysia’s customer base.
She said the adoption of technologies posed a challenge for local SMEs.
“Local SMEs are still optimistic about the growth. Over the years, various business segments had been the beneficiaries of trade tensions.
“However, there is still a sense of cautiousness in terms of working capital and development of external environments.”