APEC’s MSMEs need specific initiatives to grow, says Mustapa

KUALA LUMPUR: Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries should identify specific initiatives to promote growth and development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said concrete measures needed to be put in place to internationalise the MSMEs in the region and to enable them to be linked with the regional and global value chain activities.

Speaking at the two-day APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam over the weekend, he said MSMEs were a priority for Asean and thus APEC and Asean should work together to take the MSME agenda forward.

“It is important that we ensure the benefits from globalisation are inclusive and equitable, especially given the rise of protectionist sentiment in a number of countries

“Unlocking opportunities for MSMEs to participate more actively and successfully in global markets therefore will allow enterprises at the grass root level to benefit from closer economic integration,” he said in a statement.

Mustapa stressed that “the future is digital economy and MSMEs should be an integral part of it.”

In Malaysia, more opportunities for SMEs to enter the global e-commerce market are expected to be created through the investment by AliBaba in Malaysia’s Digital Free Trade Zone, he said.

Meanwhile, Mustapa said APEC economies must resist all kinds of protectionism to achieve the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment by 2020.

“Malaysia will continue to uphold the centrality of the multilateral trading system while pursuing bilateral and regional preferential arrangements with strategic trading partners to stay competitive,” he said.

He pointed out that APEC economies continued to remain resilient. Its 21 member countries currently account for half of global trade and 60 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product.

The APEC Regional Trends Analysis report forecast an average 3.8 per cent growth for APEC economies in 2017 and 2018, and 3.7 per cent growth in 2019 from 3.5 per cent growth in 2016. — Bernama