Bumiputera VDP generated RM114 billion since 2013

KUALA LUMPUR: The Vendor Development Programme ( VDP) under the Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Agenda has generated RM114 billion since its launch in September 2013 until August this year, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

The Prime Minister said under the programme, governmentlinked companies ( GLCs) not only developed Bumiputera vendors, but also helped them grow into national and regional champions.

As at December last year, 10 of the top 20 GLCs have implemented the VDP involving 1,375 vendors who are currently working with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry to strengthen the framework to produce national, regional and global champions.

“Last year, the GLCs managed to turn eight vendors into national champions and a vendor into a regional champion,” he said in his keynote address at the Bumiputera Empowerment Agenda Appreciation Ceremony here yesterday.

Present were Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak, Khazanah Nasional Bhd Managing Director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar and Telekom Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shazally Ramly.

Najib hoped the GLCs and government- linked investment companies would continue to play their part in ensuring the success of the Bumiputera Empowerment Agenda.

Besides developing Bumiputera vendors, the Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Agenda includes a wider dimension covering the aspects of sustainability of Bumiputera companies in the face of stiff competition in the digital economy.

“The government will also continue to champion the interests of the Malays and Bumiputera Muslims, as well as non-Muslims, upholding it as a National Agenda for the Bumiputera community to ensure that they could feel every notch of the country’s progress,” he said.

The Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Agenda is a government initiative aimed at ensuring the nation’s wealth is distributed and enjoyed equitably by all races and bridging income disparities among them. — Bernama