KUALA LUMPUR: The Government will continue to provide assistance and other incentives to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) so that the sector will remain robust.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chua Tee Yong said about 95% of businesses in the country were from SMEs.
"The sector is a major driver of the country's economy and we hope it will continue to grow.
"SMEs contribute nearly 40% to the Gross Domestic Product," he said during the Bursa Bull Charge cheque presentation ceremony to 10 organisations here Friday.
Also present were Bursa Malaysia Berhad chairman Tan Sri Amirsham Aziz and CEO Datuk Tajuddin Atan.
Chua said to help the sector grow, several policies were introduced, such as working capital guarantee fund.
He said a total of RM5bil was for the service sector and another RM2bil for all SMEs.
"This was also done previously as part of a stimulus package to boost the economy.
"All this was necessary as SMEs are usually facing problems in terms of collateral," he said, adding that the sector also contributed many job opportunities in the market.
He said despite a drop in global oil prices, the country's economic fundamentals were still strong.
"We have taken steps to diversify our sources of revenue instead of depending solely on export of oil.
"There was a trade surplus of RM54bil from January to August this year compared with RM52bil last year," he said, adding that the ringgit depreciation had enhanced its competitiveness in exports and brought in more revenue.
Chua said due to the challenging economic climate, the coming Budget would see the Government adopting measures in meeting its long-term fiscal consolidation target of 0.6% by 2020.
"Next year will be the first year of the start of the 11th Malaysia Plan.
"There will be more allocations for development in capital building for infrastructure and connectivity to further expand the economy," he said.
Chua said the Government would tighten its operating expenditure rather than cutting down on development expenditure.
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