Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed wants micro business industry players in Sarawak to ‘think big and go global’.

He asserted that Sarawakian entrepreneurs ought to capitalise on the Asean Economic Community (AEC) which has a combined population of 625 million people.

“They should aspire big and think global. We do not want them to fear a bigger market. Micro businesses must tap the market in the Asean community.

“If Sarawak alone, there is a population of only 2.5 million which is small. Looking at the Asean community, we have more than 600 million people,” he said when met by reporters after launching the AEC Open Day 2016 at Riverside Majestic Hotel here yesterday.

The half-day event saw two briefings conducted by the ministry, sharing of success story by a Sarawakian company and a dialogue session with the minister.

Mustapa conceded that entrepreneurs in Sarawak “still have a lot of catching up to do as the gap is quite wide” compared to their counterparts in Peninsular Malaysia.

He said his ministry together with its relevant agencies would enhance outreach programmes so that SMEs in the state would not be left out or behind in the Asean community.

He pointed out that food and beverage (F&B) and services (such as construction and engineering) represented two potential and challenging industries in Sarawak.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak declared Asean as a community last Dec 31, he recalled.

“It is important for the government to brief industry players and disseminate information especially to micro businesses,” stressed Mustapa.

He termed micro businesses as entrepreneurs who registered an annual sales value of less than RM300,000 and with less than five employees.

“We will continue to enhance the engagement of this group. In Sarawak, we have programmes to expose SMEs to Asean community.”

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by Lim How Pim

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