SMEs need to leverage opportunities ahead of integration
SMEs need to leverage opportunities ahead of integration
To prepare for regional integration, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Laos need to work in closer cooperation to take advantage of market opportunities and leverage economies of scale.
A workshop on the issue was held in Vientiane yesterday, organised by the Mekong Institute based in Khon Kaen, Thailand, in cooperation with the Economic Research Institute for Trade, and supported by the New Zealand Aid Programme.
Representatives from handicraft and furniture associations, companies and government officials from relevant organisations attended the workshop, aiming to increase their understanding about SME cluster development and export consortia formation.
Laos will integrate with the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, so examining the advantages and challenges posed by a regional economy is critical for both the government and private sector businesses, especially SMEs.
It is estimated that SMEs account for about 90 percent of the ASEAN business sector and between 50 and 85 percent of the regional labour force, according to the Director General of the Economic Research Institute for Trade, Mr Santisouk Vilaychaleun.
Mr Santisouk said the workshop would increase the understanding of participants, and help SMEs work together as group to develop their product quality and increase exports to regional and international markets.
Associate Programme Manager of the Mekong Institute, Mr Sa-nga Sattanun, said the aim of the Asean Economic Community is to transform Asean into a region that has free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labour and a free flow of capital.
Areas of cooperation include human resource development and capacity building, recognition of professional qualifications and closer consultation on macroeconomic and financial policies, as well as trade facilitation measures.
Capacity development is necessary to help Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam integrate into the AEC by 2015, and increase their understanding of SMEs' cluster value, the export network and the utilisation of free trade areas by SME exporters, Mr Sa-nga said.
Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam face significant issues that are barriers to narrowing the development gap and their economic integration into the AEC. These include underdeveloped human resource capacities and institutional support systems to develop and implement trade and investment policy, and the necessary regulatory formwork.
The four countries also lack industry clusters and facilities that can provide SMEs with access to regional and global value chains, he added.
The programme facilitators aim to increase understanding of SMEs and their significance in the context of the AEC and to facilitate the formation of SME clusters and export consortia in the respective countries.
They also aim to promote SME cluster linkages and support their integration into regional and global value chains to reinforce long-term business cooperation and networking between and among the countries of the region.
vientiane times
