Govt stresses seven policies to promote SME growth
Govt stresses seven policies to promote SME growth
The government is stressing seven main policies to promote small and medium enterprise (SME) development in an effort to benefit the economy and expand their markets.
Firstly, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce would like to increase productivity, technology and innovation, while secondly they would like to promote access to finance for micro-enterprise, as was suggested by Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Mr Somchit Inthamith at the Laos-China Roadshow for Bank of China SMEs Cross-Border Trade and Investment Conference in Vientiane last week.
The third policy stresses the promotion of access to business consultancy services, the fourth stresses better access to marketing, the fifth will increase the capacity of entrepreneurs and enhance skilled labour development, the sixth will provide facilitation for business sector operations and finally, the seventh will see increased taxing and customs policies along with other fees.
SMEs are considered an important force in economic and social development, playing an irreplaceable role in job creation, technical innovation, economic growth and other aspects of that development.
SMEs in Laos cover about 99 percent of the business sector but most of them are still supplying domestic markets, Mr Somchit reported.
Most of these SMEs still lack the technical experience in business management while the quality of their products remains low compared to international standards.
The consensus is that in order to promote better development in the sector, to improve the quality of products to meet international standards and to expand markets globally, they will need more cooperation and assistance from the relevant government sectors as well as international organisations and other development partners, Mr Somchit commented.
This will include increased technical management, capacity development, strategic planning, technological equipment, innovation and finances, he said.
Laos has now integrated with the Asean Econo mic Community which will provide opportunity and challenges for SMEs to improve their business operations in order to meet international prerequisites.
SMEs cover about 96 percent of total enterprise in the Asean region while covering about 50-85 percent of employment, Mr Somchit noted.
Despite these shortcomings, SMEs are meeting some challenges on quality and marketing and many business units are still growing as they receive cooperation and support from different sectors in the meantime.
