SME development bill to be tabled in Parliament next year

He said the bill would probably be brought before Parliament in the middle of next year.

He said the bill was developed as a manifestation of the government's seriousness in making SME development an important national agenda and the Act was already in place in many developed countries to protect the interests of SMEs.

"We have consulted 25 stakeholders nationwide, including three in Sarawak and we will see if there is a need to continue with these consultations," he said in a media conference after attending a Sarawak SME Town Hall session with the International Trade and Industry Minister at a hotel here today.

"We feel it is important to show the government's commitment to the bill in order to finalise all the development framework, assistance and structure of the institution. For now we do not have anything concrete yet as we are still at the work-in-progress stage," he added.

Several media had reported that the bill was expected to be tabled in parliament later this year.

Meanwhile, Mustapa said based on a SME Corp Malaysia survey conducted in the first quarter of this year about 24.5 per cent of SMEs in Sarawak were involved in online business, while seven per cent export their products and services abroad.

Later in the day, Mustapa is scheduled to visit a silicon wafer and ingot manufacturer for the solar industry, Comtec Solar International a subsidiary of Comtec Solar International Ltd., China situated at Samajaya Freetrade zone about 30km from here.

According to a Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) statement with the implementation of a RM1.2 billion project, Comtec would become the world's largest high-technolgy N-type monocrystalline solar wafer and ingot manufacturer.