The Myanmar government should establish a small and medium enterprise agency, Mr Watanabe Hideo, chairman of the Japan Myanmar Association told a forum held at the Yangon-based Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry on October 2.
“I will definitely make a suggestion to the President to set up a SME agency under the relevant government ministry to encourage a thriving SME sector,” said Mr Watanabe.
Mr Watanabe said he wants to address this issue because the SME sector needs an effective financial support scheme and a taxation system to stimulate long-term growth.
He pointed to the example of the SME agency set up in Japan under the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry in 1948, which was introduced to comprehensively implement the SME policies of the Japanese Government and provided a backbone engine for a country’s economy.
“Similarly, the Myanmar government should organize an SME department as a priority. The government should support different types of SMEs to allow such companies to boom without them having to suddenly become big companies,” said Mr Watanabe.
Myanmar is not without a resource to cater for up and coming small businesses.
Daw Aye Aye Win, director of the SME development centre under the Ministry of Industry established in April 2012 told Mizzima in a telephone interview on October 2 that the state-owned Small & Medium Industrial Development Bank loaned out 10 billion kyat (US$10 million) in the 2013-2014fiscal year, and aims to loan 20 billion kyat (US$20 million) in the current 2014-2015 fiscal year
However, she acknowledged the centre can provide only very limited loans to the local private business sector.
A law to cover SMEs is currently being discussed in the Hluttaw.
