Foreign investments must deliver more opportunities for Malaysian SMEs, says Steven Sim

GEORGE TOWN, Oct 30 — The government wants local content to be given greater consideration in government, government-linked company (GLC) and multinational corporation (MNC) procurements to create more opportunities for local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong said the approach is aimed at ensuring local businesses benefit from investments and the development of domestic supply chains.

“We also want government procurements, GLC procurements and, of course, MNC procurements to have a perspective for local content. We want foreign direct investment (FDI) to come in to benefit local businesses. So, there must be a requirement for local contents,” he said.

He said this during a panel discussion with Grant Thornton Malaysia National Tax Practice Leader Datin Seah Siew Yun at the Grant Thornton Tax Seminar on Budget 2027 here today.

Sim said local content requirement is one of the components under the SCALE Action Plan, which will form the ministry’s next phase of longer-term structural reforms for the MSME sector.

He said SCALE covers SME redefinition, cash flow protection, artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, local content requirement and easing access to financing, with the ministry looking at reforms through legislation, regulation or policy.

On FDI, Sim said the government has also retweaked its investment incentive system under the new incentive framework, with tax incentives linked to key performance indicators (KPIs).

Among the criteria are the creation of high-paying jobs for Malaysians and development of the local supply chain, with the approach intended to ensure foreign investments generate spillover benefits for MSMEs instead of benefitting only large companies.

Meanwhile, Sim said GLCs and government-linked investment companies (GLICs) have an important role in developing local industries and helping smaller businesses grow, while avoiding crowding them out of the market.

He said the government has instructed GLCs and GLICs to invest up to RM25 billion annually to develop the local supply chain, adding that part of the funds should be invested domestically to build local industries.

Sim said strengthening MSMEs is crucial as they account for about 96 per cent of business establishments in Malaysia, although their contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) remains below 40 per cent.

He said the government is targeting MSMEs to contribute at least 40 per cent to GDP, noting that while SMEs similarly make up an overwhelming majority of business establishments in many developed economies, their economic contribution is higher. — Bernama

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乔治市，10 月 30 日讯——政府希望在政府、政府关联公司 (GLC) 和跨国公司 (MNC) 的采购中，给予本地内容更大的考虑，以创造更多机会，惠及本地微型、小型和中型企业 (MSME)。

企业家发展及合作社部长沈志强表示，此举旨在确保本地企业能够从投资和国内供应链的发展中受益。

“我们希望政府采购、官联公司采购，当然还有跨国公司采购，都能优先考虑本地化内容。我们希望吸引外商直接投资，让本地企业受益。因此，必须要有本地化内容的要求。”他说道。

他今天在格兰特桑顿税务研讨会上与格兰特桑顿马来西亚国家税务业务主管拿汀谢秀云就2027年财政预算案进行小组讨论时发表了上述言论。

Sim表示，本地含量要求是SCALE行动计划的组成部分之一，该计划将构成该部下一阶段针对中小微企业部门的长期结构改革。

他表示，SCALE涵盖中小企业重新定义、现金流保护、人工智能（AI）应用、本地化内容要求和简化融资渠道，该部正在考虑通过立法、监管或政策进行改革。

关于外国直接投资，沈先生表示，政府也根据新的激励框架调整了投资激励制度，将税收优惠与关键绩效指标 (KPI) 挂钩。

这些标准包括为马来西亚人创造高薪就业机会和发展本地供应链，其目的是确保外国投资为中小微企业带来溢出效应，而不是仅仅让大公司受益。

与此同时，沈先生表示，官联公司和政府关联投资公司在发展本地产业和帮助小型企业成长方面发挥着重要作用，同时避免将它们挤出市场。

他表示，政府已指示官联公司和官联投资公司每年投资高达 250 亿令吉，用于发展本地供应链，并补充说，部分资金应投资于国内，以建设本地产业。

Sim表示，加强中小微企业至关重要，因为它们约占马来西亚企业总数的96%，尽管它们对国内生产总值（GDP）的贡献仍然低于40%。

他表示，政府的目标是使中小微企业对国内生产总值（GDP）的贡献至少达到40%。他指出，虽然在许多发达经济体中，中小企业同样占企业总数的绝大多数，但它们的经济贡献更高。——马新社

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