ASEAN SME Advisory Board to Elevate Status of Regional Enterprises

Singapore, 16 June 2011 -( ASEAN )- The SME Advisory Board will provide strategic policy inputs on SME development to the ASEAN Economic Ministers and guidance on high-priority matters to the ASEAN SME Working Group. The Board’s establishment is timely as ASEAN Leaders have placed more attention on Equitable Economic Development, which comprises SME development and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration, in the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint.
Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Economic Community, Mr Pushpanathan Sundram said, “The establishment of the Advisory Board marks an important start in looking at a more comprehensive and innovative ways to developing our SMEs.”
Mr P’ng Cheong Boon, Chief Executive of SPRING Singapore stressed the importance of SMEs as an important source of income and employment and that governments have looked at SME development as a key policy priority. “However, much remains to be done to bring actual performance of our SMEs closer to their rich potential,” he reminded.
The Board will function on the vision ‘To promote innovative, competitive and resilient ASEAN SMEs as the new engine of growth that would contribute to the equitable economic growth.’ It will next meet in Brunei Darussalam, on the sideline of the 29th SME Working Group Meeting in November 2011, to deliberate and provide strategic policy inputs to the ASEAN Economic Ministers.