LABUAN: Limited access to financing and regulatory hurdles top the list of challenges faced by SMEs here, which hinder their expansion, with fledging entrepreneurs feeling the most pinch.
SME Association of Labuan President Jefery Tan said this after he led a 10-member delegation from the association to pay a courtesy call on the new Labuan Corporation (LC) Chief Executive Officer, Tuan Mohd Sukuran Taib, to discuss SME-related problems and seek solutions.
“The meeting was fruitful as Sukuran understands the woes of SME players and stressed the importance of collaborative efforts to find solutions,” said Tan.
He was thankful of Sukran’s support and that of LC over the years to SMEs, noting that robust commercial activities of SMEs could help the local economy ticking as they were responsible for about 90 per cent commercial life on the island.
According to the last reported figure about three years ago, LC issued about 12,000 trading licences annually to traders.
SME Labuan presently has 38 members from various fields.
Source: https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/255129/finance-red-tape-blow-for-smes-in-labuan/