SMEs expect strong growth in trade within Asia Pacific

A survey done by UPS, Asia Business Monitor (ABM), has revealed that more than half of Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) expect the country's volume of trade within Asia Pacific to continue to grow strongly, followed by the Middle East and Europe.

The survey showed that trade growth prospects for this year in Asia Pacific stood at 57 per cent, at 44 per cent in the Middle East and 43 per cent in the Europe.

UPS Malaysia's managing director Naeem Butt said in a statement last week that UPS was ready to support the Malaysian small and medium enterprises as they gear up for growth and seek more trade prospects abroad.

The US-based UPS is a global leader in logistics, offering a wide range of solutions, including transportation of packages, freight services and the facilitation of international trade.

"By turning to logistics experts like UPS, local SMEs can easily expand to overseas markets," Naeem said.

"With our expertise in navigating Customs rules and regulations, UPS will give them opportunity to discover the vast opportunities for growth beyond the Malaysian borders," he said.

To date, 75 per cent of Malaysian SMEs, who responded to the survey, conduct their businesses within the Asia Pacific while 9 per cent with Europe and 8 per cent with North America.

Malaysian SME leaders have identified manufacturing, agricultural, forestry and fishing, and IT sectors as Malaysia's key economic pillars over the next three to five years. - Bernama