KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 11): SME Corp Malaysia is looking at potential sales of RM400 million from the business matching at the Asean SME Showcase & Conference 2015 (ASSC 2015), which will be held from on May 26 to 28 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Its CEO Datuk Hafsah Hashim believes there will be vast investment opportunities at the Asean Business XchanGe platform, which will enable the Asean SME community to increase its visibility and profitability, through face-to-face sessions.

“The objective of this business matching is to provide face-to-face business matching sessions to facilitate linkages between the SMEs in Malaysia and Asean,” Hafsah told reporters today.

Hafsah said besides generating potential sales opportunities, SME Corp also hopes for knowledge and branding exposure enhancement during the event.

The SMEs are the backbone of the Asean economy, constituting between 95% and 99% of business establishments and contributing 23% to 58% to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), 10% to 30% of exports, and 43% to 97% to employment across the ASEAN member states, said SME Corp chairman Dr Mohamed Al Amin Abdul Majid.

“The ASSC 2015 is aimed at promoting innovative Asean SMEs, giving visibility to the niche strengths of the SMEs within each of the Asean member states,” he added.

Mohamed Al Amin pointed out that the ASSC 2015 would be an ideal platform for multinational corporations (MNCs) within the region and globally, to take advantage of the collective presence of potential vendors and suppliers, to get optimum results from business linkages.

“Apart from showcasing their products and services for the global market, ASSC 2015 also serves as an avenue for SMEs to demonstrate their competitive and readiness to enter into strategic cooperation agreements and alliances for regional and global business growth,” he added.

Themed One Business, One Community, the event will be officiated by the Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on the first day (May 26) of the three-day event.  

The 10 Asean countries that are participating in this showcase are Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

More than 10,000 trade visitors, 450 exhibitors including 200 under the international pavilion comprising MNCs, government bodies and agencies, are expected to participate in this showcase.

A total of 480 booths comprising local and foreign companies, ministries, government agencies, universities, research institutions, financial institutions and associations, will be set up during the showcase.

All SMEs which are recognised by the chambers of commerce of their respective countries, are qualified to participate.

The three-day event will include an Asean SME conference where speakers include Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, and Alibaba Group founder and executive chairman Jack Ma.

Other speakers include Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, Jimmy Choo founder and fashion designer Datuk Jimmy Choo, and Myteksi Sdn Bhd founder and group CEO Anthony Tan.