Attention therefore was given for banking institutions to accord a special focus on providing financial services to SMEs, in particular in strengthening their facilities, outreach and services to SMEs. Today, all commercial banks have dedicated SME divisions and Bumiputera Development Units that are responsible for providing lending as well as ancillary support and advisory services to the SMEs. The commercial banks also have a specific client charter for SMEs, providing the necessary information to facilitate SMEs in applying for financing. The strategy to provide increased access to financing is also reinforced by the provision of information and financial advisory services to SMEs. In 2005, Bank Negara Malaysia established Laman Informasi, Nasihat dan Khidmat (or the LINK), as a one-stop centre for SMEs to obtain information and raise matters on access to financing directly with Bank Negara Malaysia. The LINK has dedicated staff that provides financial advisory services including for dealing with problems of obtaining financing and for restructuring of existing loans. To date, about 11,000 SMEs have sought assistance from the LINK. Another important initiative in disseminating information to the SMEs is the establishment of the SMEinfo Portal, an information gateway for SMEs. The Portal provides comprehensive information required by SMEs, including details on the Government's financial and non-financial assistance, financing products for SMEs by the financial sector, training programmes as well as advise on how to start and manage a business. The Portal also provides a platform for SMEs to advertise their products  BIS Review 13/2007  1  and services.

Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Strengthening the financial infrastructure for SMEs in Malaysia Keynote address by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the Launch of Strategic Partnership between Credit Guarantee Corporation Berhad and the Islamic Financial Institutions, Kuala Lumpur, 6 February 2007. *  *  *  It is my great pleasure to be here this morning to witness the launch of the strategic partnership between the Credit Guarantee Corporation (CGC) and Islamic financial institutions. This strategic partnership will provide an important platform to the Islamic financial institutions to expand lending activities to the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). It therefore, marks an important initiative in the efforts to provide an increased range of financing products to SMEs in addition to enhancing the access to financing. A key national agenda of the Government is to promote a strong and dynamic SME sector which would contribute to ensuring sustainable and balanced economic development. The development of diverse and competitive SMEs will also promote greater resilience of the economy. The SMEs also represent important "incubators" of entrepreneurial talents that will provide for the potential for the development of larger Malaysian corporations. The SMEs can expect to represent an increasingly important source of endogenous growth and employment. The importance of the SME sector to the national economy is evidenced by the fact that it constitutes 99.2% of the total business establishments, employs about 5.6 million people, and contributes about 32% of gross domestic product.