to the socioeconomic development of the country, the government has introduced various programmes to assist smes through its ministries and agencies. the infrastructure to support access to sme financing has also vastly improved compared to a decade ago. in 2012, a total of rm217. 2 billion in financing has been disbursed to smes through the banking system, compared to only rm87. 1 billion in 2003. this year, 155 sme development programmes with an allocation of rm18. 4 billion have been developed and which is being channeled through government agencies and the private sector. to enhance the enabling infrastructure for sme financing, the credit bureau malaysia was established in 2008 to provide comprehensive and credible credit information and ratings for smes in malaysia. more than 1. 1 million credit reports have now been generated by credit bureau malaysia to facilitate access to financing for businesses since its inception. in addition, smes with limited collateral or track record are able to benefit from the credit guarantee facility provided by credit guarantee corporation that extends its services to include advisory. in efforts to ensure simple, efficient and prompt application process, bank negara malaysia and the association of banks in malaysia ( abm ) introduced partner 1, a simplified application form and documentation checklist which has now been adopted by 8 domestic bis central bankers ’ speeches banking institutions. this initiative has been enhanced in partner 2, in which reasons are provided for loan applications that have not been successful. this is to provide to the smes the opportunity to address the weaknesses or limitation thereby enhancing their potential to gain access for financing. in addition, smes facing challenges in their business operations, may now seek assistance from the various agencies namely the sme corporation ’ s one referral centre and the bank negara malaysia ’ s small debt resolution scheme ( sdrs ) when confronted with financial stress. under the small debt resolution scheme, a total of 894 smes have now been assisted since its establishment in 2005. addressing the problems and challenges at an earlier stage will contain the deterioration, and will enhance the prospect for a positive solution. as our economy evolves and transitions towards higher value added activities, the financial support services that is being provided by the financial institutions also needs to evolve. financial institutions have to recognise that smes will increasingly become specialised and diversified, and will require a much more customised and differentiated financial services. financial institutions will also need to broaden their dimension to look beyond the traditional business activities and be positioned be able to provide financial services

to businesses in new areas of growth such as green technology, medical sciences, and information technology. today, the true value of companies is also not just measured by their tangible assets, but also includes their intellectual capital. the adoption of more dynamic methodologies to assess the businesses value should therefore be beyond collateral and historical performance. for this, financial institutions have to continuously be ahead of innovation and the new growth areas to be able to take into consideration the new related risks in their assessment. technology will also have a vital role to support efficient services and greater outreach. financial institutions should also encourage technological enhancements by smes through the provision of financing, including adoption of end - to - end supply chain management solutions and greater expansion into regional production networks. on this note, let me take this opportunity to congratulate institute of bankers malaysia for the launch of this book. i applaud the initiative undertaken. it would definitely be an important reference for the smes. bis central bankers ’ speeches