zeti akhtar aziz : grow your business – access to financing for smes in malaysia opening remarks by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the book launch of “ grow your business : access to financing for smes in malaysia ”, kuala lumpur, 27 august 2013. * * * it is my pleasure to be here this morning for the launch of the sme financing guide book “ grow your business : access to financing for smes in malaysia ”. significant attention has been given to sme development in view of its relative importance in our economy, in terms of its role in generating growth and employment. smes are an important agent of growth and will be a vital component that will support our nation ’ s aspirations to transition to become a high income economy. smes have become a formidable force in the economy, accounting for 97 % of established businesses and employing 57 % of the nation ’ s workforce. the sme contribution to gdp is now 33 % and is projected to increase to 41 % by 2020 as envisaged in the sme master plan that has been endorsed by national sme development council. as the economy becomes more sophisticated, so will the requirements of the smes. one of the major levers of growth for the sme sector is access to financing. financial institutions therefore have an important role in the ecosystem for financing to smes. in the current environment, financial institutions provide 89 % of the total sme financing. the sme financing guide book being launched today is initiated by the institute of bankers malaysia to provide detailed guidance to assist smes in their applications for financing from financial institutions. it also provides information on the factors that are taken into consideration by financial institutions in approving the applications. in addition, it elaborates on the responsibility of borrowers, and the redress mechanisms that are available. irrespective of sectors, smes should adopt best practices in financial management to ensure their business will remain sustainable. managing costs will also enhance the performance and competitiveness of the business in both domestic and global markets. smes should therefore actively draw on the wide range of products and services including advisory services offered for every stage of its business cycle, whether it is a start - up, growing or a matured business. the expertise, extensive network and the broad range of services and products which are in place should be leveraged upon by the smes. recognising the importance of smes in contributing

offer to study for the ba degree in law at the prestigious university of cambridge. following their pre - university programme, justin aspires to be a doctor and nurizati is keen to read dietetics. i am confident that all of you will do your best and will contribute to the future of our nation. in addition to the kijang emas scholarship award, every year the bank also awards scholarships to about 40 high achieving spm students for them to pursue their undergraduate studies abroad with the objective of them being part of the bank ’ s future talent pool. the bank has put in place a structured, holistic and collaborative scholars ’ development programme to support all of our scholars throughout their studies. the programme aims to develop high - quality and well - rounded scholars with leadership qualities that will be the next generation of young talent who will be the leaders of tomorrow for the bank and our nation. with regard to the achievement of our scholars enrolled in top university, i am glad to share with you that this year 3 of our scholarship holders will be entering the university of pennsylvania to pursue their undergraduate studies in economics and finance, 1 scholar to pursue engineering at the university of cambridge and another scholar to pursue philosophy, politics and economics at the university of oxford. we wish all our scholars the best and to make the bank proud of your excellence. bis central bankers ’ speeches