KOTA KINABALU – Despite news of SMEs bearing the brunt of the economic effects brought by Covid-19, Entrepreneurship Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said there have been more new business registrations than closures.
He also said a news report stating that 30,000 SMEs have closed down since the movement control order in March was inaccurate.
He said his parliamentary response on November 5 not only referred to SMEs that closed operations, but also all registered companies under Companies Commission.
He said a total of 82,555 new businesses were registered between April 1 and July 19, while 9,675 firms shuttered between March 18 and June 9 and 22,794 firms closed between June 10 and September.
“This shows that the current situation of Covid-19, does not prevent anyone from venturing into business, but they are following the current trends and needs using e-commerce platforms as their marketing medium for supplying products or services,” he said in a statement today.
He said his ministry has always taken proactive initiatives and recommends entrepreneurs to think positively in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Among the free initiatives undertaken by his ministry include knowledge sharing, digitalisation and promotional strategies. – The Vibes, November 13, 2020
