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E- Commerce Transactions Among SMEs To Grow By 20 Per Cent, Says Pikom
KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 (Bernama) -- E-commerce transactionsamong small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are expected to grow by 20 per centthis year following greater awareness by the government and industry players.
Chairman of the Association of the Computer andMultimedia Industry of Malaysia (Pikom), Wei Chuan Beng, said e-commercetransactions in Malaysia were worth US$3 billion last year.
"With the focus on SMEs to meet the global demandalong with growing Malaysia's economy, we can anticipate a satisfactory growththis year," he said at the media briefing on 'SME Business Success WithICT Series -- Partners Recognition' here on Monday.
He said the current low adoption of e-commerce by SMEswas alarming
Wei said this was due to competition in the global andlocal market as well as the impending implementation of the goods and servicestax, which would make it more imperative for SMEs to computerise their operations.
"SMEs in Malaysia make up to 99 per cent of totalnumber of enterprises and it is believed about 52 per cent do not assignanybody to handle information and communication technology (ICT) functions intheir operations," he said.
He said among the reasons for the low adoption ofe-commerce was the lack of awareness of its benefits, the issue of mindset tocontinue traditional business method and the perception that ICT was expensive.
"The low adoption level is equal in all industries.The SMEs have to realise that technology makes a difference in expandingbusiness as well as being cost-effective," he said.
Wei said it was important to reach out to the globalneeds and ICT was the key enabler for SMEs to remain competitive.
In line to boost ICT use by SMEs, he said Pikom hasallocated about RM1.5 billion for the coming SME Business Success With ICTSeries, to be held in 15 locations nationwide beginning June till December thisyear.
"Through the seminars, the SMES will have anopportunity to learn how ICT and e-commerce can help them trade with greaterefficiency and widen their market reach," he said.
Wei said about 3,000 companies were expected toparticipate in the seminars initiated by Pikom and Ministry of Science,Technology and Innovation, and supported by SME Corp Malaysia and otherpartners.
Meanwhile, Shaifubahrim Mohd Saleh has been appointedPikom president effective May 14, 2010.-- BERNAMA
