Kuala lumpur: As Malaysia charts its path forward under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), the financial sector must play a transformative role in enabling small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to participate meaningfully in strategic growth sectors, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour. He said this includes frontier industries such as semiconductors, aerospace, renewable energy, data centres and carbon capture technologies.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the governor emphasized the importance of aligning the financial sector with the country’s national transformation agenda through key policy frameworks, including the New Industrial Master Plan and the National Energy Transition Roadmap. Abdul Rasheed noted that the financial sector, including Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd (CGC), must evolve in tandem to support these reforms.
In his keynote address at the CGC 30th Edition Award 2024, Abdul Rasheed highlighted three areas where CGC and the broader financial sector can contribute to this developmental roadmap. He stressed the need for financial institutions to unlock opportunities for SMEs in high-potential, capital-intensive industries, which often pose significant barriers to entry for smaller businesses. He suggested that a variety of mechanisms can play a catalytic role in mobilizing private capital, managing risks arising from innovation, and creating entry points for SMEs into these frontier sectors.
The governor also pointed out the importance of a well-designed directive programme paired with technical expertise to close information gaps, enabling SMEs to transform and instilling greater confidence in financial institutions to support them. He identified advancing data-driven SME development as a second key focus area, highlighting CGC’s internal transformation towards analytical and data-centric decision-making.
Abdul Rasheed further emphasized the need to broaden financing access, not only for first-time growers but also for growing firms with scalable potential. He advocated for investment in sustainable financing channels, including green and Islamic finance solutions, and the deepening of ecosystem partnerships that blend traditional finance with fintech, data, and socio-economic tools.