As the ASEAN Economic Community continues to take shape, it is important to strengthen SMEs, Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large Ong Keng Yong said on Thursday (Aug 4).

Currently, Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) comprise almost all of private enterprises across the ASEAN region, but only account for around 10 to 30 per cent of total exports.

Speaking as a keynote speaker at the ASEAN Summit 2016, organised by RHTLaw Taylor Wessing, Mr Ong acknowledged that progress in ASEAN economic integration has been “quite impressive”.

However, he added that there are various challenges facing SMEs. These include a relatively lower level of labour productivity when compared to the United States, access to finance, a reluctance to internationalise and look beyond national borders, as well as cumbersome business requirements for SMEs.