i. Industrial Linkage Plan (ILP) should be a major project to support the recovery and strengthening of the SMI supply chain.

•Specific allocations should be given to MIDA to implement the ILP aggressively;

•Tax incentives such as lower corporate taxes or possibly, assurance of market access through government & GLCs procurement and MNCs to encourage large companies to participate as anchors;

•Funds (grants or soft loans) and assistance to help SMEs build and upgrade their capacity and capabilities to meet their anchors’ requirements, to expand export activities and integrate with the local and global supply chain. Grants to be in form of upfront payment of certain percentage and in tandem with stages of project development needs i.e. more upfront & at the start, and lower allocation towards end of project. Matching grants to only require SMEs to match 20% of grant amount. Soft loan interest rates should be at most BLR rate, but preferable at ZERO interest rate like TEKUN under PENJANA for micro-enterprises;

ii. Establish networking platform for Manufacturing Trade Organisations in ASEAN to mobilise collective efforts to ensure uninterrupted production and supply chains by utilising supply chain connections within Southeast Asia for the production of essential goods to be made available at national and regional levels;

iii. Enhancing supply chain data visibility, transparency, accuracy and confidence through a trusted standard-based information / data system to allow open and efficient sharing of products and supplies data.

iv. As Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) become strategic business strategies in the current investment climate, there must be further support in addition to the stamp duty exemption in the form of Real Property Gain Tax (RPGT) exemption for asset revaluation in M&A deals.

Article Reference : FMM