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Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group

  

In the APEC region, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) account for around 90 percent of all businesses and employ as much as 60 percent of the work force. At present however they generate only around 30 percent of exports. The objective of the Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group (SMEWG) is therefore to encourage the development of small and medium enterprises and to build their capacity to engage in international trade.

First established in February 1995 as the Ad Hoc Policy Level Group on SMEs (PLGSME), the objective was to assist SMEs improve their competitiveness and to facilitate a more open trade and investment environment. Originally set up for two years, its term was extended in 1996 and again in 1998. In 2000, this group was renamed the SMEWG and granted permanent status. The SMEWG provides the foundation for other APEC fora to incorporate SME considerations into their mandates and activities. A meeting of Ministers responsible for SMEs has been held annually since 1994.

The SMEWG co-operates and collaborates with related organisations including APEC's Gender Focal Point Network (GFPN), the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the Women's Leaders Network (WLN), especially in the areas of globalisation, enterpreneurship and SMEs.

Achievements

At the 15th SME Ministerial Meeting in 2008, Ministers endorsed the SMEWG Strategic Plan (2009-2012) which outlines six priority areas - Business Environment, Building Management Capability and Promoting Entrepreneurship, Market Access and Internationalisation, Innovation, Financing and Sustainable Business Practices. The cross-cutting theme "Youth, Women and Minorities" was nominated to apply to all the priorities .

At the 28th SMEWG meeting held in Chinese Taipei in June 2009, the group identified key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor and evaluate progress for five of the priority areas in the Strategic Plan (the KPIs for Sustainable Practice are still to be determined).

A Small Group on Engagement with Outside Organisations has been created to develop and oversee the group's relations with other multilateral organisations and international finance organisations. The Small Group will be lead by the United States and current members include China, Japan, New Zealand and Malaysia.
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Current Activities

The SMEWG theme for 2009 is "Helping SMEs Access Global Markets and Overcome Trade Barriers" with the sub-themes:
  • Market liberalisation to enhance market access
  • Facilitating business collaboration by encouraging cross-border networks and platforms
  • Support for SME internationalisation

The 29th SMEWG and the 16th SME Ministerial Meeting will be held in Singapore in October 2009.

Details of the SMEWG's projects in 2009 follow:
APEC Symposium on SME Strategies to Manage the Impacts of the Global Financial Crisis
8th-9th June, Taipei, Chinese Taipei
Two day symposium on the impact of the global financial crisis on SMEs in APEC economies and the priorities that should be given to ensure that SMEs can secure the necessary financing and support to stay in business. The aim of the symposium is to produce "Principles and Checklist of Financial Crisis Management for APEC SMEs."

Capacity-Building Seminar on Access to Finance for SMEs
4th-6th October, Singapore (in the margins of the 29th SMEWG Meeting)
One day seminar focusing on improving SMEs' access to finance both by reducing the costs of getting credit and by stimulating the development and deepening of markets for supplying capital for SMEs.

APEC SMEWG Pandemic Influenza Train the Trainer Workshop
4th-6th October, Singapore (in the margins of the 29th SMEWG Meeting)
This one day workshop will follow-up on the activities of the highly successful workshop held on the same issue in Kaohsiung, China in 2008.

APEC Business Fellowship
4th-6th October, Singapore (in the margins of the 29th SMEWG Meeting)
This half-day seminar will discuss the findings of the survey on the internationalisation needs of APEC SMEs, including the provision of support to access global markets and overcome trade barriers and to build in-house marketing expertise.

Workshop on Trading Houses for Strengthening SME's in the Global Market Network
October, Yogjakarta, Indonesia
The workshop will examine the roles of small and medium trading houses and direct exporters in local economic development and strategies that may help them increase their competitiveness.

Extending and Enhacing APEC-IBIZ
Proposal currently under consideration, September-October (tbc), Mexico City
The APEC-IBIZ initiative is a highly successful program to improve the quality of counseling and increase the supply of small business counselors across the APEC region. Since 2003, eight economies (Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, Philippines, Mexico, New Zealand and the United States) have participated and Indonesia has begun implementation. In 2009, the aim of the project is to provide Peru, China, Chile and Mexico with trained APEC Counselor Assessors to allow each economy to administer their own APEC SME Counselors program.

Hong Kong, China will host the 30th SMEWG in June 2010 and the 31st SMEWG and the 17th SMEMM will be held in Gifu, Japan in the second half of 2010.

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Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group (SMEWG) - Key Contacts

Chair
Mr. PNG Cheong Boon
Chief Executive
Ministry of Trade & Industry/ SPRING Singapore
2 Bukit Merah Central, Singapore 159835
Tel: (65) 6279 1865
Fax: (65) 6276 6519
Email: png_cheong_boon@spring.gov.sg

Assistant
Ms. LEUNG Wai Ling
Director, Planning & International Partnership Office
Ministry of Trade & Industry/ SPRING Singapore
Tel: (65) 6279 3119
Fax (65) 6275 1207
Email: leung_wai_ling@spring.gov.sg

Deputy Chair
Mr. Jose Tavera
Director General of Industry
Calle 01 Oeste No. 60
Urb. Corpac San Isidro
Peru
Tel: (51 1) 616 2222 ext 205
Fax: (51 1) 6162222 ext 805
Email: jtavera@produce.gob.pe

APEC Secretariat
Mr Luis Tsuboyama
Email: lt@apec.org
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Last reviewed on: 16th June 2009