Moving SMEs up value chain.

(From New Straits Times (Malaysia))

Byline: Rozana Sani

* INCREASING value-add is set to be a major focus for the manufacturing industry under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP). This can be done via the development and utilisation of new technology, according to the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry.

Its Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis last week said the effort is all about moving local manufacturers beyond assembling, which they currently do by licensing patents from foreign companies. The Ministry, he said, intends to move them up the value chain by encouraging them to venture into patenting and prototyping their own products. …