Malaysia Budget 2013 helps to grow online businesses
According to the Budget 2013 tabled by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in Parliament today, there was good news for entrepreneurs who want to start online business in the country.
The Prime Minister announced there will be a programme namely ‘Business in Transformation Programme’ that providing guidance and advisory services on new business concepts including online businesses by Perbadanan Nasional Berhad (PNS). Soft loans will be provided by PNS under the programme.
The Budget 2013 also allocated RM50 million to support the development of the economic and happy families contributed by women. One of the activities is to assist 50,000 small entrepreneurs, particularly women to promote their businesses by increasing their sales online with a grant of RM1,000 through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM).
There is another allocation of RM150 million for the Government to build 100 of 1Malaysia Internet Centres between 2013 and 2015 in Rakyat Housing Programme (PPR) locations, to enhance the socio-economic activities through broadband internet access.
The Budget 2013 also revealed that majority of the 22 per cent of Malaysians who use smartphones to surf the Internet are youths. Through the partnership between SKMM and Telcos, the youth aged between 21 to 30 years with a monthly income of RM3,000 and below can enjoy a one-off rebate of RM200 for the purchase of one unit of 3G smartphone. The intention of this ‘Youth Communication Package’ is to enable the youths to access the information highway easily.
by Terry Brown
