KUALA LUMPUR: The contribution of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased slightly to 36.6 per cent last year from 36.3 per cent in 2015, the Department of Statistics said.
It said that at constant 2010 prices, the value added by SMEs rose to RM405.5 billion compared with RM385.6 billion in 2015.
“The services, manufacturing and agriculture sectors were the key drivers in gearing up the SME performance for 2016, contributing 59.6 per cent, 21.6 per cent and 11.2 per cent to SME’s GDP, respectively,” the department said in a statement yesterday.
It said the growth in value added for SMEs in the services sector registered 6.4 per cent compared with 6.6 per cent in 2015.
“This was supported by finance, insurance, real estate and business services sub-sector which registered a growth of 5.9 per cent compared with 5.5 per cent in 2015,” it said.
The growth of SMEs in the manufacturing sector dropped 1.2 per cent to 4.8 per cent in 2016 from that of 2015, while growth in the food, beverages and tobacco sub-sector increased 2.8 per cent from 2.6 per cent previously.
Meanwhile, growth in petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products moderated to 5.4 per cent compared with 6.1 per cent in 2015, it said.
“Non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products registered a growth of 6.2 per cent in 2016, down from 7.5 per cent the previous year,” the department said, adding that SMEs in the construction sector recorded a growth of 6.8 per cent in value added, compare with 7.6 per cent in 2015.
The specialised construction activities and non-residential buildings underpinned the SME momentum for construction, it said.
It said the services and manufacturing sectors maintained its stronghold as the prominent economic activities for SMEs in Malaysia, contributing more than 70 per cent to GDP. — Bernama