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SMEs are the driving force of economic growth. There are over 283 000
SMEs in Hong Kong, representing about 98.2 per cent of all local enterprises.
They employ more than 1.31 million people. The Government is committed
to helping SMEs grow and develop.
Four SME funding schemes were established in December
2001/January 2002 to help SMEs secure loans for acquiring business installations
and equipment, and meeting working capital needs, expand overseas markets,
upgrade human resources, and enhance overall competitiveness. They are,
respectively, the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme, the SME Export Marketing
Fund, the SME Training Fund and the SME Development Fund. Over 32 800
SMEs have so far benefited from these schemes and the total government
guarantee/grant involved is about $4.3 billion.
Following a comprehensive review on the effectiveness
of the four funding schemes, the Small and Medium Enterprises Committee
recommended a number of improvement measures, which were accepted by the
Chief Executive and implemented in February and March 2003. To help SMEs
rise to the challenges brought about by the SARS outbreak early in the
year, further improvement measures for the funding schemes were introduced
in June.
The Support and Consultation Centre for SMEs (SUCCESS)
of the Trade and Industry Department is the Government's first-stop SME
support centre which provides a comprehensive range of free information
and consultation services to business start-ups and SMEs. SUCCESS regularly
runs various activities for its clients to enhance their competitiveness,
for example, seminars, workshops and company visits. SUCCESS also publishes
an SME newsletter and operates a reference library. SMEs may visit SUCCESS
to seek experts' advice on their specific business problems through the
'Business Advisory Services' or join the 'Mentorship Programme' under
which each participant will be assigned a mentor from whom to seek guidance
on business operation for a period of nine to 12 months. |
