It may surprise some of you to know that there are fifteen Government Ministries and 38 Agencies involved in supporting the development of SMEs. The formation of the Council was therefore a mammoth undertaking that clearly signals the commitment of the Government to the SME agenda. The Council, chaired by the Prime Minister and supported by Bank Negara Malaysia as the Secretariat, provides the policy direction of the programmes to support the SMEs, and ensures the effective implementation and coordination of these programmes. The national SME strategy is focused on the development of high performance and resilient SMEs under three broad strategic thrusts, namely, strengthening the enabling infrastructure; enhancing the capacity and capability of SMEs; and enhancing access to financing. Bank Negara Malaysia has been at the forefront of initiatives to ensure that SMEs, at different stages of the business life cycle, have adequate access to financing. These included among others, initiatives to develop a vibrant and sustainable microfinance industry, the establishment of two venture capital funds of RM150 million each for the agriculture sector and the establishment of the Small Debt Resolution Scheme. The various measures have already yielded positive results. SMEs today have greater access to financing, with financial institutions being the main SME financing provider. In 2007, banking institutions approved RM55.1 billion in new financing to more than 109,000 SME accounts. SME financing continues to remain robust. For the first three months of 2008 alone, a total of RM12.4 billion in new financing was approved to more than 34,000 SME accounts.
On behalf of the MIFC Executive Committee, I would like to express my appreciation to the members of the panel of jury for the Royal Award for Islamic Finance which is led by Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Musa Hitam, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and also to the members of the taskforce that was chaired by Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar, Chairman of the Securities Commission, who oversaw the establishment of this prestigious award. It is my sincere hope that this Royal Award will be an inspiration to the global development of Islamic finance. 2  BIS Review 141/2010