Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong are seen during the signing of a ‘side letter’ to improve the provisions of the Malaysia-Singapore Business Development Fund agreement for third countries.
“The MSBDF was signed in 2004 to strengthen cooperation between the private sector of Malaysia and Singapore by exploring business and investment opportunities in third countries.“After almost 20 years since the signing of the agreement, during the First Annual Ministerial Dialogue session held between Miti and MTI Singapore on June 14, 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, I along with Gan Kim Yong agreed to expand the scope of the fund’s financing to include projects implemented in Malaysia and Singapore.
A memorandum of understanding was also exchanged between SME Corporation Malaysia and Enterprise Singapore on the development of small and medium enterprises in Malaysia and Singapore.In a separate statement, SME Corp said this collaboration will encompass the exchange of policies, expertise and information, all directed toward enhancing the competitiveness of micro-enterprises and SMEs in both Singapore and Malaysia on a global scale.
Meanwhile, a joint statement from both countries’ leaders said the update of the MSBDF will provide funding support for Singapore and Malaysia enterprises to jointly pursue opportunities in third countries and conduct joint pilots in each other’s country, especially in emerging areas such as green economy and digital economy.