THE International Trade and Industry Ministry hopes that more government funds are allocated for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Budget 2020, to help them face the Industrial Revolution 4.0.

Deputy Minister Ong Kian Ming said the request has been forwarded to the Finance Ministry.

“We also hope to have more streamlined incentives, especially to attract foreign direct investments, in light of the US-China conflict,” he told reporters on the sidelines of Grant Thornton Malaysia’s Industry4WRD Seminar in Kuala Lumpur today.

In a separate development, Ong said as of September 21, more than 600 companies had applied for the Industry4WRD Readiness Assessment (Industry4WRD-RA) and 133 companies qualified for it.

Industry4WRD is a national policy on Industry 4.0 that was launched on Oct 31, 2018, while Industry4WRD-RA is a process where firms assess their capabilities and readiness to adopt Industry 4.0.

“We are still evaluating the others to see whether they qualify, and we want to be able to expand Industry4WRD-RA to as many qualified companies as soon as possible so that we are able to reach our 500 companies target,” said Ong, adding that the ministry hoped to see the target achieved by year end.

Grant Thornton Malaysia conducted a half-day seminar on Industry4WRD, supported by the ministry for the public to understand the government initiatives and tax incentives for the manufacturing industry to support IR4.0.

The seminar covered topics such as Domestic Investment Strategic Fund conducted by Malaysian Development Authority, Financing Solutions for Industry4WRD by the Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Berhad and also tax incentives for IR4.0 by Grant Thornton Malaysia. – Bernama, September 25, 2019.