KUALA LUMPUR, June 6 (Bernama) — Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Berhad (“SME Bank”) 1H 2023 SME Sentiment Index (“the Index”) survey conducted from January to May 2023 generated a positive reading of 52.9, indicating the sustained health of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector as a whole.
SME Bank’s Group President/Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Wira (Dr.) Aria Putera Ismail said, “The Index findings tell us that business owners are still optimistic, resilient, and adaptive although the results recorded were slightly lower than 2022’s reading of 53.8. The 1H Index reading is in line with the country’s economic slowdown foreseen this year where SME Bank as well as the Ministry of Finance and Bank Negara Malaysia also expected Malaysia’s gross domestic product to continue growing between a range of 4.0% YoY to 5.0% YoY, moderating from 8.7% YoY in 2022.