KUALA TERENGGANU, July 19 — SME Corp Terengganu, in partnership with the state government through the Terengganu Entrepreneur Development Foundation (YPU), has identified 50 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be listed in the recently launched Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ).

YPU chairman Roslee Daud said the state government was confident that the DFTZ would be an important catalyst to spur achievements, particularly that of SMEs, in an effort to enter the international market.

“Terengganu’s SMEs has the opportunity to conduct a borderless business online more effectively through this exclusive zone.

“The SMEs should realise that their market is no longer confined to Malaysia, but global. So, they need to ensure that their products and services are different from their competitors and able to attract more customers,” he told reporters at the Terengganu Entrepreneur Development Secretariat’s Aidilfitri open house here today.

The world’s first DFTZ, which will provide physical and virtual zones to facilitate SMEs to capitalise on the convergence of exponential growth of the internet economy and cross-border e-commerce activities, was launched jointly by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Jack Ma, Founder and Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group in Kuala Lumpur on April 22.

Among the sectors being focused are food and beverage, digital printing and textiles.

Roslee, who is also Terengganu Women, Family and Community Development Committee Chairman, said the criteria eligibility to be listed on the Alibaba.com e-commerce platform would be three stars and above, according to SME Corp Malaysia’s Competitive Rating for Enhancement (SCORE).

“SCORE is a diagnostic assessment method to measure and improve the competitiveness of SMEs based on their performance and capabilities, conducted by trained auditors to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each company.

“Through SCORE, the company’s capabilities will be measured based on several sector-wide parameters, covering management and operational capabilities, technology applications, certification initiatives, technical capabilities, finance and marketing,” he said.

So far, Terengganu has 152 three-star, 41 four-stars and one five-star companies.

In addition, Roslee said the SMEs must also have an appealing and appropriate packaging quality and have the production capability to supply large quantities of products.

“These criteria are important to ensure their sustainability so that they are ready to market their products online.

“This also demonstrates their outstanding competitiveness, hence able to introduce Terengganu SME products abroad to create a supply chain between suppliers, sellers and buyers,” he said. — Bernama