SMEs have indicated the need for advisory services in a wide range of areas including product development, technology adoption, marketing and promotion, as well as business and financial management.

The BNM’s LINK is the central bank’s centralised point of contact between itself and members of the public, including SMEs. It provides faster and more effective responses to enquiries and complaints pertaining to the financial sector.

In 2006, the number of assistance requests from SMEs increased to 4,186 (2005: 4,037) which reflected a continued awareness among SMEs on the availability of such services from Bank Negara Malaysia. In the first three months of 2007, the number of assistance requests made by SMEs totaled 1,020, of which 70% were mainly enquiries on special funds provided by the Government and advice on loan matters, while 30% were requests for assistance, mainly for loan restructuring and rejections.

Bank Negara Malaysia also assists SMEs with on-going businesses in restructuring their non-performing loans (NPLs) through the Small Debt Resolution Scheme. Under this scheme, a Small Debt Resolution Committee undertakes independent assessments on the viability of the businesses, and loan restructuring and financing requirements of the SMEs. The performance of the scheme has revealed that the restructuring of NPLs is more important than the provision of new financing in ensuring the viability and sustainability of financially troubled SMEs.

SMEs can also seek financial advisory services from other financial institutions such as SME Bank through the SME Bank Advisory Centre (SAC), EXIM Bank, and also commercial banks. All of them have a dedicated SME Unit to provide financial advisory services.

To further strengthen the ability and quality of advisory services provided by the various agencies and financial institutions, the NSDC approved the establishment of the SME Business Adviser Network (SME-NET), a one-stop web-based directory on the SMEinfo Portal (www.smeinfo.com.my). SME-NET provides a platform for SME business advisers to connect and leverage on each other in their respective areas of expertise thus enabling comprehensive advisory services to SMEs – in the areas of marketing, technology and operations management, human resource, financing, business development and product development.