Kuala Lumpur, 20 October 2016 – iPay88 Sdn Bhd (‘iPay88’) – the leading online payment gateway provider in Southeast Asia, shares pre-budget recommendations highlighting what can be expected in the Budget 2017 for the eCommerce ecosystem in Malaysia, amidst a soft global economy.
In its budget wish list that is released earlier, Executive Director of iPay88 – Mr KL Chan identified few recommendations including ease of business as well as priorities towards nurturing startups, products and eCommerce sector.
iPay88 expects direct and indirect taxes exemptions for all startups in Budget 2017 as a move that would reduce compliance burden, reduce cash outflows to benefit and sustain startups in the future economic environment, who will then further venture into the online market.
Tax, is regarded by Chan as a barrier to technology adoption especially for eCommerce industry. He hopes there will be continued commitment from the government to lift non-tariff barriers.
Chan also says that “Malaysia, in terms of digital economy, is one of the fastest growing country among its neighbouring countries. Sufficient funding and train-ing are crucial to spearhead our country in the digital economy space to improve telecommunication infrastructure for multiple R&D and entrepreneurship initiatives.
We are excited and look forward to agencies like Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC), MDeC and even SME Corp to be allocated with substantial budget and funding to continue the momentum built-up by these agencies over the years.”
Commenting on the Malaysian eCommerce projection for a growth rate of 11% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), Chan believes that enabling SMEs to thrive is an important driver to growing the eCommerce landscape in Malaysia via government’s supportive initiatives and policies to drive higher GDP contribution, while moving the country closer towards a high-income nation.
In addition, to accelerate eCommerce growth in the country, Chan hopes that that regular dialogues continues between relevant Government agencies and various stakeholders to keep the regulatory framework abreast of the times.
In a recent roundtable held by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation Sdn. Bhd (MDeC), six areas have been identified as a supportive governance framework under the National eCommerce Strategic Roadmap (“the Roadmap”).
Through focused interventions in six thrust areas, the Roadmap aims at doubling the country’s eCommerce growth to 20.8 percent by 2020 from the current 10.8 percent.
These areas include
(a) acceleration of seller adoption of eCommerce
(b) increase adoption of eProcurement by businesses
(c) lifting of non-tariff barriers
(d) realignment of existing economic incentives
(e) making of strategic investments in selected eCommerce players
(f) promotion of national brand to boost cross-border eCommerce.
This roundtable is an initiative by both MDeC and MITI to understand the state of eCommerce in Malaysia directly from the industry players, to understand the challenges and what are the areas for improvement.
“The government has also envisioned for 2017 as ‘The Year of the Internet Economy’ for Malaysia’. The government’s stated vision on migration to a cash-less economy is an opportunity for the nation to adopt technology as well as the eCommerce industry to develop innovative solutions.
Internet driven startups are dominating the entrepreneurial ecosystem today, while these startups are developing disruptive solutions and business models,” says Chan.
The Malaysian eCommerce market is facilitated and supported with high-speed broadband extended to rural areas which translates to seamless and fast inter-net connectivity; coupled with improved logistics infrastructures within the country – providing faster and effective delivery services to online shoppers.