Mainland Chinese immigrant-owned SMEs in Malaysia: Case studies
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2022
Abstract
This article explores the contributions of—and constraints faced by—small and medium enterprises (SMEs) owned by mainland Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs in Malaysia using qualitative research and primary data gathered from five cases. It was found that Chinese immigrant SMEs make significant contributions to the host economy in terms of employment, diverse products and services, exports, innovation, micro foreign direct investment (FDI) and global linkages. Of these, employment creation and exports appear to be their most important contributions. They face various constraints, some of which are largely the same as those faced by local entrepreneurs. However, they additionally face some specific constraints which local entrepreneurs do not, such as language barrier, lack of financial support in the growth stage, lack of government assistance, and onerous bureaucratic problems, such as tax and visa requirements. The findings suggest that the government should create a special department to formulate tailor-made policies and incentives to support immigrant-owned SMEs, so that their contribution to the future economic development of Malaysia can be further strengthened and monitored. © 2022 Association of Asia Scholars.
Keywords
Immigrant entrepreneurship, Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs, Immigrant small and medium enterprise (SME), Malaysia
Divisions
Faculty_of_Business_and_Accountancy
Funders
Centre for Poverty and Development Studies (CPDS)/Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies, University of Malaya [Grant No: PD002-2018]
Publication Title
Millennial Asia
Volume
13
Issue
1
Publisher
SAGE Publications Ltd