The findings of a survey released yesterday show that 54 percent of the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) asked by its organisers earlier this year responded that their turnover was declining.
The survey was carried out earlier this year by the Macau Economic and Livelihood Alliance, which held a press conference at its office in Zape yesterday to announce the survey’s findings.
The survey collected 1,037 valid questionnaires from local SMEs which were randomly chosen.
According to yesterday’s press conference, the findings of the survey also show that the respondents identified “fierce market competition” and “high operation costs” as two major factors making it difficult for them to run and develop their business.
Moreover, the findings also show that over 70 percent of the respondents said that they were carrying out, or planning to carry out, digital transformation in their operations. However, only nine percent of the respondents said that they had completed digitalising their operations.
According to the press conference, the findings of the survey also indicate that 62 percent of the respondents told the alliance that they did not have a comprehensive understanding of the government’s various support measures for SMEs.
During the press conference, representatives from the alliance suggested that the government set up a one-stop SME platform dedicated to helping local SMEs make better use of its various support measures and streamlining the respective application processes.
Representatives of the Macau Economic and Livelihood Alliance address yesterday’s press conference at their office in Zape. – Photo courtesy of TDM
