MSMEs Need To Shift From Wealth Model To Value Creation Model:Experts

By 1 2 1 News Reporter

Chandigarh 01^st May:-- "Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Northern region, especially in Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana need to diversify their focus from wealth creation model to value creation model and hence realize the importance of getting listed on the stock market to be able to raise funds easily and compete globally emphasised Ajay Thakur, Head – SME, Bombay Stock Ltd while addressing a Conference on "MSME Funding: Opportunities & Challenges", organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at its Northern Region Headquarters in chandigarh, here today.

Ajay Thakur added that listing on Stock Exchanges is the only way forward for the small players, if they wish to enhance their Brand image, gain market presence, expand their roots, maximise returns and introduce Corporate Governance which is very critical but lacking in the present market structure, especially in this region. Ajay Thakur further informed that, in last two years, 57 SMEs have registered in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and have experienced profits in many folds. A special policy to list SMEs on BSE will be out soon, which will help the MSMEs to get rid of all the hiccups they face while handling the process of listing. He also shared that the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) have recently launched their respective SME exchange platform. With this, SMEs will hopefully have better access to funds to support their long term growth plans. We are entrepreneur driven economy.

Deliberating upon the CII's initiatives towards upscaling of MSME sector, Capt Alok Sharma, Co-Chairman, CII NR Committee on MSMEs said that CII is actively engaged with the central and state governments on a lot of issues like amendment of the MSME Act, 2006, change in investment thresholds for MSME sector by linking it to Wholesale Price Index to encourage the investment in Plant & Machinery, payment terms, easy financing options etc. CII would soon release a Compendium to showcase all the state and centre government schemes to remove the hurdle of ignorance among SMEs and MSME players.

Darpan Kapoor, Chairman, CII Chandigarh Council said that there has been a consistent cry from MSMEs about not getting adequate funding to carry out their business.  At the same time the lenders raise multiple issues, which act as barriers to lend to this sector. This not only affects the fortunes of the units but also has a direct bearing on the employment, exports and other areas which has a direct impact on the GDP of the country. This conference acted as a great platform to address all the issues and to provide a common platform to both MSMEs and financial institutions to resolve the issues hampering the growth of the industry.