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3.4.2. Interdependencies
Growth in intra-OIC trade activities are a sign of positive interdependencies across all Asian OICs. This
pattern of growth in intra-OIC trade is reflected in the trade figures for Asian OICs although the rates of
intra-OIC export has grown at a slightly less impressive rate for countries such as Indonesia than those of
sub-Saharan Africa. Both intra-OIC trade share and the proportion of intra-OIC exports increased over the
years from 2000 to 2009, with a modest fall in 2001.
Although the US, Japan, China and ASEAN member countries continued to be Malaysia's major trading
partners with a combined average share of 60.0% of total exports from 2005-2008, Malaysia is actively
promoting trade in new and emerging markets, such as China, India, Middle East and the new EU
members. With the current focus on promoting the development of the services sector, promotional
efforts will also be intensified for the export of services.
For Bangladesh, exports remain highly concentrated both in terms of products and destinations with
readymade-garment (RMG) exports to the EU and the U.S. being the current mainstay. To a great extent
interdependency among Asian OIC Countries is being driven largely by China and less so by other OIC
countries. China’s rapid economic advance, the size of its economy and the diversity of products and
services that it uses offers significant opportunities for countries in geographical proximity.
3.4.3. SMEs in OIC Asia
SMEs represented approximately 99.2% of the entire business formations in Malaysia in 2010. Malaysian
SMEs remained resilient and continued to expand at a relatively strong pace of 6.8% in 2011 despite the
challenging external environment. SMEs are expected to record a steady growth pace of 6.5 - 7.0%,
mainly driven by the services sector (90% share of all industries) and domestic demand in 2013.
According to the last 2012 Census, SMEs now represent 97.3% (645,136 establishments) of the total
establishments of 662,939 in the country. The positive development over the years has resulted in SME
contribution to GDP increasing gradually from 29.4% in 2005 to 32.5% in 2011.
In Bangladesh, SMEs including micro enterprises comprise over 99 per cent of all industrial units,
contributing over 85 per cent of industrial employment. Focusing on the 10+ units, small units constitute
87.4 per cent, followed by medium and large units comprising 5.7 and 6.9 per cent respectively. In other
words, 81 thousand SMEs all together constitute more than 93 per cent of the total 10+ units. These small
units contribute to 35 per cent of the employment, followed by medium and large units comprising 8.8
and 56.0 per cent respectively. In other words, SMEs employ 1.3 million people, constituting 44% of
employment generated by 10+ units. Recent estimates obtained from two major micro surveys,
International Consulting Group (ICG) study and South Asia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF)
survey suggest the SME contribution to manufacturing value added to be in the range of 20% to 25%%
(Ahmed 2008; Bahar and Uddin 2007). The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) together
employ a total of 31 million people, equivalent to about 40 per cent of the population of Bangladesh, aged
15 years and above. More than three quarters of the household income in both urban and rural areas are
provided by the MSMEs (Rahman 2007). An overwhelming majority—98% of establishments—are
micro units having less than 10 workers. Only 13% are in manufacturing and the remaining 87 per cent
are involved in trade and services.
In Indonesia, SMEs are recognized as a fundamental asset of the economy. They accounted for more than
99% of total enterprises in 2009, absorbing over 90% of the total workforce. According to the ASEAN, in
terms of national output, the contribution of SMEs to GDP creation was more than 55% in 2008/2009.
Typically, SMEs in Indonesia are concentrated in the agricultural sector, followed by trade, hotels and
restaurants as the second, and manufacturing as the third largest sector, accounting for 52%, 28% and