The Belt & Road Initiative: A Study from Malaysian SMEs’ Perspective

Abstract

The Belt & Road Initiative that was introduced by President Xi Jinping has received numerous attentions from the governments, business organizations and individuals from different countries. However, even though it is believed that Chinese companies will be the big winners from the Belt & Road Initiative, but non-Chinese companies are also increasingly seeing themselves benefiting from this Initiative. In order for Malaysia to gain benefits from BRI, it is important to explore the readiness of local SMEs to play an active role in this initiative. Hence, this study aimed to explore the perception of local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on the associated opportunities brought by the Belt & Road Initiative. The data collection method was an in-depth interview, in which SMEs in both manufacturing and service industries were interviewed. The interview results indicated that some Malaysian SMEs found that BRI imposes numerous challenges towards their business. Based on the results, the expansion of Chinese firms to Malaysia will increase market competition in some industries. However, this research findings revealed that local SMEs showed positive attitude towards this initiative, and they generally believe that this initiative will bring huge opportunities and abundant benefits to Malaysia at the country, organizational and individual levels.