SMEs 'need more support'

SHENZHEN: Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) deserve more support from the central government, business experts said here yesterday.

"We show great respect to the world's top 500 companies, but we should realize that it's the development of SMEs that could ultimately decide our economic success," Long Yongtu, secretary-general of the Boao Forum and former vice-foreign trade minister, said at a forum to discuss the development of a central business district in Shenzhen.

"The majority of SMEs are privately owned, but unless the government ends its discrimination against the private sector and gives firms fair treatment, they won't be able to develop into what we expect," Long said.