The investment is arriving. Will it reach your order book?
Official topic
Are Malaysian SMEs Capable of Facing the Challenges Posed by the Influx of Foreign Investment and Intensifying Global Competition?
One morning. 200 seats. No fee, because a sponsor has covered it. The bank, the buyer and an SME that already supplies a multinational answer your questions on the record, and everyone leaves with the same list of what has to change.
- Date
- 24 August 2026
- 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM
- Venue
- Wisma FMM
- Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur
- Seats
- 200
- Register by 21 August 2026
- Fee
Normally RM80.00Free- Covered by our sponsor
Jointly organised by
- SG4 Group Sdn Bhd
- Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM)
Foreign investment brings supplier networks, technology and export routes. It also raises the bar — on cost, quality, speed, certification, digital capability and access to capital. Firms that cannot clear that bar do not grow more slowly. They are never asked to quote.
This round table puts the three organisations closest to that problem in one room, so they compare evidence instead of talking past each other, with 200 SME leaders testing all three from the floor.
Rising foreign investment reaches the Malaysian SMEs that can meet the standard, and only where industry, finance and policy have built the path for them to get there.
Four reasons to give up a Monday morning.
You run an SME
Ask the bank why the last application stalled, and the buyer what actually puts a supplier on the list. Both are in the room to answer.
You finance them
One morning in front of 200 SME decision-makers, and a straight answer on why sound firms still cannot fund upgrading.
You buy from them
Meet the local supply base before you need it, and state plainly what your standards, volumes and timelines require.
You shape the rules
Evidence from industry, capital and procurement in one sitting, plus a written record of what each side promised.
The agenda
Six questions. The same three people answer all of them.
Readiness
What separates the SMEs that win this work from the ones never asked to quote?
Investment linkages
How does foreign investment turn into local orders instead of passing the supply base by?
Financing
Why can viable firms still not fund automation, certification and expansion?
Technology and talent
What actually moves productivity inside a forty-person company?
Standards and access
Which requirements are keeping Malaysian suppliers out of global value chains?
Commitments
What will each side put its name to over the next twelve months?
Who is on the panel
Three seats: the bank, the buyer, and an SME that already supplies a multinational. Every question goes to all three.
Financial institution representative
Financing and risk perspective
Named on confirmation
Industrial player
Buyer, anchor-firm and operating perspective
Named on confirmation
SME supplier in a multinational supply chain
The operator’s view of clearing the bar on cost, quality and certification
Named on confirmation
Officiating
YB Prof. Dr. Haim Hilman bin Abdullah
Chairman, SG4 Group Sdn Bhd · Kedah State EXCO for Industry & Investment, Higher Education, Science, Technology & Innovation
8:00 – 8:40 AM
Registration and networking refreshments
Secretariat
8:40 – 8:50 AM
Participants seated; administrative announcements
Master of Ceremonies
8:50 – 9:00 AM
Arrival and introduction of officiator and panellists
Protocol
9:00 – 9:20 AM
Officiating address
YB Prof. Dr. Haim Hilman bin Abdullah
9:20 – 9:35 AM
Scene-setting: SME competitiveness, foreign investment and global pressure
Moderator
9:35 – 10:35 AM
Panel Round 1: Readiness, capability gaps and supplier expectations
Moderator and panellists
10:35 – 10:55 AM
Networking and refreshment break
All participants
10:55 – 11:45 AM
Panel Round 2: Finance, technology, market access and investment linkages
Moderator and panellists
11:45 AM – 12:20 PM
Structured audience questions and interventions
Moderator and participants
12:20 – 12:35 PM
Consensus points, action priorities and stakeholder commitments
Moderator and rapporteur
12:35 – 12:45 PM
Closing remarks and official photography
Host
12:45 – 1:00 PM
Networking refreshments and departure
All participants
Timings are indicative within the 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM window.
What you take away
The record, in five working days
Notes and commitments emailed to everyone who attended the same week, not months later.
A list of actions, with names against them
Every issue paired with what happens next, who is best placed to lead it, and by when.
A room arranged on purpose
Seating mixes SMEs with financiers, buyers and agencies, so the introductions are the ones worth having.
200 seats. First come, first served.
A sponsor has covered the fee, so it costs you nothing to attend. Seats go in the order requests arrive. Once 200 are taken, the room is closed.
Registration closes 21 August 2026
Participant fee
Normally RM80.00Free
Covered by our sponsor. Your seat is the only thing you have to claim.
Fill in the form
Six fields. Two minutes.
Seats go in the order received
The room closes at 200.
Confirmation by email
With joining details. Nothing to pay.
There is nothing to pay and no card details are collected. The secretariat emails your confirmation and joining details.
Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM)Wisma FMM, No. 3, Persiaran Dagang, PJU 9
Bandar Sri Damansara, 52200 Kuala Lumpur
Conducted in English and Bahasa Malaysia.
Questions? office@sg4.com.my