SMEs need to have more than courage

Investment SMEs need to have more than courage By Karen Yip Updated: 2010-07-29 12:37 A worker processes cotton yarn at a textile factory in Jiangsu province. Xu Ruipin / For China Daily Despite limited help from the government, the largest employer across China faces an uphill battle Beijing - US-trained chemist Wang Xiaochuan's Sundia MediTech Company Ltd - a private, Shanghai-based clinical research firm - enjoys brisk business even during tough times, thanks to a continuous flow of contracts from renowned drugmakers, partly boosted by the recession-proof pharmaceutical sector. "The size of the fund is clearly too small for this huge country with millions of qualified technology-based SMEs," said Ge Dingkun, assistant professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at the China Europe International Business School. "I have locally developed technologies that are cheaper and can rival the quality of foreign companies, and I provide employment to China's best," said He Yuanping, chief financial officer at Beijing OriginWater Technology Co Ltd, a water treatment services SME listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Damage claims or legal disputes involving SMEs, which usually entail small amounts, cannot be legally addressed, as China doesn't have a "small court" system.