MTDC's Halal Technology Development Fund aims to give grants to 30 SMEs

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC) is aiming to provide grants from the Halal Technology Development Fund to some 30 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) practicing halal principles in its business.
The government through MTDC has allotted RM 100 million for the fund.
So far, four companies from the halal food industry and one from the cosmetics field, have been given grants, in the form of Compulsory Promisory notes.
According to MTDC's CEO, Datuk Norhalim Yunus, the target for this year will be to dish out RM2 million for domestic businesses and RM4 million for exports based.
Norhalim told reporters at the launch of the fund today in Kuala Lumpur, the halal market holds a vast potential, but is not free of its challenges, especially with foreign countries tapping in to the same market, hence a state of the art technology is crucial to ensure that the local products meets the current standards, especially in the food industry.