Presidential Management Staff Director-General Cerge Remonde yesterday said in a statement from Malacañang that, given adequate support and incentives, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises can contribute greatly in sustaining the country's economic growth amid the slowing down of the United States economy.

Remonde, who is also the oversight official for MSMEs, said that that 99.6 percent of all registered companies in the country are MSMEs and they account for 70 percent of employment nationwide.

The MSMEs contributed significantly to the country's economic resurgence, especially to the 7.3 percent growth in the Gross Domestic Product in 2007, which is the fastest in 31 years, the statement from Malacañang said.

Citing the need to develop MSMEs to their full potential, Remonde said that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered his office to study the possibility of lowering the interest rates on loans to micro enterprises.

He said that from 2004 to 2007, a total of P203.61 billion was released to 3.65 million active microfinance clients and SME accounts, generating 2.1 million new jobs or almost 70 percent of the targeted three million new jobs from the MSMEs sector by 2010, the press statement said.*

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